Chapter 31

31

The silence was deafening. Vega's ears rang with the echoes of her gargled screams. She'd finally given up hours ago—she'd screamed until she could taste blood. Her throat felt like sandpaper had torn it to shreds piece by piece until her jugular was exposed.

Her fingertips were burned from the brand on her forearm. Vega had tried to claw the nasty mark off her body in hopes it would release her powers back to her.

It didn't work, only leaving her more wounded.

Vega curled into a corner to try and find what little bit of warmth was hiding in the shadows. The suit she was in did help with being exposed to the elements, but not enough to stop the goosebumps from forming over the new brand on her arm.

The brand was small, covering only a quarter-size space on her forearm. Vega tried to peel the skin off, digging her nails underneath until the pain was too much to handle.

She rested her head on the hard wall, her knees pulled up to her chest. A sob made her chest heave. After hours of playing tough, Vega let the sorrow and fear take over. The floodgates opened, and tears poured from her eyes.

All of her life—this life—she'd found a way to pick up the pieces and move on, however reluctant she might have felt. How was she supposed to do that now?

Footsteps sounded through the quiet hall. Vega jumped up, readying herself to fight.

Come on, lightning! What good are you if you can be taken from me so easily? The brand on her arm seared when she tried to call on her abilities.

A hand popped through the cell bars. "Here." A man appeared on the other side seconds after. His vacant stare was cold, annoyed.

Vega honed in on the container of water he was holding. "No." She scowled. Vega knew better than to trust the food and water given to her down here.

The man rolled his eyes and let it fall to the ground. "Suit yourself. I'm here to babysit, not to make sure you don't die from dehydration." The dented canteen rolled to a stop next to her feet, the metal clanging against the stones.

The guard leaned against a beam with his back towards her, staring at the stairwell down the hall—not a single threat to worry about. Vega fizzled with anger, not just from this but from everything that happened today. Getting herself into this position, pushing to get her memories back as fast as she could, the entire interaction with Bridger—had he felt the jolt that went through them when he touched her upstairs?

She thought about the sensation that rocked her body the entire way down to the dungeon, barely giving herself time to look around as he marched her to her new personal version of hell.

Vega should have been paying more attention to how she could escape, not her captor ex-lover's touch.

She snatched the full container from the floor, moving with an expeditious speed, and lofted it in the guard's direction through the bars. Her aim wasn't any good, so when it cracked him in the back of the head, Vega's smile crowded her face. "Tell Bridger to suck my dick!" Her sister wouldn't have been the one to send her the water, that much she knew for sure.

Her smile faltered when the guard turned around and icicles sprouted from his hands.

Vega skidded away from the bars as the man rushed towards her. An ice missile shot from his hand and pierced through Vega's calf, sending her sailing to the ground below. She caught herself, wailing at the pain in her leg.

The cell door creaked with a warning. Vega had no time to prepare herself for a fight. His hands were frigid against her skin, the material of her suit wrapped up in his fist as he heaved her from her seated position.

"Listen here, you little bitch!" His voice was loud in Vega's ear, his breath hot against her cheek as he spat his words. "You're supposed to be long dead already, and that little stunt you pulled might have cost you another life with no memories." He shook her, her head whacking against the wall behind her with a crack.

Vega felt like her head might explode as fear roared inside her chest. I'm not ready to die. She did the only thing she could think of to save herself and drove her thumbs into his eyes like every true crime podcast on Earth told her to do during an attack.

Only one thumb sank in, and the pop his left eyeball made when she pushed against the inside of his socket made acid rise in the back of her throat.

A piercing scream erupted from his chest, his icy grip releasing. Vega didn't have time to waste. The ice was still protruding from her calf, the temperature of her body not helping it melt fast enough. As she hobbled away, wincing in pain, she ripped the icicle from her leg, and a scream of her own bubbled out as blood poured from the open wound.

Vega tried to focus on the task at hand: escaping. But the pain slowed her down to a hobbled jog .

The guard roared behind her, his heavy steps exiting the cell. "You're dead!" The voice was too close. Too close.

