Chapter 34

34

A new guard was assigned to Vega after Felix finished healing Grimes. Vega sat in the back of her cell, eyes closed, with hands cupped over her ears while Grimes was healed only feet from her.

Had she ever been used to the slaughter this world deemed acceptable?

Vega finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep when the screaming ended and Grimes was cleared from her cell. There was no telling how long she'd been asleep when Vega's eyes shot open, her arms wrapped around herself to keep warm.

Marlena stood over her, kicking at Vega's boot. "Morning, sweet sister." The smile on her face made the chill in Vega's spine travel up her back. "We're going on a little field trip." She yanked Vega off the floor by her shoulder.

Marlena walked in front of her, never looking back as they climbed the stairs. A sinking feeling eased its way into Vega's stomach at the realization she wasn't a threat, and she was beginning to wonder if she ever had been .

Her lungs burned by the time they got to the top. Marlena only picked up her speed.

The house was empty, not a soul in sight as they moved through the halls. "When we were children, we used to walk the halls of the original home, hiding behind doors to jump out and scare one another," Marlena recalled, peering over her shoulder. "One day, I slipped behind one, and you looked for me for hours until you finally found me. I was sitting in a room you'd never been in, staring at a wall of mirrors. That room was used to force me to hone my original power. Our parents locked me in there for six days with no food until I could fully disappear from every angle. I was nine, and you slept soundly in your bed on the floor above, never once asking where I was." Abruptly, Marlena stopped outside of a door, wind rustling her hair as she spun to face Vega. "I didn't know it then, but years later I decided I wanted a trophy for every time I beat you, and since these mirrors were a present from the parents you so dearly loved, what better way to cause you anguish than with the very objects they began my torture with?"

Marlena pushed the door open, revealing the room of mirrors, and then disappeared. Vega could still feel her. She reappeared behind her, proving the six days she'd spent locked in the room perfected the ability as it was meant to.

"Is that what they are to you now then? Trophies?" Vega questioned, eyes ticking between the mirrors and her sister. Marlena shut the door and a lock clicked into place.

"They're more than that. Do you know I am the only one in our world who can curse inanimate objects? That's what these mirrors are: little pieces of your curse that stem from you. They're your memories, your lives. Everything you've had taken from you." Marlena's footsteps didn't make a sound as she circled the room. "They're my windows into your lives, how I stay one step ahead—because I know it all. Your curse is mine, made of our shared blood. It makes sure I know all that you can't remember. "

Marlena chuckled, glancing at the mirrors with a happy spark. Her smile made her look giddy . "Except there's one missing piece, and it comes from the pathetic demi you summoned." Vega watched her as Marlena's focus shifted from the mirrors to her. "I don't usually admit when I'm wrong, but I've run into a bit of an issue, and you're the only one who can help me." She rolled her eyes. "Imagine that."

Vega didn't move a muscle.

Marlena moved down the aisle of mirrors, her index finger dragging along each frame. She snapped her head to the side, motioning towards a mirror. "In this one, I snapped your neck the second you stepped through the portal." Another mirror grabbed her attention at the end of the room. "There." She pointed to one with a dark brown frame, cracks splintering the wood. "That one there is from the first time Bridger killed you. It happened downstairs, outside the very cell you're in now."

"And let me guess. Here"—Vega pointed, beating her sister to it—"you killed me. And then in that one, you had someone else kill me. It's just a never-ending cycle. So why don't you just get it over with already and kill me for good? What's with a curse that draws the inevitable out?"

Marlena's lips split into a poisonous smile. "That's where you come in."

Vega scoffed. "You really think I'll ever feel inclined to help you?"

Marlena ignored the question. "When we were children, your powers outshone mine. Everyone wondered if our parents would break the Curia's eldest child decree and let you rule both seats instead. They had an entire meeting about it while having me in attendance. That night I snuck away to Littera and started my research on summoning gods." Jealousy oozed through Marlena's tone—she nearly turned green with envy. "At first, I wasn't going to involve you, not in the way you are now. I chose to ignore the fact you were overlooking what was right in front of you. I chose to believe you would choose me over the parents who had made my life miserable." Marlena began to walk towards her. Vega crept back, keeping herself out of reach.

Their matching eyes made Vega reel with fear. You're not her. You're good, you're good, you're good.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Before Vega knew it, her back was against the largest mirror in the room stretching floor to ceiling. Even through the thick material of her suit, she could feel the ebbs of power inside the reflective glass behind her.

Marlena stalked towards her, wafting the scent of her perfume into Vega like a tidal wave—roses with a spice she couldn't place. If Vega closed her eyes, she could visualize a meadow of roses on fire, smoke encapsulating her until she could no longer breathe.

"Have you not figured it out yet? This is how I give you your memories back. I could do it the easy way. Let you drink a potion and move my powers through you to break the memory block of the curse. But that would be too easy, not painful enough. The mirrors don't let your memories seep back into you. They cram them all in at once. The process is quicker, but it won't feel that way. Your pain will last for days." The blonde took her last step forward and pressed her hands into the mirror on either side of Vega's head.

Vega didn't wane, reminding herself of the person everyone told her she'd been. Even in the face of the sister who had spent the last fifty-five years tormenting her for fun, she told herself she wasn't afraid.

