Page 131 of Vengeance of the Gods

The gates to the main entrance of the underground barracks opened, and a line of soldiers filed out. They all carried the dead.

“We decided we’d rather die fighting for our own lives than fighting for hers.” He did. Meyer defected and followed Bridger.

Bridger closed the distance between himself and Meyer, pulling him into a big hug.

“Better late than never, huh?” Meyer asked, the question muffled from their embrace.

Meyer had and always would be Bridger’s brother. Neither of them had any real siblings, but Bridger had never believed it was blood that made you family. “Thank you.”

“I would have been back sooner… but more and more soldiers kept coming forward about wanting to leave when I got to Fortis.” Meyer looked over his shoulder. “I couldn’t leave them.”

Bridger would never, had never, second-guessed his decision in making Meyer his general.

Without another word, everyone but Nora went to work clearing the bodies from the bunker.

Halo went from room to room, marking ones that needed extensive cleaning. Soldiers went through and wiped any trace of blood away, erasing Bridger’s failures.

He’d locked himself away in his head, focusing only on setting the souls of his soldiers free.

They deserved a rightful burning, if nothing else could be given.

The body count was up to 894 soldiers… and they were still finding more.

It took a few more hours to burn the rest of their dead, condemning their souls to whatever afterlife was awaiting.

“Nora’s sleeping,” Vega told Bridger. She’d gone to check on her once the bodies had been cleared.

“Good.” He’d been short with Vega since arriving. Bridger wasn’t used to letting people see his darkest parts… and having Vega inside his head when he felt seconds away from losing himself in knowing what she’d done, that was going to be the darkest anyone had seen Bridger yet.

It was bad the first time Bridger lost Vega, and he’d just gotten her back.

Bridger wouldn’t survive a second loss.

No. I will not fucking lose her. He wouldn’t let himself entertain the possibility, choosing to concentrate on what really mattered—finding a way to change Vega’s fate.

“What do you need?” The question made him stop and pause.

He didn’t respond for a moment. He glanced down at himself, covered in dried blood, dirt, sand, and gods knew what else. It was all a mixture from battle and from cleaning up the dead. “A shower.” Bridger’s stomach rumbled. “And food.” He looked up to find Meyer standing by the pyre, staring into the flame he’d started himself. “Stay in my office. I’ll come to you. Let me check in on Meyer.”

Vega tugged him into her mind, letting him see her feet kicked up on his desk, her freshly washed hands not matching the rest of her body skimming through paperwork that had been strewn across his desk. “Take your time. I’m studying.”

Studying. Snooping. Same thing, right?

Halo had gone back to the caves to let everyone know it was safe to travel, staying behind in case a message needed to get to Bridger and Vega.

The rest of the soldiers who’d come with Meyer were cleaning up last minute things and settling in for the night. The day had quickly disappeared as the cool night air slipped over Ardor. It was a welcome break from the blistering heat they’d worked in all day.

Bridger approached Meyer, and neither said anything for a moment, simply sending up private prayers to gods they all now knew weren’t there to listen anymore.

“So, should I start praying to you then or would you prefer I worship Vega instead?”

Meyer was grinning like a fool when Bridger glanced his way. “Ha-ha. You’re sooo funny.” Bridger glowered, folding his arms across his chest. “You can start referring to me as the god of wrath if you’d like.”

“I hate that.” Meyer sneered, and they both laughed like they weren’t watching the bodies of their soldiers burn.

“How about we leave the praying to the acolytes? We’re better off strategizing, prioritizing, and scheming instead,” Bridger said as he watched an ember flutter down and land on his filthy shirt.

“You’ve got a plan then,” Meyer stated.