Her breathing was heavy, her heart threatening to beat outside of her chest as she took the first three steps too slowly. He's going to kill you if you don't MOVE FASTER! Vega wanted to cry out in frustration. She forced herself to pick up the pace, ignoring the pain trying to slow her down.

Ice exploded by her head. Vega ducked, not daring to look over her shoulder. All her momentum pushed her up, praying to any god, dead or alive, who would listen— let me get out of here. A hand tangling in the hair at the back of her scalp stopped her, pulling her down, down, down.

Vega felt every step dig into her on the way, her shoulder taking the brunt of the final fall. There was no time to catch her breath, no time to get off the floor. Air never reentered her lungs, her chest seizing when the guard's heel pressed into her breastbone. Vega felt a rib pop inward, sending a new wave of pain up her side.

The guard's bloody hand covered her mouth, stifling her scream. Hot tears spilled out of her eyes, her breathing shallow, and every inhale felt like fire charring her skin.

"It's too late for crying. You should have thought about your actions much earlier. I'm going to enjoy this next part."

Vega heard the knife before she saw it, the swish of the blade leaving its sheath. Out of pure fear, she chomped down, biting his finger straight to the bone. Definitely harder than biting through a carrot. The guard retaliated quickly, driving his dagger into her shoulder blade.

This was it. She was going to die at the hands of some guard with an ego problem. She would have to start all over, making this life and all the others before it a complete waste. Vega didn't feel bad for herself—she felt for the friends who kept fighting for someone who never won.

Dying for good might be the best thing I can do for them. Would this be the final thought she ever had?

The guard pulled the knife out and recentered his aim, arms raised for the killing strike. Vega couldn't lift her arm, the pain growing too strong.

No matter how much the voice in her head told her to fight, she couldn't. I'm going to die.

A new voice sliced through the room. "Grimes, what the fuck?"

The guard, Grimes, didn't move, but he no longer held the knife over Vega's chest.

"The little bitch started it, and I'm going to show her what it means to finish something. Look at what she did to my eye!" His hand with the blade rose again, but before the knife struck Vega's chest, the other guard snatched it from his grip and knocked him to the side.

"Commander will have your head. What were you thinking?"

Vega heard them talking but had nothing left. All she could do was focus on the short rasps of her breathing.

"Your eye will heal." The man took a breath. "Maybe. That looks fucked up, dude."

Grimes turned back to Vega with veins popping on his neck from rage, rushing towards her with easy strides. "I'm going to kill her."

The new guy jumped in front of his path. "If she's gone in the morning, your life won't reset like hers. Gods, Grimes, you're foolish." He stood over Vega, taking in her battered body. "I came here to relieve you for the night. Commander wants all level sevens ready to leave for Ardor in the morning." There was no movement. "Now! Before I summon the commander myself."

Footsteps and mumbled grumbles faded as Grimes took his leave. "Felix, you fucking kiss-ass."

The new guard looked at Vega, eyes scanning her body. He reached down and scooped her up, gentler than she expected. "I'm sorry about him." His words were soft like a warm blanket. He sat her down in her cell, and Vega chirped at the discomfort .

"Please. Get. Me. Out. Of. Here." She dragged a breath between each word.

"No can do, Sweets, but you're still in luck. I'm a healer before a soldier, and I'm going to get you fixed up. You won't be good as new, but I guarantee you'll feel better than you do now." The man's voice was honeyed, unlike any enemy Vega had met yet. He continued to talk to her as his warm hands, so much warmer than the hands that had just defiled her, worked over her body.

Vega cried out when her rib popped back into place.

The man spoke up. "Take a deep breath. You're going to be okay."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to die," Vega cried.

Destined to die.

A welcome feeling followed her words—the out-of-body experience of the curse giving her back a memory. Typically, she would panic and fight the inevitable blackout… but as the pain seared through her body, Vega closed her eyes and slipped into her mind, where at least she wouldn't feel anything—where her memories held her tightly and made her feel less alone.

An older woman's face floated into view, her jaw falling open while her hand outstretched to help Vega off the cold marble underneath her.

"Miss Vega, I'm so sorry." Her doe eyes fluttered to someone standing behind Vega, panic fluttering across her face.

