Page 78 of Vengeance of the Gods

He’s going to tell her about Romulus and everything we learned.

Marlena would be preening right now if she had feathers. “And what was in it for you? What did you want in return?”

Bridger’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, the clatter of him banging against their mental door almost too loud to ignore. “That we find a way to break my bond from them. I live. They die.”

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

She hadn’t felt stupid when he was between her—she stopped the thought before it crossed her mind, ignoring the taste of him still on her lips from the kiss he’d so desperately needed when they’d made it back to Tolevarre.

How could that have been fake?

Arlet and Khort flanked Vega, preparing for the fight inevitably to come.

“And it seems you did a rather fantastic job.” Marlena laughed, her flames striking out again. “I hope you at least got to have a little fun with her.” She winked, and then Vega felt the world shatter.

Lightning blasted from inside, grounding her to the world she belonged in—the only world she’d ever fight for again.

Her blue lightning crawled across the ground, creeping slowly to form a circle of protection on the ground around her. That’s new. “We don’t leave without Bridger.” If he fell back into Marlena’s hands, there’s no telling what she’d do to him.

Everyone sprung into action. Khort was in the air before anyone could blink, wings creating a windstorm for Vega to play with as Arlet’s dragon—or whoever or whatever it was—soared into the sky and disappeared.

It was still there, camouflaged with the clouds. “That’s the craziest shit I’ve ever seen.” Vega laughed, a newfound excitement in her tone.

We’re going to be unstoppable.

How many surprises would the bonded have now that their powers and connection weren’t being suffocated by a curse?

Bridger hopped over the tendrils of electricity beginning to surround him. Even without any weapons, Bridger could wipe this battlefield clean, so she let the power be his distraction. The lightning followed him, wriggling towards him with a magnetic drawl.

Vega wanted to watch, to see how her powers reached for Bridger’s touch, but Marlena started prowling around her in a tight circle, her beast-like claws tearing through her skin.

“You think because you broke your curse, you’ve won?” Marlena asked.

“One step closer than you are right now, and doesn’t that just really, really piss you off?” Vega put space between them, watching her sister’s every move. “I know more about the curse you created than you ever will.” Her smile was big, stretching ear to ear as a taunt to Marlena.

“All you did was level the playing field for the first time since this began. I don’t mind a little excitement. A little pressure,” Marlena hissed, diving towards Vega with her claws.

With her powers fully restored and a new one waiting to be released, Vega couldn’t waste any time, couldn’t let herself think about what was next. She had to show Marlena who she’d helped create.

Marlena’s claws dug into Vega’s back, breaking the skin and sinking into the meat of her shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Vega wrapped her hand around her sister’s wrist, and an explosion no one but Vega could feel ruptured inside her mind.

The vibration she’d felt under her feet outside the door leading to Bridger erupted, shadows shooting from an infinite pit.

A darkness unlike anything Vega had ever felt before crawled its way out, but when it emerged… it didn’t come after Vega like she’d expected.

No. It’s sitting at my feet, waiting for its first kill.

“Feed me,” it growled with a voice that sounded like it hadn’t been used in thousands of years.

The world moved on around them. Vega could hear the wind clipping the wings of the dragons overhead, feel Bridger fighting with a rebellion soldier—not killing any who came after him. Saw him wielding a… sword of lightning? When she blinked and took a breath, everything else fell away, and all that was left was Marlena, Vega, and her hunger for death.

A piercing scream tore through Marlena’s lips, her face turning red and eyes bulging as frigid heat traveled down Vega’s arm. Marlena couldn’t fight Vega’s hold, couldn’t move underneath her paralyzing touch.

Vega’s veins turned black at her wrist, creeping up her arm as Marlena’s claws retracted, her fingers scarred and bleeding where they’d once been. A splatter of blood peppered Marlena’s face in red.

Vega lost herself to the surge of power, eyelashes fluttering from the gentle ripple of something new making itself at home inside her. Her darkened veins looked like black lightning skittering up her arms, pumping a rush of pleasure straight to her brain.

Pleasure.