She wasn't scared of the sister who wanted her dead.

She wasn't scared of what it would feel like to get her memories back.

She wasn't scared to die.

Not anymore. Vega took a deep breath.

"So brave." Marlena was much taller than Vega, forcing her to crane her neck to hold the gaze of fire Marlena wore behind her dead eyes. "Your courage is fleeting. I can see it." Marlena leaned down.

Vega gasped. "You can't break me."

Marlena chortled. She kept her hands on the mirror, boxing Vega in with no hopes of escaping. "You're wrong. I've been breaking you this entire time. I've been taking the people you love from you, taking your life, taking your memories. You're a shell of who you once were… and it's time you see that."

Vega's back began to burn, scorching the fabric of her suit. Parts of it melted into her skin, and when she went to scream, nothing came out. Marlena no longer stood in front of her and was too far out of reach for Vega to drag her into the oblivion she was falling into.

The darkness engulfed her, consuming her inside and out. There were no feelings at first, only the burn of the mirror swallowing her whole. Vega wasn't sure where she was or if the place she was in even existed outside of her own mind. The first jolt of pain shot through her brain with such ferocity Vega was sure her head would explode. She clutched her skull and tried to scream, but no sound came out—there was no sound, no light, no movement.

The first memory squeezed in, erupting into her vision. The dark void was gone, and in its place was the face of the man she'd fallen head over heels for the second they'd met.

Bridger's smile was radiating, warming Vega to the core. Her laugh echoed in her ears, the sound happier than she'd ever remembered it being. Vega backed into a tiny coat closet, her spine pressing against a shelf. "We're going to get caught." Her smile spread from ear to ear as the door clicked shut, and Bridger's hands were on her.

"Mm, let them watch." His voice was so deep and riddled with lust she could feel it in her chest.

His toned arm slid around Vega's body, pulling her against him as he pressed his lips to hers in a desperate kiss—like he was starving for air and she was the only one who could save him. He tasted like her favorite wine, remnants of it coating his tongue. Bridger trailed kisses down Vega's jaw, moving to her neck .

Vega's breath caught in her throat. "Oh my gods," she gasped, throwing her head back and rolling her body against his.

"No, Kitten, it's just me. The gods aren't here with us." Bridger sank to his knees, pushing the skirt of her dress up to her hips, pinning it there. He placed sloppy kisses on Vega's muscular thighs, his hands slipping between her legs to pull her lace panties to the side. "Fuck." His eyes rolled back in his head, an animalistic look on his face at the sight of her completely bare in front of him. "Spread your legs and let me have a taste."

Vega did as she was told, moaning the second his tongue met the warmth between her thighs. One hand tangled in his tousled hair, the other freeing his hand from the hold on her dress.

Bridger's groan of approval vibrated against her while his tongue racked her body with little bolts of pleasure. "Bridger," Vega moaned, thrusting her hips into his face for more friction.

Two large fingers slid inside her drenched pussy, and when they massaged the spot that would bring Vega to her knees, the scene melted away and she was thrown into another.

A sharp pain erupted through her chest as the darkness built a new memory around her. When she looked up, there stood Bridger, his eyes no longer glazed with lust.

Her sister's feral laugh rang in her ears. "So much has happened since your last life, dear sister. Poor Bridger has been under my watch for most of it, spending his time locked away in my dungeon with no one to talk to but the ghosts in his head… and me. Do you know what happens to people when they spend too much time with me?"

Vega shook her head, swallowing hard. "No."

She was different in this life—so unlike the woman she used to be. This Vega was timid, unsure of herself and everything around her—her last life on Earth left lasting effects she couldn't shake.

"They break," Marlena answered.

"I'm sorry, Kitt—Vega. I'm so sorry." His lips moved. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. "

"Why?" Vega gulped, her hands pressed against the wall behind her.

"I'm doing this for you. For them. For us," Bridger whispered. "She's never going to let us win. She's never going to let us be together. I can keep people safe this way." His voice shuddered as he stared into her eyes. "You knew I was destined for darkness."

Tears flowed down Vega's cheeks. "Don't let her get into your head."

"Too late," Marlena cooed sweetly.

"I can't let the people we love die just for us to be together. Marlena was right. Our love has blinded us."

Bridger's eyes wandered over to Meyer. Bridger's sword levitated under his chin by Marlena's power.

Him or me. It's him or me.

"Tick-tock, Bridger. Choose or I'll choose for you." Marlena dug the blade in deeper.

"We can save him!" Vega cried, fighting against Bridger's hold on her, and trying to free herself from the clutches of fate.

"Please don't kill Meyer." Bridger's voice sounded so weak.

"You know what you need to do." Her sister nodded towards her, forcing the tip of Bridger's sword further into the underside of Meyer's chin. Blood started to trickle down the blade.

"This will be easier for us next time," Bridger promised as he closed his eyes and took a sharp inhale. He plunged the dagger through Vega's heart, and even though it was a memory, Vega could feel the ache in her chest.

The memories kept coming, pouring back into her one by one—so painstakingly slowly Vega felt every ebb and flow of the curse releasing them to her.

Even though some of them were happy, they all reminded Vega of everything she'd lost.

Over and over and over and over—Marlena always won.