Page 21 of Vengeance of the Gods

Commander Dimico had been her enemy for forty years, had turned into a man who could stare Vega dead in the eyes and drive a dagger through her heart… but the man looking at her now wasn’t the commander she’d been forced to hate.

She couldn’t, no, she wouldn’t let herself forget. Just because a piece of the old him kept breaking through didn’t erase everything else.

Vega felt like she’d thrown her brain in a washing machine and turned it on Heavy Duty—she was giving herself whiplash with how fast her emotions changed.

“Does she have Khort?” Vega asked, her stomach souring more.

“No, he’s with the rebels.”

The word “rebels” made Vega tense.

Bridger must have noticed, adding, “He’s getting people out. Towns and cities all around Tolevarre are rioting after Marlena wiped out Solum.”

“Did you…?” Vega didn’t know what she was even trying to ask.

He shook his head. “She acted on her own, with her own people. My army went in after. There weren’t many left alive, but I ended up with a few new recruits."

He didn’t kill them…

If Solum was gone, Tolevarre would starve. Or at least the people who didn’t serve a purpose to her sister would.

After what felt like a lifetime, the sadness of putting Arlet in the way of Marlena turned to rage and the momentary pause between the two was over.

Vega jumped to her feet. “What game are you playing?” The wildcat was back. She felt hollow without her powers—she had the entire time she’d been back on Earth, but now more than ever she longed for the feeling of her electric current. “She sent you here, didn’t she?” Vega backed up.

“No,” he lied, backtracking immediately. “Well, yes, but it wasn’t her idea. It was mine.”

Vega’s laugh was full of vitriol. “Oh, and that makes it better?” She watched as Bridger took a slow inhale, trying to control himself.

“You think we could come to a mutual agreement about something?” he asked, successfully swallowing his anger.

Vega smirked sarcastically. “Probably not, but go on.”

Bridger tried and failed not to look irritated. “We’re in this mess together now. I couldn’t wait around, wondering if you’d gotten it right any longer. I had to know if you figured it out. I made the decision to come here on my own. You made the decision to trick the curse by yourself. Earth is obviously where we both thought we should be.”

“Yeah, you decided you wanted to come to Earth and save me all of a sudden?” Vega had never been a maiden in need of saving. Not the real Vega, at least.

He didn’t argue back and chose to ignore her smartass comment, which added to Vega’s annoyance. How dare he take the high road after everything he’s d⁠—

She was just about to tell him so when he interrupted her thoughts. “I can’t stop thinking about what would happen if your curse was destroyed. What would happen to the bonded if the one used as the glue to bind us was set free from a death curse?” He raised a brow, not giving her an opportunity to reply. “You’re being held back, and I think we’d all benefit from releasing you.” He raised a single shoulder nonchalantly. “And for some reason, I keep fucking dreaming of you.” She caught the twitch of his jaw muscle. “It has to mean something.”

“So what are you saying, Bridger? You chose Marlena, and now that you need something from me, you decide it’s time to come crawling back?” Vega’s voice was calm.

“You don’t have me on my hands and knees yet.” There was a tense pause hanging off the last word. “So what if that is my motive? Would you deny your cause the chance of winning because you’re bitter about the choices I made?” His response wasn’t remorseful. It was straight to the point—exactly how she’d expect him to be.

Vega couldn’t possibly decide right this second. The sound of a slamming door made her glance over her shoulder as a man exited from the back of a business and stared at them warily before stomping off. When he was gone, Vega turned her attention back to Bridger. “I don’t trust you,” she admitted unabashedly.

Bridger nodded. “I’d call you crazy if you did.”

Vega eyed him, rolling her gaze down his torso and back up. “It’s easy to make pretty promises when you’re a realm away.” She crossed her arms and popped her hip. “We aren’t friends, nothing you can do will change that, but we’re bound together. It's time we stop ignoring that. Or…” She paused to wag her hand at Bridger. “Blocking it out, whatever it is you did to betray the girl you loved.”

Bridger puffed a laugh through his lips. “Whether we like it or not, baby, we’re stuck with each other.” Bridger held up his wrist with the matching brand.

Vega glowered at the nickname, sending him a warning. “How did you find me?” Maybe if she asked him enough questions, she’d see the cracks in his shield—she’d be able to see through his lies.

“The same way Arlet does. I had a dream about where you were, and then somehow when I went through the new portal, it spit me out here. I found you minutes later, looking like you’d seen a ghost.”

Vega knew she had to have looked crazed, coming down from the awful high of whatever the fuck had been going on in her head and frantically trying to find the end of the invisible string attached to her heart.