Prologue

Blood pooled in the palm of his hand as he pressed his dagger with enough pressure to cut through the first couple layers of skin. Bridger looked up to see the other three doing the same. He met a piercing gaze, eyes bluer than the sea beyond the cliff.

"Are we sure this is what we want to do?" Khort asked, eyeing the group. The small fire they'd started roared to life as the cold winter air licked their skin.

"I'm not letting her win." Vega's voice was hoarse, her makeup staining her rosy cheeks from the tears she'd wept. "I will do this with or without all of you," she replied with finality.

Vega had lost so much in such a short amount of time. Her sister blindsided everyone around her with not so much as a whisper of what she was plotting or who she'd been scheming with. Marlena took the lives of innocent people, her parents included. But Vega was here, still willing to fight harder than anyone.

The small, sad smile she shot Bridger warmed his insides, rattled his bones, and solidified his decision. There was no going back—he would fight until death beside them, beside her. "I'm not going anywhere. "

Vega took her ocean eyes off Bridger the moment Arlet spoke. "Me either. I have nothing left to lose but you three. The consequence of dying together is better than living without you."

"If we fail, we die. Everyone understands what happens here, right?" There were tales that the dead gods could be summoned, but no one had ever heard of it being done. Rumor had it that if one was successfully called upon, they'd suck the summoner dry of their powers, killing them in the process as an attempt to take back what had been stolen from them.

Bridger slid the dagger across his other palm and placed it back into the sheath on his thigh. He reached out his hand, offering it to Khort, who looked at his bloodied palm, his green eyes flicking around the small circle.

Khort had the most to lose here. His parents were still alive somewhere in Tolevarre, undoubtedly waiting for their son to find them. Khort nodded. "We get to my parents as soon as we can. Promise?" They all nodded in return. He reached for his blade, sliced both of his palms without a wince, and linked his hand to Bridger's.

Arlet followed suit, taking the dagger Vega handed her to slit her palms, and reached out to connect her hands with Khort and Vega.

Vega's eyes found Bridger's again as she reached for his hand and gave it a little squeeze before she spoke—their circle was complete. "I love you." Her voice quivered with anticipation.

Bridger took in the sight of her, frazzled and yet somehow still so fucking gorgeous, so strong, so capable. This woman was going to change their world. "You're the air that I breathe—my life. I'd follow you to the underworld if you asked," Bridger responded.

Vega's eyes wandered over the three of them: her closest confidants, her best friends, and the love of her life. Her breath hitched in her throat, but a cold fire burned behind those icy eyes. "You two, thank you for everything. I wouldn't want to do this life without either of you. "

Tears rolled down Arlet's cheeks. "This isn't goodbye, Vega. I believe in you. If anyone can do this, it's you."

There was no more time to waste. With the power of the god of gods running through her veins, Vega flipped her gaze to the stars above and took one last deep breath.

The trees around the meadow's opening began to rattle with fresh wind. Vega was summoning something dark, something they'd never want to mess with unless they were absolutely desperate.

They were desperate.

"I call upon you today for protection. For guidance. For our people. I call upon you to bond these bloods, to help us make what's been wronged right. To avenge the innocent lives that have been lost. To kill my sister."

Bridger put his head down and shut his eyes despite the urge to scoop Vega into his arms and shield her from the hurt she was feeling. He tightened his hand around hers, letting her know that he was with her every step of the way—forever.

He felt something watching them, his body vibrating with the darkness closing around them. Vega stiffened, alerting Bridger that she felt it too, but they all knew the consequences if she broke the connection now.

She continued to speak. "We come seeking your help to defeat the evil you saw growing within the original gods. To protect the people of our realm from the wicked inside it."

The urge to defend was too much to ignore. Bridger's eyes shot open, his powers roaring to the surface as the fire shot thirty feet into the air. The commitment to protect was so deeply rooted inside of him, but he wouldn't move his hands until the last second, keeping their connection to whatever or whoever had joined them.

Khort opened his eyes, sweeping the horizon like he might shift and take off into the night sky at any second.

"Bind us. Let us fight. We are stronger than her together. We can get the revenge you never got the chance to see." Vega's voice grew louder.

The wind picked up. Khort flinched, but Bridger shook his head and mouthed, No . Vega would alert them if she felt this going south. Bridger didn't want to die before he had the chance to fight back.

"Do not let us die like you did thousands of years ago!" Vega's voice rang through the air above them.

That seemed to do it.

A shock went through them, starting with Vega. It blazed through them one by one, a cry of agony flying out of Arlet's mouth as the power shuddered through her. None of them could run to her aid if they tried—they were stuck in place by the power consuming them.

A voice inside Bridger's head said, "I saved her. Do not waste this opportunity."