“It’s what has to be done.”
Bridget moved away from him, further into the cell. “No.”
Stellan’s gaze cut to her arms, where dark veins now covered her entire hands. At least her cloak covered the rest of her skin. “What happened?” he asked.
It took her a moment to answer. “I found out what Vega’s plan for the crown was…”
“So she does have it? Just like we thought?”
Despite the knot in her throat choking her, Bridget shook her head. “Not anymore.”
Alarm spread over Stellan’s features. He darted toward her and pulled up the sleeves of her cloak, only to find her darkening skin. “What exactly did you do?”
“What I had to,” Bridget said, voice breaking. “She’s going to kill me to enact a curse, one that makes all humans forget who they are... After, she wanted to bring me back with the crown and then use the curse on me so I don’t remember her or Cade or what she’s done.”
Bridget pushed down the sob that threatened to escape her chest. She’d seen what Vega planned to do with her after that. With no memories, she’d be turned into a tool to manipulate Cade and win the war for the Sanguis. And with all her blood being used as one of the anchors, Cade couldn’t break the curse or get her memories back. Not without killing her. She’d be doomed forever.
“I couldn’t let that happen,” Bridget continued. “The thought of being used by her to manipulate Cade and you and everyone and not knowing…”
Who she was. Who Vega was. What needed to be done to defeat her.
“So I sent the crown away. Despite the price. Now she’ll lose what she wants most.”
Her. On her side. Along with the possession of almost all the artifacts.
Stellan’s throat bobbed. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen him so speechless or distraught. “Where did you send it?” he asked.
“Backwards, I think. Or maybe forward,” Bridget muttered, rubbing her temple. Some of the spell she hadn’t been able to translate properly. Language had never been her strong suit. And she really needed to sit down. “I’m not really sure.”
“You sent it throughtime?” Wide-eyed, Stellan shook his head. “You don’t realize what you’ve done.”
“If Vega wants to get it back, she’ll have to curse herself with the same spell to chase it.” Bitterness rose up Bridget’s throat. “It’s what she was going to do to Cade, you know. After everything. An unending purgatory he couldn't escape from. Once he handed over the Tuathan sword, of course.”
“Bridget, I’m not saying it wasn’t a good plan,” Stellan said, grabbing her arms. He shook her until her vision refocused. “It’s one less weapon for Vega to use. But now you’redying.”
She blinked at him. This much she knew from every weakening beat of her heart. She didn’t understand what he was getting at.
A muscle in Stellan’s jaw throbbed. Roughly, he said, “Which means Cade is dying.”
Bridget’s already crumbling chest shattered. The blurring room tilted. What he said couldn’t be true. There was no way he tied his life to hers. Not yet. “No,” she croaked. “No. He promised he hadn’t… at the wedding, I made him promise he wouldn’t until this was all over. We couldn’t take the risk, especially when Vega… If he had done it, I would know. I wouldremember. I would…”
“It happened long before that.”
“Vassuryn.” The word spilled automatically from her lips. It’s where they’d found the sword. Together. She’d almost died trying to retrieve it. Until she’d been healed by Cade’s magic. Or so she thought. Turns out, it had been a different type of magic entirely. “But that was before…”
Before she’d even realized her feelings for him. Before he’d known her real name. Beforeeverything.
Stellan smiled sadly. “I don’t think that mattered to him.”
Tears welled up in Bridget’s eyes. How could he have been so careless to save her like that? When it was his life that mattered the most in the war?
“The moment that happened,” Stellan said, nodding at her arms, “he felt it too. It’s why he sent me now. Our original plan had been to disrupt the execution and get you out then.”
“So I still wouldn’t find out what he did?”
At least Stellan had the nerve to look a little guilty. “We can’t win this war without him. The sword answers to him. It’s the only thing that works on the Wraiths… and the Sanguis. We weren’t sure what was wrong. He only knew that you were hurt. We figured if we got you out, he could heal you with his abilities. It’s always been one of his stronger gifts. But…”
His abilities had already been fading. Bridget had assumed it was from the relentless use of magic he’d been forced to perform the past year. She knew why now. It was the price of tying his life to hers. Not only did the spell take a Tuathan’s extremely slow aging… it took their gifts. Piece by piece. Bridget looked down at her worsening hands. Cade wouldn’t be able to save her now. Besides… some magic couldn’t be undone.
