Chapter 55

55

My dearest Arlet & Khort,

By the time you read this letter, I'll be a world away. I'm sure you know that. I'm sure you'll feel it before even finding this.

I love you both more than you'll ever know. Your friendship has been the anchor that holds me here, in this life and all the others before it. Unfortunately, there is also something holding me to a world that doesn't want me. I cannot be fully here, fighting for us and the people who need it, if death is lurking at every corner.

I hope you understand why I've made this decision without you. Be here, protect our people.

I'll be back soon.

Dum vita est, spes est—while there is life, there is hope.

All my love & until the very end,

Vega

The sunrise over the water illuminated the sky in pink and purple pastels, birds flying over her with their happy morning tweets. Vega's eyes never left the horizon, taking in what very well could end up being her last Tolevarre sunrise. Gods, I hope not.

There were so many unknown variables. What if it didn't work and she did end up back on Earth with no memories? How long would Arlet wait before coming to look for her this time? Would she even come to find her?

It wasn't a matter of if the war broke out. Now it was a matter of when—when was only a week away. And Arlet was needed here, not out gallivanting to find Vega.

She shook the doubts away, focusing on the coastline ahead. This will work. I will make it out alive, and I'll show my sister who she's been messing with.

By the time she'd made it to the secluded docks, Vega's boots were under at least an inch of water. The tiny boat had somehow made the hour-long journey, keeping Vega afloat and safe from a cold plunge into the Sea of Ros.

It was the morning of Saturnalia, and families were huddled in their homes, opening gifts and enjoying their time together. It was the one day a year most people took off from their daily lives to simply enjoy what peace they could find in the world today.

Vega passed very few people moving through the quiet streets. They waved as she walked by, giving her pleasant smiles and blessings of happiness for the holiday.

She decided against covering her face or hiding behind a cloak. Vega was dressed in her training suit, letting her lightning hum through her body to keep her warm.

By the time word got back to Marlena, Vega would be gone.

After the attack Vega assisted with in Schoenus, the army increased the number of soldiers in and around Solum, but they'd been rather well behaved according to Urban.

They knew it was because they were lying in wait to attack, but their people didn't. It was important to Urban to let them have one last holiday—they'd agreed to slowly start moving as many people as they could to Castra and deep into the forest of Vates.

Anyone who didn't want to fight didn't have to.

Vega knew she was getting close when she passed a few soldiers flirting with young locals, the insignias on their uniforms proudly displayed.

They didn't pay Vega any mind while the girls twirled their pretty hair and laughed at whatever the boys were saying.

She felt a pang of jealousy for the lightness in their hearts, the free way they laughed with no worries. One day—one day she would be able to feel that way again.

When her sister was dead and they were free from her fatal clutch.

Vega walked for a few more minutes, moving herself to the shadows and alleyways when the groups of soldiers started to thicken. There were a few moving large bins into old cabins, families standing outside with their hands up, their kids crying with fear and confusion.

"Today? But it's Saturnalia," a mother holding her wailing baby asked a level eight soldier.

"I don't make the rules, lady. Boss said get out, so you've gotta go," the soldier told her.

"Where am I supposed to go?" the woman asked, containing her own tears.

"That's not my problem," he responded, pushing by to continue moving things into the house.

The local wiped at her face, handing the baby in her arms to the oldest child in the group while she gathered the few things she'd been allowed to grab from her home off the front lawn.

Vega's heart broke for the misplaced family. "Pssst!" she hissed.

It took a couple tries before the woman found where Vega was hiding, her head finally perking up and catching Vega in the shadows. Carefully she walked forward, cautious like a fawn ready to bolt .

"You and your kids have nowhere to go?" Vega asked, the woman finally laying eyes on her.

"Vega," she cooed, reaching out to grab her hands as if Vega would disappear if she didn't.

People acted like she was part of some prophecy—that by her being back, their land would be saved.

Vega wished she could promise that.

"No, it's just me and the kids." Her voice shook.

