Page 41 of Vengeance of the Gods

He went kicking and screaming, calling Marlena every name in the book as he tried to dig the heels of his boots into the stones underneath him.

Bridger flew through the air like a weightless sack, ribs shattering when he hit the back wall. He wasn’t even sure he screamed, unable to hear over the ringing in his ears.

Through the spots in his vision, he watched Marlena turn the corner and leave him alone.

“No,” Bridger squeaked, realizing he couldn’t speak without pain.

He crawled across the floor until he reached the bars of the cell. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here, and he was too far into the dungeon to recognize where he’d been taken.

Bridger spent the next few hours losing and regaining consciousness.

One of the times he came to, a hand was around his wrist, and the throbbing in his head seemed to subside the longer the touch was there.

The healer mended his big wounds, leaving the smaller ones to crack and bleed again when he moved. Bridger knew he was being healed only to be broken again. Marlena was going to keep him at the brink of death until she got her way… or got tired of him.

Bridger measured the passing of time by the light shining from a small window at the end of the hall.

He saw no one for what felt like days, and the churning in his stomach was no longer just from the pain but from hunger and guilt.

Arlet and Khort were out there by themselves, fighting a battle he should be beside them for. They’d lost Vega again… and this time so quickly.

It happened so fast.

He could still hear the crack of her neck echoing in his mind.

The click of heels echoed down the hall, amplifying the memory of Vega’s snapping neck. Bridger’s hands shot to cover his ears, but he could still hear the haunting crack. A scream ripped through his chest, drowning out the sound of Marlena’s approach.

He didn’t hear the cell door open.

Didn’t smell the waft of smoke coming off Marlena’s burning hands.

Couldn’t feel her fingers under his chin as she forced Bridger to look up at her. “I will break you down until there’s nothing left of the Bridger she loves.”

Those words would terrorize him for the next two fucking years… and then for the rest of his life.

Light blinded him, air rushing into his lungs from the sharp inhale he gasped. If it weren’t for the restraint over his lap, Bridger would have gone flying out of the seat.

He continued to pant, sucking in deep breaths until he registered the hands on his face.

Vega.

She forced him to look at her. “Relax. You’re on a plane. You can’t freak out right now.”

Bridger’s eyes scanned her face, taking in the look she was giving him. It wasn’t pity. It wasn’t fear. It was understanding.

She knew what it was like to remember the things you didn’t want to.

“It was just a dream,” she said.

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t just a dream.

It was his life.

It was the memories he threw away like trash while Vega fought to keep hers.

Her touch was driving him mad, the buzz of their shared bond loud in his head. Bridger pulled his face out of her hands and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths.

“Bridger—”