Chapter 41

41

Bridger's horse reared as Marlena materialized under its nose—blood smeared her hands, splattered up her arms, and sprinkled the bridge of her nose in crimson. Bridger kept his saddle, pulling on the reins to gain control when the horse's hooves were back on the ground.

The sight of the blood sent his heart rate skyrocketing. No, no, no. "Marlena." Bridger dismounted the unsteady horse, charging towards her. He snatched Marlena's wrist in his hands, inspecting for a sign of struggle. "What have you done?"

Marlena tried to pull her arm back to her chest, her eyes wild with something unreadable. "Maybe you should ask what she's done." She escaped his grasp by traveling, smoke slipping through his fingers, and landed just outside his reach.

Bridger stood rooted to the dusty road beneath his feet. He'd never seen Marlena act this way. "Is she alive?" His words were a whisper.

"Of course she's alive," Marlena barked. "What does that matter? She'll be dead soon enough. As soon as she tells me how Remus did it. "

"Did what?" For the first time, Bridger had a hard time following Marlena's mentation.

"Cursed the gods to die!" Her shriek pierced the night sky.

Bridger's skin prickled with invisible bugs crawling through him. He fought off the itch. "Why do you need to know that?" His mouth felt drier than the Ardor desert in summer.

Marlena didn't move, her eyes as big as a full moon. "You can't be that half-witted." For the first time in decades, the wild look she wore terrified him. A shudder ran up his spine. "How haven't you figured it out yet?" Marlena's voice was quiet, calm—completely opposite of the fury burning inside her.

Bridger asked again, "Marlena, what have you done?"

The shrillness in her tone was back as if it'd never left. "What have I done?! Ask yourself what you did, what my sister did to you! Why do you think you're stronger than you used to be? Why can you control the wind, help heal your wounded soldiers? How can you use your powers endlessly without getting fatigued anymore?"

He hadn't kept any of his new abilities a secret—hadn't been able to. All of them were changed. Bridger couldn't find the words to speak anymore. Marlena had him in a metaphorical chokehold.

"When you summoned Remus, the only god, demi or not, left to summon… what do you think happened to you four that night, Bridger?" Marlena's tone shifted and now sounded more melodic, like a siren luring a man to the deep sea, pulling him to his death.

"We were changed. Just like you."

Her smile was jagged and sharp. "Keep going. What am I, Bridger? What are we?" She kept saying his name to make this moment feel personal—as if she hadn't been keeping a secret for decades.

His mind swam with the facts he knew.

Marlena had summoned the twelve original gods, their souls and powers the only things left after Remus cursed himself and them to die thousands of years ago. Check. Marlena had all of their powers: electricity and wind from Jupiter, water control from Neptune, the ability to travel from Mercury, fire from Vulcan—the long list went on and on. Check. She had their powers, their strength. They'd taken what was left of the dead gods they'd summoned—Marlena, Vega, Arlet, Khort, himself.

Gods, no. The truth hit Bridger with the power of every god, and he staggered back in shock. "No."

"Yes," she said with a coolness only she could possess when altering someone's whole world. "Say it."

How did I not see this before? Marlena was known to keep secrets, but they should have figured this out sooner. Did the others know?

"We can't be." Bridger faltered, swallowing down his fear.

"Oh, but you are." Marlena took a confident step forward. Bridger took a step back. "Think about it. How else do you explain everything besides the simple truth: we are the new gods."

"How long have you known?"

"I've always known, and guess what?" Marlena's power of invisibility cloaked her, and when she allowed herself to be seen again, her mouth was to Bridger's ear. "Vega's always known too."

A sharp inhale sounded from Bridger's lips. "Impossible." He didn't back away from her this time, finding his composure to stand his ground.

Marlena reached out and caressed his cheek, her hand warm from the simmering anger underneath her skin. "I told her."

The memory of Vega's eyes widening, Marlena's lips to her ear like they were on Bridger's now, before she struck that first killing blow made Bridger's knees wobble. "From her first life," he murmured.

"Yes." Marlena hissed the word like a serpent.

"She's been hiding it from all of us. Why?"

She cocked her head. "Maybe you should ask her that on the way to Fortis, where you'll be moving her tonight. I need a bigger torture chamber than what I have in my home. "

I have a rising rebellion to worry about. I don't have time to babysit your sister. This defunct curse is your mess. You clean it up.

He should have said that, but the words never left his head. Instead, he said, "Okay."

"She's being loaded up now. They're taking the pass through Pax." Marlena vanished, traveling away.

Bridger stood in the middle of the clearing, his horse yards away, still on high alert. His heart hadn't stopped the heavy beat rattling in his chest.

"I'm a god."