Vega squeezed her hand. "Okay, I need you to listen closely. There's a rowboat east of the main docks. I hid it underneath the middle row. It has some holes so it won't hold all of you, but if you get on alone and paddle to Imber, someone will come find you. And they will come back for the kids. They'll take you to a safe spot, but you need to go now." Her voice was hushed but firm.

The woman started to protest. "I can't leave here."

"You have to. There is going to be an attack. Soon. Marlena is calling for a kill-all in Solum, and if you don't get out of here, you and your children will die." Vega saw no sense in sugarcoating what would happen if they didn't leave.

The mother's eyes grew wide, panic setting in. "No."

Vega nodded, patting her hand and letting it go. "I wish I was lying, but I'm not. You need to get your kids out of here. They'll be safe where I'm sending you."

The woman finally nodded. "Okay. Okay, I will go." She looked over her shoulder at her four children, eyes filled with tears. "I lost my husband last month to the flu. I can't lose them too."

"Then get them to safety."

Vega was pulled into a quick hug, and the woman mumbled a goodbye before scurrying off to round her kids up.

The silence didn't last long.

"That was very nice of you, Kitten."

Vega hadn't felt him approach, but now that he was near, Vega couldn't ignore the tug in her chest or the featherlight whisper of his words inside her head.

Bridger was in his commander's uniform, no cape hanging off his shoulders, and he was strapped to the nines with weapons. The uniform he wore wasn't the one for show—it was the one for battle.

No. Vega felt her face fall, and her body went ice cold with a rush of blood.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

"It's Saturnalia, Bridger. You can't." Fear shook her voice, her powers inside begging to be set free.

"War waits for no one, and you and your friends slaughtered seventy of my soldiers. It's only fair we answer back." Bridger's eyes were hollow with dark circles underneath, his hair longer than she'd ever seen it. He was disheveled, and it looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Your men were hurting innocent people," Vega bit back.

Bridger's throat bobbed when he laughed dryly. "So killing them is okay? I thought you were against people dying?" He cocked his head to the side, waiting for an answer.

"You once told me not everyone is worth saving." Vega locked her eyes on his. "And I don't believe anyone who would willingly follow my sister is worth saving."

Her dig hit home, right where it was supposed to.

The smile that took over his face was sinister, coated with ice, and dipped in darkness. "I was never meant to be saved."

Bridger took another step towards her, and Vega stood her ground, feeling not a drop of fear in his presence like she might have in previous lives.

"Is that how you feel about the dreams you're having of me? Of the feelings you're trying to suppress whenever you see me, get to touch me, kiss me? That you don't deserve to be saved?" Vega took a step forward too, closing the distance until her chest grazed against him. Their height difference was on display, Bridger towering over a foot above her with a menacing glare.

Bridger's jaw flexed with anger, causing Vega to crack a smile that mimicked her sister's.

"Do I see a crack in that impenetrable shell?" She licked her lips slowly, watching Bridger's eyes flick to them. "Has Vega Caelum ruined Tolevarre's greatest warrior? Have I finally become the undoing you told me I'd be?"

Speaking through a clenched jaw, Bridger replied with a growl, "Don't flatter yourself." His hand reached out, brushing against her cheek. "Where have you been hiding in Imber, sweet girl?"

Vega wrapped her hand around his, their eyes locked in a battle of wills. "If you want to know so badly, you'll have to come find me."

"I can feel you, feel my blade. The pull led me to the middle of the Sea of Ros, just off the coast of Imber. Have you grown gills?" Bridger's hand slid down to Vega's neck, his fingers applying enough pressure, Vega could feel her airway constrict.

"Don't make a rash decision, Dimico, or I'll make you wish you could die." Vega let a purr of electricity buzz over her skin—just enough that Bridger would feel a slight tingle under his fingers.

The anger melted from his face, a look of amusement taking its place. "I like it when you threaten me with a good time." Bridger pulled her roughly by her neck, and a traitorous gasp slipped from Vega's parted lips. "Do me a favor and get the fuck out of here before you get yourself caught up in something you'll regret."

