Page 159 of Vengeance of the Gods

What a full circle moment.

Miklov, Zetta’s husband and a very strong fire-wielder, sat to her left, and an empty chair where Zetta should be sitting was to her right.

“I don’t give a shit about Ardor. Vega stole something from me, and I want it back. Now sit before I break your legs and make you.” Marlena had been reeling since Vega took her fire, but she had to stay calm—had to keep her head on straight.

Have to keep my people in line.

The gods had been unhappy with her after losing Diana, but when Vega snatched Vulcan from them, they’d become nearly unbearable.

“Get him back.”

“You’re making us look bad.”

“We chose you.”

Zetta slowly sank to her chair, unable to relax.

Ardor had been sucked dry by its own people, taking more than they should have when Marlena’s rule began. There was nothing left here for Marlena to fight over. If the rebels wanted the tattered fucking mess, fine. She’d let them have it… but Vega couldn’t have her fire.

If she wanted to give the people of Tolevarre a safe place to live before Marlena found a way to crush them all out of existence, then Vega would give her what she wanted.

Consequences. They were one of Marlena’s very favorite things to deal in.

The door swung open on a gust of wind that wasn’t Marlena’s, and in strolled her dear baby sister with Bridger and Meyer in tow. “You’re so predictable,” Vega snapped.

“Meyer,” Zetta gasped. She stood, moving across the room to her son. She slammed into the shield Marlena knew was there, encompassing the three of them inside Bridger’s protective circle.

Too bad she wasn’t allowed to cross into the shield…

Marlena sighed, pulling at her wind like a rope. It wrapped itself around Zetta’s ankles and slammed her face-first onto the hard floor. The sound of her nose breaking and teeth shattering filled the space, followed by Meyer lunging to help.

Bridger didn’t let the shield go, trapping him from getting to his mother.

“I told her to sit.” Marlena pulled back on the tendrils of her wind and dragged an unconscious Zetta across the floor, blood smearing her path. “Didn’t I, Miklov?” she asked, raising a brow.

He nodded, a bead of sweat forming across his brow.

“Speak,” she commanded, treating the people who’d once been her allies as dogs.

Her allies had only been a stepping stone. Once she met the gods, she no longer needed anyone else.

“Yes, you told her to sit.” Miklov swallowed, throat bobbing.

“What else did I say to her?” she asked, leaning towards him in the chair, twirling a piece of her bright blonde hair playfully.

Miklov’s nails dug into the wooden armrests. “That you’d break her legs if she didn’t.” His dark skin blanched, eyes fixed straight ahead at the wall on the other end of the room.

Marlena smiled at him before standing. “So, I guess I was nicer than I could have been, than I should have been.” She walked to the edge of the shield and looked Vega right in the eyes. “That’s good news for you. It means I’m in a good mood, and I’m feeling generous.”

Vega took a step towards her, putting them inches apart, the shield the only thing keeping Marlena from ripping Vega’s heart out. Too bad Marlena was way up here, and Vega way down there—her sister had to tilt her head to look up to her. “It’s over, Marlena. Ardor is ours. We’re freeing the people in the mines as we speak. Leave before anyone has to die.”

Marlena chuckled. “Did you think that’d work? Really, honestly. Did you?” She asked. “I don’t care who dies. I don’t care what you’ve become. You will never be able to intimidate me.”

The way Vega’s lips curled into a slow smile sent the gods inside Marlena spiraling. “Liar.”

“Get away from her.”

“She will take us.”