Page 20 of Vengeance of the Gods

This time, it was Vega’s back against a wall.

Bridger reached for her face, and Vega didn’t flinch, didn’t move. He gripped her jaw so gently she might not have known he was touching her if it weren’t for the warmth of his skin and the tingles traveling through his fingertips like little tendrils of her lightning. He turned her head to the side, getting a better look. “Vega…”

Her name from his lips reminded her of the conversation they were having before, of how badly she didn’t want to remember the inhuman stare of Chase’s black eyes. “That’s not important right now… You said portal? Like, the portal that’s supposed to be in California?” Vega asked, trying to distract and pull herself away from Bridger.

He was too close. Vega couldn’t think with him this close.

She hated the way he made her head feel clouded. He shouldn’t make her feel anything but malice.

Her distraction didn’t work. Bridger let her jaw go, though, standing his ground. “Who hurt you, Vega?”

They didn’t have time to get into this right now. “Everyone! Everyone has hurt me! The curse, Chase, Marlena, this world!” Vega threw her arms up, exasperated. “You,” she said on a breath.

Bridger flinched like she’d slapped him, taking a step back.

“Something is happening. Something is different in this life. We don’t have time to worry about who and what is hurting me. This world is always going to try to hurt me. I don’t belong here.” Vega swallowed, and she could feel the tenderness in her throat now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

Bridger stood unmoving except for the rise and fall of his chest.

“How did you get here from California?” she asked, her tone direct.

A muscle in Bridger’s jaw ticked, and the veins in his arms looked like they might burst from the force of his clenched fists. Vega could tell he was fighting against losing himself to rage, a natural reaction inside him as a blood-born warrior.

Bridger was trained to keep calm in situations like this—but sometimes even Tolevarre’s best let their masks slip.

It took some time for him to answer. “Not that portal… a new one,” he said while motioning to the cut on his chest. Blood had finally stopped dripping from the deep gash, but it smeared over his exposed skin. “Marlena made it, but apparently someone or something didn’t like that because it didn’t feel right. And there was a voice…” He paused, thinking about his next words. “It exploded.”

“What do you mean, it exploded?” Vega asked through a rush of shock, making her sidestep to stop herself from swaying.

“I mean…” Bridger closed his fists and opened them, mimicking the sound of an explosion. He cocked his head, confusion marring his stupid-handsome face.

Vega’s shock turned to fear in an instant. “Fuck, Bridger. FUCK!” Her voice echoed down the alley. Vega paced, her boots scraping against the old stone beneath her feet. “Why? Why would you come here? I was figuring it out on my own.” She definitely wasn’t.

A thought hit Vega, and her feet skidded to a stop. “Where’s Arlet? Why isn’t Arlet here?”

Bridger’s lips parted, and a sinking feeling seized control of Vega’s body.

“No,” she said, exhaling. “No.” Vega shook her head. She already knew, even before Bridger spoke.

“Marlena has her.”

Vega didn’t notice her knees had buckled until Bridger was on his in front of her.

“She can’t kill her.” His fingers found the bottom of her chin, pulling her face up to meet his strong gaze. “She’s going to be okay.”

She couldn’t take the physical contact. It sent her body into overdrive. It craved the simmering touch of Bridger’s fingertips, but Vega’s brain wasn’t on the same page.

“Don’t you fucking touch me.” The warning imitated a snarling wildcat.

Bridger’s hand shot back like he was dealing with one.

“I let Arlet down.” Tears burned her eyes, but she wasn’t willing to let them spill in front of him. “Death isn’t the worst thing Marlena can do to us.” She clenched her jaw and swallowed the lump in her throat.

“I know,” he whispered.

The pain in those two words was a kick to Vega’s gut. He knew… because he spent two years locked away with her.

Vega saw the man she’d fallen in love with. The softness he’d once reserved for her was back in his eyes—he looked like Bridger… not Commander Dimico.