Bridger shoved her away with enough force she staggered back. "I'm not running from this fight," Vega declared.

Thunder rumbled overhead as a storm formed in the distance. It wasn't a natural occurrence this time of the year. Vega sent a warning she was here. Here and ready to fight.

Bridger's lips parted, his gaze nowhere near as cold as it'd been in lives before. He looked like he was about to say something, but then his eyes shifted, a flicker of fear flashing across his face before it returned to impassive.

"Why must you always play the hero?"

Her sister's question grated like nails on a chalkboard from behind her. Vega turned slowly, and Marlena was smiling as tendrils of smoke disappeared behind her.

"Hello, sister."

Vega returned the smile, her senses on overdrive as she let her lightning finally roar to life in her hands.

Marlena stood in place, eyeing Vega like a bullseye. "I knew if I found Bridger, I'd find you. Still trying to get him back? How pathetic."

"Still trying to sneak into his bed and have your sister's sloppy seconds?" Vega rolled her eyes. They could stand there all day arguing, but it would only prolong the inevitable.

Marlena snaked forward as the wind picked up overhead and Vega's storm rolled in, sitting on top of them. Vega wouldn't wait for her sister to strike first.

The time for playing with emotions was over.

Vega lunged forward with her lightning, the bolt cracking a tree behind Marlena. Her sister laughed, beginning to point out that Vega had missed—but the diversion was just what she needed. Vega looked up at the sky, a funnel cloud breaking the surface.

In no life had she been strong enough, either mentally or physically, to conjure up a tornado. But this life, oh boy , this life Vega was ready to fight.

"Your soldiers better run," Vega said over her shoulder to Bridger. Lightning flickered inside the descending storm, screams rattling from the people at the newly assigned war camp.

Vega saw the storm inside her head, pushing her powers to twirl and dance with the clouds above.

Marlena's mask fell for a sliver of a second—long enough for Vega to see the look of shock mangling her features .

The thin tornado touched down, and Vega spun her finger out in front of her, a gust of wind mimicking the rampant storm beyond the cover of the trees.

Bridger unsheathed his sword, taking a step closer to Vega when she threw the wind at him, knocking him down.

"You both have made a grave mistake this time. You've underestimated the hatred that has grown for the both of you over the last half a century. I no longer feel sorry for the lives you've lived." Her voice grew louder as she spoke. "I no longer care who either of you once were to me!" Vega unleashed, sending a lightning bolt through the air directly at her sister's pretty blonde head. "I'm going to make sure I find a way to send you both straight to the underworld where you belong!"

Another lightning bolt shot out from the palm facing backwards, nearly striking Bridger—but he was fast, and unfortunately, he knew her moves. Whether Vega wanted to admit it or not, he knew her better than anyone else.

Better than Arlet. Better than Khort. And even better than Marlena.

The tornado ravaged through the town, overturning caravans of army vehicles, sending their supplies flying and taking whoever got too close with it.

Marlena's emerald fire tore through the whipping wind beside Vega's face. The heat from the flame forced her to duck and roll. She popped back up, reaching for a dagger at her side.

Spinning on her heels, Vega flung the dagger towards Marlena, who caught it out of midair.

None of them could die, but that didn't mean they couldn't become incapacitated long enough to find themselves imprisoned.

Bridger came from behind, knocking Vega off her feet. She flipped herself over, ready to claw his eyes out of his skull until she realized he'd sent her flying to the ground seconds before Marlena chucked the blade back at her. It would've landed its target .

Sinking through Vega's heart.

Except it didn't. It hit the tree behind her.

Bridger ripped the dagger from the tree and spun it in his hand. The blade shined, reunited with him, and a smile broke his face in two. Menacingly beautiful. And she'd just made Bridger stronger than he needed to be with the return of his bonded dagger. Fuck.

She was outnumbered. Stronger than she'd ever been but outnumbered by two others who were also stronger than they'd ever been—all now with the knowledge of what they were.

