“Don’t let her leave.”
Vega froze mid-motion. Slowly, she turned her head. Cade emerged from the tavern’s shadows, his golden eyes seething and glowing with power. Behind him came Deckard, Castor, Archer and Stellan, fanned out like a warfront. Every face was taut with fury.
Bridget’s heart stuttered.He knew.
A pulse of magic burst from his palm, a shield-breaking blast meant to disarm, not kill. Vega whipped around and threw out a hand of her own, meeting his spell with one of her own. The force knocked Vega back from the horse. Her heels skidded against the snow-packed ground. Pain tore through Bridget’s body like knives in her ribs.
A pulse of raw power exploded from Deckard’s hand, followed by another from Stellan. The air around Bridget crackled as their magic converged into ashimmering dome of force rising around her, locking her in.
The wind howled in protest, slamming into her like a wall. Her knees buckled. Then another blast hit her. It felt like her lungs had collapsed. She couldn’t scream, couldn’t breathe.
Cade lunged forward, but then he stopped. Bridget knew why.
Vega’s hand trembled now, her other arm wrapped around her middle. She coughed once. Then twice. Blood dripped from her mouth. Bridget’sownblood.
“You want to try that again?” Vega rasped. “One more hit like that, and she’s gone.”
The camp stilled. The guards reached for their weapons, but Cade threw out a hand, commanding, “Stand down. Don’t touch her.”
His voice broke on the last word. Vega straightened slowly. Her body swayed slightly with exhaustion, but Bridget felt the smirk on her face.
“You can’t be serious,” Deckard hissed. “Take her now.”
Swords lifted and bows creaked. But Cade’s fingers twitched and with a whisper of power, every weapon flew from the guards’ hands and clattered to the snow.
“No one touches her,” he said, barely audible. His eyes never left Bridget’s face.
“Let me go,” Vega hissed. “You might get to say goodbye this time. Or you might not. But if you take me out now, no one will find poor little Nylah.”
The thought had Bridget wanting to scream.
Cade’s hands curled into fists. “You’re bluffing.”
“Try me,” Vega whispered. “Let me go now and I’ll make sure Nylah makes it to Cavamyne in one piece.”
The pain seared again through Bridget’s chest. Her body ached. Her vision blurred. Somewhere in her skull, she could feel Vega digging deeper, cementing her place like a root cracking through stone.
But even through the haze, she saw Cade step forward anyway. “Take me. I’m the one you want,” he said, voice steady now, gaze locked on Vega. “I’m the one you need to break the curse.”
Behind him, his father paled and gripped his dagger tighter.
“Tempting,” Vega purred, licking the blood from her lip. “But I’m afraid I’m not done with my little sister just yet.”
She stepped back toward the horse, blood still dripping. And though she smiled, Bridget felt it. Vega was weakening. The hold was breaking. Slowly. And definitely painfully. But it was happening. She just needed to hold on a little longer.
“Cade.” Stellan’s voice came from the edge of the firelight. He stepped into the circle of flame-glow, eyes fixed, not on Vega, but on Cade. “Let her go.”
Cade whirled on him. Fury flared in his golden gaze. “Are you out of your mind?”
“We’ll find another way,” Stellan said, calm despite the storm brewing around them. “Let her go for now. We’ll follow. She’s burning through Bridget’s body to stay tethered. Push her any harder and we won’t get Bridget back at all.”
His eyes flicked toward Vega—towardher—and for one breathless second, Bridget swore she saw it. Desperation. Not for himself, but for her. Especially with their secret hanging between them. They couldn’t risk Vega killing her. Not yet.
A crack split through her chest, invisible but deep. She wanted to scream. Or beg. Or reach out. But she was trapped in silence.
“It looks like you both don’t have what it takes,” Deckard snapped, raising his hand to strike, but Stellan lifted his palm first, summoning a wall of force between the king and Vega.
“You’ll have to go through me,” he warned, magic humming in the air.