"Oh, please, I—" Vega started, pushing herself off the ground.

"Gods, watch where you're going! You could have hurt her!" Marlena said from behind her.

She looked over Vega, grabbing her by the shoulders to check her inch by inch as if she'd been to battle and not taken a small tumble to the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Marlena. Of course," the older woman croaked, bending down to pick up the winter decorations that fluttered to the floor when she'd collided with Vega.

"Marlena, I'm fine," Vega said, but Marlena continued to check her over. "I said I'm fine!" Vega snatched herself out of her sister's grasp, meeting her matching eyes with a glare.

"You're lucky she's fine, or—" Vega didn't let Marlena finish.

"It was my fault. I was walking backwards, not looking where I was going. She didn't mean to. Calm down." Vega's dark hair was pulled back from her face with braids while the rest tumbled past her shoulders.

"No, my apologies. Your sister is right. I should have been paying attention."

"It was an accident. It's okay." Vega had long forgotten about her bumped elbow, bending down to help gather the scattered decor.

"Miss Vega," the woman began again.

"Please, just Vega," she interrupted. "Your name is Della, right?" Vega smiled softly.

"Yes." The maid's smile was huge, a sparkle in her eye.

"How is your granddaughter? She shifted for the first time last month, didn't she?" Vega asked as she picked up the last of the decorations and put them in the brown box.

"She did. You remembered," Della cooed.

"Of course. I remember the first time Khort shifted. It's such an important moment for your people. Do you mind me asking what form she took?" Vega lifted the box off the floor and held it close to her chest.

Della couldn't hold back her smile. "A sparrow, like her father."

"I bet she's loving her new wings!" Vega's voice was smooth, excitement ringing through the busy hallway. "Will you tell her congratulations for me?"

The woman grabbed the box from Vega and nodded—her smile had yet to fade.

"Of course, Mi—" Vega gave her a look. "Vega. Of course I will. She's going to be so excited to hear you remembered."

The woman hurried off to finish her duties, and Vega watched her until she rounded the corner. Her emotions switched when her gaze landed on Marlena, glowering. "What was that all about?"

"The help needs to learn to be more careful." Marlena was standing by what she said, her spine straightening as she looked down her nose at Vega. Compared to Vega's loose curls and lazy braids, Marlena's hair was pinned up tight, not a piece out of place.

For the first time, Vega saw what Marlena would become—the ruler she had been schooled to be. She scoffed. "It's like I don't even know who you are these days." Vega shook her head, not taking her eyes off of her sister. "What's gotten into you?"

Marlena crossed her arms, closing herself off. "Nothing, Vega. Jeez, I didn't think you'd get this upset about me trying to protect you."

Vega shook her head. "That's not protecting me. That's you treating the people beneath you like they're less important. She didn't do anything wrong."

Marlena let out a laugh, motioning towards where the maid ran off to. "Oh, c'mon! Get a grip. She is lesser than us. She shifts into a deer. A deer! That's why she works for us , Vega, not the other way around."

Vega's cheeks heated with anger. "Oh my gods! How dare you say that! That's not how we were raised, Marlena!" Their argument was starting to turn the heads of the help roaming through the halls of their home, readying the Caelums for their annual Saturnalia Ball. "Because if what you're saying is true, remember that I'm stronger than you. Does that make me better? Do I deserve more than you do?"

"You have no idea how I was raised! How our parents are raising me!" Marlena's demeanor changed quickly, her temper palpable. "You've been sheltered inside a tiny bubble and have never taken a moment to see what it's been like for me!" The girls were nose to nose, Marlena swift on her toes to close the distance. "You live inside your own world. Don't pretend to know what I've been through, what they do behind closed doors to me you know nothing of. Because if you'd open your eyes, just a little, you'd see the differences. You'd see that you might be more gods-blessed in your abilities than me, but I have always, will always, be smarter than you."

Vega stepped back, stammering, "What are you saying, Marlena?"

Marlena took her own step back, creating space between them. "I have been raised to rule, not you, and the next time you forget that, I'll happily remind you."

A door slammed, and the vision was over. But this time Vega didn't startle awake—her body continued to float into nothingness.