Gods.

Vega, you're a god, she reminded herself as a snap of lightning shook the ground, breaking the grassy floor under Marlena and Bridger's feet. Watching her sister stumble to her knees filled Vega with the best reminder she could have asked for: you're one step ahead of her. You can stop this curse.

The pitter patter of rain began to fall down in waves, drenching them.

Vega stood, the wind from her storm blowing her loose hair around her face. Her eyes simmered with rage, reflecting off the lightning bolts shattering the land around her, keeping her enemies locked in their places.

Marlena released a scream so feral it could be heard over the tornado desecrating the town around them. "When I get my hands on you, I'm going to rip your heart out for the fun of it! I'm happy to send you back to Earth while I kill every single rebel in these lands!"

A gust of Marlena's wind pushed at Vega's tornado, attempting to switch its path. She had no luck—Vega's storm was finally too powerful for her.

The townspeople of Solum ran in packs, avoiding the destruction Vega caused. Her storm jumped mid-air to avoid them, on a strict path to kill those aiding in the start of a war Vega had every plan of winning .

"You're going to have to try harder to kill me this time," Vega gloated, egging Marlena on.

Tree roots cracked around them, shooting from the ground like missiles shooting into the sky. Vega jumped back, digging her boots into the muddy ground.

Behind her, Bridger dodged the intruding branches by wielding his invisible shield around his body, breaking off pieces and sending sharp fragments of wood flying through the air.

A chunk pierced Vega in the side. She gasped from the pain, immediately ripping it from her body. She made eye contact with Bridger, giving him the middle finger before zapping him with a surprise bolt of lightning from the dark, angry sky.

His roar of pain was drowned out by the sound of trees cracking and bending to encase Marlena in a cage of branches. Her fire was useless in the pouring rain, stealing her favorite power.

Vega thought the manipulation of plant life was hers, but when the cage grew smaller, crushing against her frame, Vega knew exactly who it was stepping through the newly made clearing.

Urban's shoulder length hair was down, plastered around his face, and his hands were beside his body, fingers wiggling while plants continued to grow and move by his decree.

His power wouldn't keep Marlena held for long, but it gave Vega the upper hand for a breath longer than she needed. A dart of lightning cracked from her palm, straight to Marlena's chest.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she slumped against her cage.

Vega smiled at Urban. "Perfect timing!" she called over her raging storm. Her attention bounced between the inside of her head to control the tornado taking out half the small town, to fighting what was happening right in front of her. "Sorry for the destruction!"

Urban's roots crushed Marlena, her features turning purple from lack of oxygen. "We can rebuild! Try to keep our people out of harm's way! "

Rebel soldiers ran through the clearing, circling Bridger, whose sword was drawn. Vega turned to him, shrugging her shoulders to say, Make a choice .

She wasn't dense enough to think Bridger couldn't fight his way out of a circle twice the size that had formed around him. Vega only hoped he'd do the right thing: flee.

His sword sliced through the first rebel brave enough to come after him.

The tornado of Vega's wrath sucked back into the sky, looming over the town as a warning—it would be back.

Her bonded blade hummed at her side, warming her hand when it met skin.

Flocks of Bridger's soldiers who survived Vega's twisted storm rushed through the trees. As Bridger had said, war waited for no one.

The funnel cloud Vega held above the town split, turning into twin twisters. They dropped from the sky at the same time, plucking soldiers from their places and sending debris crashing into anyone too close.

Bridger sliced and diced, obliterating rebels into pieces. "Twins?!" He cackled, fighting on. His night-kissed sword stuck through the chest of a young rebel Vega had seen around Castra multiple times. Her body slumped to the sodden forest floor as Bridger pulled his sword from her. "You brilliant goddess!"

Vega wasn't sure she'd heard his words, not over the sound of a bellow she knew too well.

She tossed her dagger, sending it end over end to strike a Tolevarre soldier through the eye socket. The strength he ran with caused him to slide through the mud until he was underneath her feet. Using her wind, Vega's dagger flew from the now-dead soldier's eye and landed back in the palm of her hand.

