Page 165 of Vengeance of the Gods

Meyer honed in on the bit of shared information, and within two minutes had him pinned.

Cheers came from the people around them. Bridger reached over the ring and popped his fist against Meyer’s like they always did. “Nice pacing, but you should have seen that knee move coming from a mile away.”

Meyer wiped his brow with the shirt he’d worn in, throwing it over his shoulder as he stepped out of the ring. “Yeah, yeah, I still won.”

Bridger chuckled. “Could have left without a bruised chin though…”

“Who’s next?” someone called from the other side of the room.

A man Bridger had never seen around before stepped forward, raising his hand. “Me!” And then before they could leave, the stranger turned and pointed at Bridger. “And I challenge him!”

The crowd went silent as Bridger looked from the tip of the man’s finger to his eyes. “Me?” he asked, with a raised brow and the puff of a laugh.

“Yes, you. Or is the commander’s son afraid to get his ass kicked?”

Okay, so this man was not only cocky, but stupid.

Bridger rolled his eyes, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “I’d like to see you try.”

That was the first night Bridger’s father set him up, allowing his son to be jumped by four grown men for the sake of “teaching his son to multitask in a fight.”

It would become the start of a new grueling training regimen.

And then Bridger and Meyer weren’t fourteen and fifteen… They were eighteen and nineteen.

“I’m going to marry that girl,” Bridger said as they strolled down the steps of the Aeris estate.

“You met her seven hours ago.” Meyer scoffed, slipping into the vehicle taking them back to Fortis since their parents had disappeared hours ago.

“So?” Bridger asked, following in behind him.

“Plus, that is not the sister your father was introducing you to.” Meyer reached under the seat and pulled out a flask, tipping his head back to take a swig.

“My father can manage every single part of my life, but I’ll be damned if I let him tell me who I’m allowed to fu⁠—”

“Okay, I get the point,” Meyer said with a small laugh, tossing the flask at Bridger. “Rumor has it she’s been promised to the dragons.”

A cocky smile slid over Bridger’s lips before he took a long pull of liquor from Meyer’s flask. “I didn’t see her eyeing the Fera boy all night.”

“He’s probably already been there, done that,” Meyer said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Bridger chucked the flask at Meyer in a warning. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

Meyer fumbled to catch the flask, eventually getting a good grip before he started to laugh. “Ohhhh, you’re fucked.”

He joined in because Meyer had been right.

Bridger was fucked from the moment he met Vega. The second their eyes met, he knew his destiny would be whatever aligned him with her.

He was doomed the day Vega stole his heart.

Bridger continued to dream of the life he’d lived with Meyer by his side, remembering everything there was to know about the best friend Bridger could have ever had.

51

Vega watched as Bridger’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Night had come and gone, and by the clock on the wall, Vega knew the sun had already risen and Vincere would be a buzz of movement outside the bedroom walls.

Unable to sleep, Vega crawled over Bridger, who didn’t budge when the mattress moved. She slid into her boots and closed the bedroom door behind her quietly. When she turned around, she nearly bumped into one of Bridger’s soldiers.