Page 26 of Heart of the Villain

Marlena would save her. She would make sure Vega made it out alive, even if Marlena chose to burn the rest of the world down around them.

“It was about time I took charge of my wardrobe a little, huh?” Marlena had always been jealous of Vega’s freedom, of all the choices she was allowed to make for herself that Marlena wasn’t.

Vega’s black ball gown was slit from the floor to her hip, with lace accents that gave peeps of her skin. The straps holding the dress up were thin, and her neckline plunged to above her navel. Vega’s dark brown hair was pulled away from her face in her signature braids, but it fell over her shoulders in tamed waves. The smoky makeup accented the color of her eyes, and her lips were painted with nothing more than a pop of glossy burgundy.

Vega looked like a blooming storm on an autumn day. “I love it.” She gave Marlena a small smile, and she could see the apology in Vega’s eyes before she opened her mouth. “About earlier…”

Marlena held her hand up, ready to tell her it was okay, before they were interrupted by the sound of their father’s voice. “Marlena.”

Both daughters turned to face Jonan, whose attention was glued to the version of Marlena she’d chosen to present herself as. She didn’t pay much attention to her father, because Commander Dimico loomed over his shoulder. His wife appeared beside him, and then his son.

Marlena hadn’t seen Bridger since the meeting where his dad had determined her fate, and gods, had he grown. He was handsome then, with a jaw so sharp glass could be cut on it, but now? Now, he owned the body he lived in. Gone was a boy, and in his place was the confidence of a man who would one day command an army.

For only a second, their eyes met, and before Marlena could officially introduce herself, his gaze wandered… and when it did, Marlena watched his face soften, his eyes glazing over, and a muscle in his jaw ticked.

Marlena studied the man who should have been hers fall instantly head over heels in love with her little sister. It was clear as the morning sun rising behind the mountains of Stella.

The world could have spun a hundred times before anyone spoke, until Marlena realized anyone was speaking.

“Bridger, my daughter, future leader of Aeris and Amora. Marlena.” Jonan gestured to Marlena, forcing Bridger’s gaze off Vega.

“Marlena.” He said her name like he was sucking on a sour candy. “Pleasure.” Bridger grabbed her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back… but as soon as he was done, his eyes whipped back to Vega. “And your name is?”

“Vega,” her sister answered with a gleam in her eyes.

“Vega.” When he repeated her name, it was saccharine. He took his time. He greeted her in the same way he had Marlena, but with Vega, his lips lingered on her skin for noticeably longer, and the eye contact between them felt like everyone around them was interrupting a private moment.

“No wonder they’ve kept you away from us. A striking young man like yourself wouldn’t last a night around a bunch of hormonal teens.”

Marlena watched their back-and-forth banter. Oh no.

Vega was smitten… and when Vega caught someone’s attention, it wasn’t often she lost it. Khort, for example.

This was going to get ugly.

Lucius stared down his nose at Marlena, his eyebrows creasing in the middle—he realized it too.

There’s no going back, Marlena. You’ve made your decision. Now it’s time to get what you’ve always wanted.

Twenty Years Old

Dinner ended, and her parents didn’t let her get very far before summoning her to a private meeting. Before she stepped through the doors to her parents’ office space, she knew what the meeting would be about.

“Let’s get this over with.” Marlena strode in on a breeze of her own making. It wasn’t often she opened a door with her hands anymore. Marlena was starting to use her powers to remind those around her of what she could do—she couldn’t command the skies, but she could control the very air people breathed, and she could do so without being seen.

And sometimes that was scarier than the storms that came with warnings.

Ryanna sat atop her desk, legs crossed. Jonan stood on the other side, leaning lazily while eyeing Marlena as she walked in.

“It seems the deal you made with Lucius has gone up in smoke.” Jonan stood to his full height, towering over her mother on the desk. Marlena got her height from him.

All of Stella heard the storm over Lake Mons, and everyone knew where it had come from. When Vega and Bridger didn’t show up for dinner, the energy in the dining room grew tense. The two had been spending a lot of time together, but it was always with friends—as friends. Marlena spent her fair share of time with them, along with Khort and Arlet.

But it didn’t take a scholar to see the two were hiding their feelings for the sake of others. The two weren’t supposed to be together. Vega had been promised to Khort before she’d ever had the chance to choose for herself. Their parents had made that decision for her, for him—to better the chances of producing powerful offspring.

“You let your sister swoop in and take the one opportunity you might have had to hold some real power.” Ryanna filed at her nails aimlessly. Lately she made it seem as if anything to do with Marlena was a bore—like her eldest daughter wasn’t even worth her attention.

It made Marlena want to crawl out of her skin—made her want to tear into her mother’s just so she knew she was still there, to warn her of the problem she would become.