Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
Bridget
Smog swirled in the air as Vega paced around the two thrones of Cavamyne, the heels of her boots ticking like a clock against cracked stone.
Torches and moonlight gave an eerie glow to the ceremonial courtyard that was hollowed by time and half-swallowed by vines.
With each passing moment, Bridget had slowly begun to feel the burning of her muscles.
The squeeze of her chest. The piercing iron claw around her mind as her sister’s control wavered.
She’d been under the influence of magic too long.
If Vega didn’t let go soon, her heart would stop.
As Vega circled again, Bridget fought to find any sliver of muscle she might be able to move on her own. But her body remained trapped behind the force of Vega’s will. Her own thoughts sounded distant, like echoes bouncing off glass. She wondered if Vega was purposefully trying to tune her out.
When she saw the body lying motionless across the courtyard floor, she nearly shattered.
Nylah.
She was curled at the base of the flat altar stone, arms limp and dark hair a tangle of shadow across her cheek. From this distance, Bridget couldn’t see her chest move.
Can you please just go check to see if she’s breathing? Bridget begged, hoping Vega felt the anxiety rushing through her veins.
Vega stopped and faced the half-way shattered gate. The boulder sat almost split in half at its center. Crimson stained one side. Her blood, most likely. Bridget glanced at the hills behind it. Her stomach twisted. There was still no sign of Cade or Stellan or—
You’ve got to learn to relax, Bee. She’s fine, Vega answered, the words dry and casual. Bridget didn’t need to be looking at her to know she was rolling her eyes.
Then why isn’t she awake?
Do you want her to interfere with my plans? Vega snapped.
Bridget didn’t answer. The last thing she wanted was to say something to make Vega act impulsively. She’d learned a long time ago that her sister’s worst decisions came from her trying to prove a point.
With a sigh, Vega hopped down the carved stone steps and began to move toward Nylah. Her pace was too slow for Bridget’s liking, but when she crouched beside Nylah and hovered a hand over her mouth, Bridget dared to believe that maybe she was actually checking her breathing.
I’m surprised you care, Bridget said.
I don’t.
The response came without hesitation. Vega’s hand dropped from Nylah’s face and trailed to something hidden just behind her. Bridget warily eyed the oblong shape swaddled in worn red velvet. Vega gripped it and began to unwrap it with deliberate care.
But if you don’t make it through this, maybe she’ll want to be my new sister, Vega added, her tone turning playful.
Bridget seethed. When Vega turned her back on Nylah again, it took everything in her not to scream. Is that your plan? she hissed. Possess me long enough to kill me? Which in turn would kill Cade in the place you need him to.
Whatever do you mean?
The simpering mock-innocence clawed under Bridget’s skin. She could practically feel Vega smiling.
Don’t pretend like you haven’t figured out about the bond.
Bridget tried to ignore the slicing of her ribs as she thought about the bond she simultaneously hated and loved.
The one that tethered Cade’s life to hers like a second heartbeat.
If Vega hadn’t pieced it together before, Stellan’s willingness to let her leave in Bridget’s body should’ve made it obvious.
Bridget had felt her thoughts about it slip. She knew Vega had heard them.
I’ll admit, it took me a while. It wasn’t until I saw how diminished Cade’s powers were that it hit me. You remember what he was like. Vega clicked her tongue, as though disappointed. Such a waste.
Bridget’s retort vanished as the velvet cloth fell to the stones with a whisper of finality. Vega held the sword aloft. The blade shimmered silver in the moonlight, sleek and impossible. Rubies glittered in its hilt like fresh blood, arranged in the shape of an ancient sigil that was unmistakable.
Her breath locked in her throat.
It was hers.
The one she’d carried five hundred years ago. The one she thought couldn’t possibly exist anymore. She hadn’t seen it since Vega had taken her prisoner, right before the curse.
Where did you find that?
Bridget didn’t mean to ask. The words broke free, quiet and trembling with dread. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of it. There was something else about it that tugged at her mind. A pulse of a warning she couldn’t shake.
It was exactly where I’d locked it up after I found you roaming about my palace, Vega purred, her voice soaked in venomous pride. Didn’t Cade have this made for you? How sweet. Was he still betrothed to me at the time? I don’t remember… but it’s not like that fact ever mattered to either of you.