Trees were gone, ripped from the ground by Vega's storm, crumbled by Urban's power, and the cover they'd been under earlier was now open to the sky .

Khort came into view, flying faster than Vega had ever seen him travel. In the blink of an eye, he'd gone from being a speck on the horizon to overhead with a blaze of fire spewing from his unlatched jaw.

Dropping from behind the clouds was a second dragon, causing Vega to stumble, her eyes growing wide in shock. Its golden gleam against brown scales made Vega's heart skip a beat.

No way.

Soldiers screamed painfully on the battleground, trying to find whatever cover they could to get away from the flying beasts above their head.

The brown one dropped down, flames shooting out of its mouth as the fire turned the water from the sky into steam. Jagged teeth snapped, sending anyone near it scattering like ants.

Khort dipped to the ground close enough to Vega she could see his once-over glance and the look behind it that said, You're in so much trouble.

From his back, a blur of curls and graceful footing dismounted without Khort having to stop. She caught Vega's gaze, winking before glancing over at the second dragon.

It was all an illusion, made up by Arlet to distract. But when soldiers got too close, the dragon reached out with its serpent-like neck and gobbled them up. The blood was too real to be an illusion. What had Arlet been hiding from her?

Arlet gripped a weapon Vega had seen her use for the last two decades in every battle she'd fought. The double-edged sword—her swallow—was made of the same dark metal Bridger's blade was made from, the same bonded metal as Vega's dagger.

She twisted the shaft, the double blades making a whoosh sound above her head before she brought it down and met the blade of the man Vega came here for.

"Arlet Videri, hello again." His gravel-laced voice sounded like he was purring at her best friend, like he wanted to make her his midnight snack. Meyer's hands glowed against the handles of his short-bladed swords, but his fire was doused by the continuous rain.

Arlet clamored in reply, twisting her swallow to strike again.

The twin tornadoes danced around the sky, waiting to be called back down. Khort dodged them effortlessly, diving to scoop up a mouthful of enemy soldiers.

Vega scanned the battlefield, eyes finding all the people she knew. Bridger was out of sight, but she could hear the thunder of his blows. Urban commanded a tree root up, crushing the skull of a man attacking a rebel soldier.

Blood. Blood everywhere. It covered the ground, mixing with mud and guts. A red sheen painted the battlefield.

Vega lost herself in the decimation. It has to stop. Her eyes met Meyer's. A single nod in his direction was the agreement she'd come here to give him.

Meyer dodged a blow, rolling in the mess underneath him to pop back up and strike a return on Arlet's blade. Sparks flew as metal met metal. He kicked out, knocking her to the ground.

Meyer called for backup, a couple soldiers turning their attention to Arlet as he beelined for Vega, blades raised. Before he made contact, he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes floating behind her as the sound of Marlena's pain and anger pierced the sky.

Warmth radiated down Vega's spine, but she had no time to turn and face who she knew would be behind her before the cold blade of a dagger was against her neck.

"Don't move," Bridger said against her ear.

Splinters from Marlena's cage exploded, stabbing through rebel soldiers at the same time smoke billowed between Meyer and Vega. Marlena came into view. Bruises lined the exposed parts of her ivory skin, disappearing slowly before their eyes.

Vega bucked, sending an electric shock through her body. Her intended target had been Bridger, but he shielded himself, protecting him from her voltaic touch .

"You've created a fucking mess, little sister." Marlena traveled, disappearing only to reappear beside Urban. A single hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him off the ground. The hand around his throat was no longer that of a woman, but of a beast—black claws tearing from the tips of her fingers like the ones that had lacerated Vega's face. They dug into Urban's neck, blood pouring from the puncture wounds. "And so have you, Urban. If only I would have killed you sooner, you useless waste of power."

Marlena's claws sliced through Urban's neck, muscles and tendons snapping, his body detaching from his head.

The noise of battle fell silent to Vega's scream of agony.