Page 96 of Vengeance of the Gods

The water-wielder Vega tried so hard to place wiped his lip, smearing blood across his cheek. “Well, for starters, the rebels think⁠—”

“Consider your next words wisely, Jak.” Bridger’s voice ricocheted off the cave walls, commanding attention without having to try.

The name made a connection. Jak was Junie’s twin… Junie, the soldier who’d been used as one of Vega’s personal torture devices by Marlena.

Junie’s power wasn’t one Vega would be forgetting anytime soon.

Bridger strode through the room like he owned the place. He cut her a look, smiling like Vega was the only person in the room, and then returned to the asshole army commander everyone else knew. “You are now a rebel.” He stopped beside Arlet, who nodded at his words. “The second you decided to join me, you became one.”

Leo came up on Vega’s other side, leaning in to whisper, “I knew the princess nickname would stick.”

She flicked her wrist, popping him on the arm hard enough to sting. “He will kill you.”

Leo’s bright smile had Vega wondering if the fire-wielder had a secret death wish.

“They don’t even want us here,” another one of Bridger’s soldiers added, with a few mumbling their agreements in unison.

Arlet huffed a laugh. “Well, that sucks because we lose this war otherwise.” Straightforward—Vega breathed a sigh of relief at the realistic approach.

They were out of time, unable to waste what little they had left babying their people.

“I understand this is probably hard. I mean, look, I’ve been tasked with spending all my time with Commander Dickhe—Dimico, sorry.” Leo corrected himself under Vega’s stern glare.

She’d called Bridger that one gods-damned time in front of Leo while they were running together at Castra, and now the man couldn’t let it go!

“You two are closer than I originally thought…” Bridger’s agitation burned white-hot, embers of his jealousy warming Vega’s blood.

“Why do they have you locked up like a prisoner? That’s what this really boils down to!” A young girl with a scar from the corner of her jaw to the tip of her nose spoke up. “If they can’t trust you, then how are we supposed to trust them?” Her stare fell on Vega.

Bridger’s mouth opened, but he was interrupted by another one of his men.

“We’re here because of you, and yet we haven’t even seen you at all until now, when we cause a huge scene.”

“Doesn’t seem fair,” another added.

The room buzzed with conversation, and it wasn't good chatter. They got louder the longer their leaders stayed quiet.

Leo leaned towards Vega again, whispering out the side of his mouth, “Feel free to jump in anytime, Princess.”

In an instant, Bridger was in between them, towering over Leo. “Call her that one more fucking time, and I’ll mount your head in my cell like a trophy.” His anger shook the cave walls, small pebbles falling from the ceiling. Bridger’s soldiers froze, and the others soon followed. “Enough.” A whisper was all it took to quiet the room.

Leo’s Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed, nodding tightly to show he understood his threat.

Bridger shifted his attention from Leo to the group of pale-faced soldiers. “My whereabouts and the reason I’m choosing to stay in a cell are not up for debate. The in-fighting stops now, or we’ve already lost this war, and we might as well surrender now.”

“Sir, what’s the plan here?” the girl with the scar asked. “We can’t hide in the caves forever. We won’t…”

Bridger let the question fall on Vega’s shoulders, shifting the room’s focus with his gaze.

Everyone stared, waiting. Vega felt the weight of every life in this room, knew what she’d traded her soul for.

Because that’s what I did… I traded my soul for the darkness inside me. For death.

Her dark pet fluttered its wings, reminding her it hadn’t retreated back to the depths where it disappeared to sometimes, doing gods knows what while gone. It rested itself on the edge, a hind leg hanging down lazily.

“C’mon, Kitten. Don’t be shy now.”

Bridger’s words sparked something inside her—she’d never felt like a leader. Not when most of her life had been spent trying to find herself… but Vega was the reason the four were bonded at all.