Bridget couldn’t breathe. A flicker of memory surged behind her eyes. Dread rose up her spine. It was the same sword from the vision... the blade she’d used to tear through Cade’s chest. She hadn’t recognized it without her memories.
And then she realized why Marin had said she wouldn’t kill Cade.
Because it wouldn’t be her. Not really.
A scream clawed at her soul, but her mouth didn’t move. She was trapped. Utterly trapped and unable to stop the past and the future from coming full circle.
You can’t.
Bridget could barely get the words out. Even without control of own body, she felt like she would collapse any second. The roar of her own heartbeat began to drown out all reason and logic.
Oh, Bee. Don’t you see? You’re not in the position to demand anything right now.
Suddenly, the wind shifted. The air split with a hollow echo. Vega turned, sword still raised. Her eyes narrowed toward the top of the hill overlooking the courtyard.
Cade.
Cloak whipping in the wind, his hair was tousled and wild. His brown eyes blazed beneath the low-slung clouds. Behind him, Delphine stood breathless, one hand braced against her knee.
Bridget’s heart surged in her chest.
Cade. No. No, not now. Please—
She wanted to warn him. To scream. To beg him to turn around. But she couldn’t do anything.
And Vega was already moving.
The sword glinted in her hand as she turned toward him, a smile crawling across Bridget’s face that wasn’t hers.
“Oh good,” Vega called, loud enough for him to hear. “Right on time. Any longer and I don’t think Bridget would have made it.”
Cade’s expression didn’t flinch, but his body went taut with unspoken rage. He gave Delphine a small nod. With a snap, she vanished. Bridget’s entire body trembled. She had to be going back for the others, right? For anyone that could stop Cade’s determined descent toward them.
Please don’t make me do this. I’ll do anything you want.
She’d used the same words on her sister before and they’d worked. But this time, Bridget felt a hardening between her and Vega’s presence.
Cade crossed the threshold into the courtyard, slow and steady. His eyes never left hers. Or… Vega’s. But Bridget could feel it. He was assessing everything, from Nylah's unmoving form to the weapon in her hand to her stance.
Vega laughed softly. You see, Bee, I realized a long time ago I went about my original plan the wrong way.
I tried to force you to choose. I tried to do everything myself.
She swung the sword in a loose arc, its rubied hilt catching the firelight with a glint that twisted in Bridget’s stomach.
I underestimated how far you would go to save him. Now it’s his turn to prove the same.
The reality of her sick, twisted plan slammed into Bridget like a freight train.
Her mind thrashed inside her own body, teeth bared against the iron grip of her sister’s control.
She tugged at the frayed seams of magic, desperate to loosen the claw latched around her consciousness.
A searing fire bloomed down her spine, but still, she couldn’t make her hands drop the sword.
As Cade took another step closer, the air behind him snapped. A second pulse of magic tore through the haze, and Stellan appeared, his form coalescing from shadow at the hill’s crest. Deckard was with him. His dark eyes locked immediately on Vega.
Vega’s hand flew up.
Flames exploded into existence around the outside of the courtyard, rushing skyward with a hiss of searing magic.
A wall of fire roared to life, twisting and blocking Stellan and the king’s path entirely.
Its heat smothered the air. The stone beneath it glowed red.
They skidded to a stop just short of it, lifting their arms to shield their faces.
Bridget’s soul twisted as magic tore at her mind like barbed wire.
Blood slid from her nose and down her lip.
Moments later, Delphine appeared again, sweaty and breathless from the magic it had cost. Cassia and Castor clung to her shoulders, holding her upright.
But it didn’t matter. They were trapped on the other side and still too far away.
They would be forced to watch her do the unimaginable.
They couldn’t stop her unless Vega let go or killed her first.
A sob tore through Bridget’s chest. Please don’t do this.
It’s the only way, Vega hissed.
Then she surged forward. The sword slashed through the air, silver glinting with cruel familiarity.
Cade’s reflexes snapped to life. He twisted out of the way just in time, the blade missing his ribs by inches.
The sword felt different in Bridget’s hands than the one she’d carried and used to kill Quinn with.
Every motion seemed to be carved with the muscle memory of a life that had ended in blood.