Chapter 56

56

Urban's head rolled to a stop at Vega's feet. Her eyes welled with tears, her tornadoes dropping from the sky in a fit of outrage.

"Put those away, or she's going to kill more people you care about." Bridger's lips fluttered over her ear, his breath warm and his heart pattering faster from battle—she could feel it inside her chest.

"No!" Vega screamed, her voice raspy.

"Vega , please."

The words tickled her brain like a light breeze.

His blade lifted slightly, giving Vega space to breathe. "She's going to kill them all, and then she's going to kill you again."

She turned her head, her lips grazing the side of his face as she spoke venomous words. "And if she does, what does that mean for you, huh? How many years of the dreams can you take before they eat you alive?" She continued fighting Bridger's hold—but it was no use. He wasn't going to let her go.

Her sister stomped her foot, a crack opening and dividing in two. Soldiers from both sides fell to their deaths, their screams heard until a splat echoed back up .

The fight began to lull to a stop, everyone's attention turning to Marlena. They were too afraid to move.

Meyer twisted, taking Arlet to the ground. Her breath huffed, catching in her throat, and before she could hop back to her feet, Marlena pinned her in place, shielding her to the ground with an outstretched hand.

She can't die. Marlena can't kill her. This knowledge kept Vega from screaming, begging.

Khort was no longer in sight, and the dragon that had been used as a distraction withered away when Marlena's power pinned Arlet down.

Her sister's eyes grew wide, fascination bubbling to life in her eyes. She laughed, high-pitched and otherworldly. "You sneaky little girl." Marlena sauntered over to Arlet and toed her hand with a dirty boot. She bent down, locking eyes with Arlet. "You've been hiding something from us."

Vega could do nothing but watch from afar. She wanted to split her in two, rain lightning down on her until she combusted, let her storm suck her up and spit her out into the sea. But she didn't move. She barely breathed.

"Are you the reason you've been able to keep your little underwater bunker hidden for so long?" Marlena's lips twitched with a smile. "Oh, surprise!"

"No." Vega trembled. "No!"

Fuck staying calm, and screw listening to Bridger. The people she cared about had been dying since this started—it wouldn't stop if she caved to the darkness around her.

Lightning popped in the sky, causing hairs to stand up on arms as it charged into a super bolt—ready to take down everything in its path.

Marlena turned to Vega, tapping her chin like she was pretending to think. "What did you call it? Castra?" Her eyes scanned Bridger's hold on Vega, eyeing them like a cat in a mouse hunt. "They all drowned at the bottom of the sea, and now the rest of your insurgents are going to join them."

The bolt came down hard, cracking against a shield before it splintered out around like raindrops.

Vega cried out in frustration. "I am going to kill you!" Tears ran down her cheeks, smearing the blood and muck on her face. "It won't be today, tomorrow, but one day, Marlena, I will skin you until there's nothing left," Vega spat, her promise ringing in her ears.

Marlena stalked over to her, leaving Arlet trapped in the mud. "You sound a lot like me. And to think, people really believe you're the good one."

"I sound nothing like you. You promised to take everyone I love. I'm promising to take the only person you love." Vega cocked her head, not caring that it caused Bridger's dagger to sink in further, blood oozing down her neck. "Yourself."

Marlena snickered. "Your threats mean nothing to me. I will always be one step ahead of you."

One step ahead.

It was now or never.

When Marlena turned her back, Vega lifted a hand from her side and wrapped it around Bridger's wrist. His muscles tensed under her touch, heat searing her branded wrist.

Vega didn't try to jar away from the knife, only extended her pointer finger to tap beside her heart three times very slowly. Meyer's golden gaze was dulled by the cloud-covered sky, but he was staring straight at Vega.

He moved his head once to the right and once to the left so inconspicuously that it would be missed by anyone except for Vega.

He wasn't going to help… not in front of everyone.

"Coward," Vega whispered, choking on the word.

Be your own god.

Marlena strolled around the gruesome battlefield, leaning down to look at the faces of the fallen. "It's a shame all of you have to die." Her chest rose and fell in a sigh, like that was the last thing she wanted to do. "But it's what has to be done. It's your punishment for picking the wrong side."

Arlet thrashed, trying to free herself from Marlena's power.

Vega had been there before, had seen the way this ended. Marlena would kill her just to prove a point. She would send Vega right back to her own personal hell like this was all a fun little game she liked to play.

No one was going to help her break her curse.

She was going to die and have to start all over again.

No, she wouldn't let that happen. Vega wouldn't allow this to be just another life where she got it wrong, where she couldn't save herself or her family.

Never again.

The hand hanging by her side slowly moved over to the sheath on her leg. Vega's fingers wrapped around the hilt of her dagger.

Khort's wings fanned out above them, the shadow of his dragon form growing bigger before he landed, tottering to the ground.

Blood dripped to the grass, mixing with the rest of the bodily fluids below. Vega's eyes trailed up his massive front legs, settling on the limp body in his jaws.

The body hit the ground, audible gasps ringing throughout the crowd. Khort huffed, but it sounded like a chortle.

Ivelle's body lay crushed underneath him, limbs facing all the wrong directions.

Havoc rained down as rebels and soldiers alike began to run, fearing for their lives. They knew what would come from Marlena's rage.

Marlena traveled to Ivelle's body in the blink of an eye, dropping to her knees, showing her first sign of weakness. With her attention elsewhere, her hold over Arlet faltered.

Ivelle was Marlena's weakness. A distant cousin with a taste for anarchy .

Khort shifted, standing over the blonde and her dead praefectus. "That's for Delori."

An eye for an eye.

Marlena took Delori. Khort took Ivelle.

It has to be now, Vega. You have to do it.

Before Marlena could blow the whole world up, Vega unsheathed her dagger and met Arlet's gaze. "I'm sorry." She shot her hand up to her chest and pressed the blade over her heart. "This is how the forgotten get their revenge."

Vega shoved the blade through her chest, and with a surge of electricity, she stopped her heart.

Before everything went black, Vega heard Bridger's voice inside her head, begging her to come back.