Page 93 of Revenge of the Forgotten

“Felix.” Back to the composed Bridger who Vega had come to know. It didn’t matter if he was cutting someone’s hand off or chasing down his soon-to-be prisoner in a world he didn’t belong in—he never seemed to waver.

The other guard made quick work of getting to his side. “Yes?”

“Heal him.” Bridger left the cell too casually, turning on his heels to look back at the mess he’d made.

“I can’t regrow his hand,” Felix stuttered from fear of disappointing his commander.

“Well aware. I want him to have a reminder every single day of what happens when people defy me. I want everyone to see what I did to him and ask themselves if it’s worth crossing me.”

34

A new guard was assigned to Vega after Felix finished healing Grimes. Vega sat in the back of her cell, eyes closed, with hands cupped over her ears while Grimes was healed only feet from her.

Had she ever been used to the slaughter this world deemed acceptable?

Vega finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep when the screaming ended and Grimes was cleared from her cell. There was no telling how long she’d been asleep when Vega’s eyes shot open, her arms wrapped around herself to keep warm.

Marlena stood over her, kicking at Vega’s boot. “Morning, sweet sister.” The smile on her face made the chill in Vega’s spine travel up her back. “We’re going on a little field trip.” She yanked Vega off the floor by her shoulder.

Marlena walked in front of her, never looking back as they climbed the stairs. A sinking feeling eased its way into Vega’s stomach at the realization she wasn’t a threat, and she was beginning to wonder if she ever had been.

Her lungs burned by the time they got to the top. Marlena only picked up her speed.

The house was empty, not a soul in sight as they moved through the halls. “When we were children, we used to walk the halls of the original home, hiding behind doors to jump out and scare one another,” Marlena recalled, peering over her shoulder. “One day, I slipped behind one, and you looked for me for hours until you finally found me. I was sitting in a room you’d never been in, staring at a wall of mirrors. That room was used to force me to hone my original power. Our parents locked me in there for six days with no food until I could fully disappear from every angle. I was nine, and you slept soundly in your bed on the floor above, never once asking where I was.” Abruptly, Marlena stopped outside of a door, wind rustling her hair as she spun to face Vega. “I didn’t know it then, but years later I decided I wanted a trophy for every time I beat you, and since these mirrors were a present from the parents you so dearly loved, what better way to cause you anguish than with the very objects they began my torture with?”

Marlena pushed the door open, revealing the room of mirrors, and then disappeared. Vega could still feel her. She reappeared behind her, proving the six days she’d spent locked in the room perfected the ability as it was meant to.

“Is that what they are to you now then? Trophies?” Vega questioned, eyes ticking between the mirrors and her sister. Marlena shut the door and a lock clicked into place.

“They’re more than that. Do you know I am the only one in our world who can curse inanimate objects? That’s what these mirrors are: little pieces of your curse that stem from you. They’re your memories, your lives. Everything you’ve had taken from you.” Marlena’s footsteps didn’t make a sound as she circled the room. “They’re my windows into your lives, how I stay one step ahead—because I know it all. Your curse is mine, made of our shared blood. It makes sure I know all that you can’t remember.”

Marlena chuckled, glancing at the mirrors with a happy spark. Her smile made her look giddy. “Except there’s one missing piece, and it comes from the pathetic demi you summoned.” Vega watched her as Marlena’s focus shifted from the mirrors to her. “I don’t usually admit when I’m wrong, but I’ve run into a bit of an issue, and you’re the only one who can help me.” She rolled her eyes. “Imagine that.”

Vega didn’t move a muscle.

Marlena moved down the aisle of mirrors, her index finger dragging along each frame. She snapped her head to the side, motioning towards a mirror. “In this one, I snapped your neck the second you stepped through the portal.” Another mirror grabbed her attention at the end of the room. “There.” She pointed to one with a dark brown frame, cracks splintering the wood. “That one there is from the first time Bridger killed you. It happened downstairs, outside the very cell you’re in now.”

“And let me guess. Here”—Vega pointed, beating her sister to it—“you killed me. And then in that one, you had someone else kill me. It’s just a never-ending cycle. So why don’t you just get it over with already and kill me for good? What’s with a curse that draws the inevitable out?”

Marlena’s lips split into a poisonous smile. “That’s where you come in.”

Vega scoffed. “You really think I’ll ever feel inclined to help you?”

Marlena ignored the question. “When we were children, your powers outshone mine. Everyone wondered if our parents would break the Curia’s eldest child decree and let you rule both seats instead. They had an entire meeting about it while having me in attendance. That night I snuck away to Littera and started my research on summoning gods.” Jealousy oozed through Marlena’s tone—she nearly turned green with envy. “At first, I wasn’t going to involve you, not in the way you are now. I chose to ignore the fact you were overlooking what was right in front of you. I chose to believe you would choose me over the parents who had made my life miserable.” Marlena began to walk towards her. Vega crept back, keeping herself out of reach.

Their matching eyes made Vega reel with fear. You’re not her. You’re good, you’re good, you’re good.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Before Vega knew it, her back was against the largest mirror in the room stretching floor to ceiling. Even through the thick material of her suit, she could feel the ebbs of power inside the reflective glass behind her.

Marlena stalked towards her, wafting the scent of her perfume into Vega like a tidal wave—roses with a spice she couldn’t place. If Vega closed her eyes, she could visualize a meadow of roses on fire, smoke encapsulating her until she could no longer breathe.

“Have you not figured it out yet? This is how I give you your memories back. I could do it the easy way. Let you drink a potion and move my powers through you to break the memory block of the curse. But that would be too easy, not painful enough. The mirrors don’t let your memories seep back into you. They cram them all in at once. The process is quicker, but it won’t feel that way. Your pain will last for days.” The blonde took her last step forward and pressed her hands into the mirror on either side of Vega’s head.

Vega didn’t wane, reminding herself of the person everyone told her she’d been. Even in the face of the sister who had spent the last fifty-five years tormenting her for fun, she told herself she wasn’t afraid.

She wasn’t scared of the sister who wanted her dead.

She wasn’t scared of what it would feel like to get her memories back.

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