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Wren cast a sidelong glance out of the window, as if someone was somehow spying on them. “So the truth about Britta hasn’t gotten out?” It was one of Wren’s greatest fears that the Verlantians would get their hands on her little sister.

“No. Our people have been loyal.”

“How bad is it at home?” She hadn’t had any real word since she’d been captured. She was starved for information.

“The fighting has calmed. The elves can’t raze the isles to the ground and expect the place to function,” Rowen pointed out, though his expression darkened. “Theyhavecaptured some of the…prettier…women. To bring them over here, as you’ve seen with Clara.”

She felt sick, but at least her people hadn’t been decimated in the invasion.

How would they make things right? Would Arrik stop the slaving if Soren was dethroned? Could she trust him to keep his word?

Focus. One thing at a time.

She blinked slowly and met Rowen’s dark gaze. He was examining her.

“You’ve changed,” he said. It wasn’t quite an accusation but it felt like one.

Wren bristled, remembering why her aunt had brought her to Othos in the first place. “Why are you here, Rowen?” she demanded, moving away from him once more to maintain some distance.

His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned. He didn’t like that she was putting distance between them. Rowen huffed out a breath.

“How much do you remember of my upbringing?” he asked.

She cocked her head. That wasn’t what she was expecting him to say.

“Your father had a falling out with his parents and moved to Vadon in his teens. He married but brought you over to live in the Dragon Isles when you were young after your mother died, though he hadn’t been on speaking terms with your grandparents,” Wren said, frowning as she remembered the hazy details. “You returned to Vadon for a year, though, when you were fifteen or sixteen. What does this have to do with anything?”

Rowen winced. “When I returned to Vadon that year, the country was in quite a state of upheaval because of Verlanti. Things were fraught between the nations at best.” He ran a hand over his face. “The king wanted a spy placed in the Dragon Isles—it was imperative Vadon keep a better hold on the place than the Verlantians. Since I already lived there, it made sense for the responsibility to fall onto my shoulders.”

Ice trickled down her spine as she tried to make sense of his words.

Spy. Vadon. Rowen.

“Why would the king reach out to you?” she rasped, her mouth dry.

“Because he’s a distant relation,” Rowen said, his voice gruff.

All at once Wren flashed hot and cold.

Everything she ever knew about her life—her feelings, her choices—seemed altogether false. Predetermined. It was as if her entire world were unraveling before her very eyes.

She rose to her feet and backed away from Rowen, though he was quick to follow suit. “So when you started showing interest in me… Does that mean…does that mean—gods, Rowen, our entire relationship…?” She was going to be sick. “Was it all a job to you? Did you ever love me? Do I evenknowthe real you?”

“Wren, of course you do. Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Don’t tell me how to feel!” she screamed, shaking once more. She sliced a hand through the air, staring down her first love.You never knew him.“I was ready to give you everything. All of me. We were supposed to be happy together. But it was all an act to you.” Her mother had been worried about Wren traveling and being used for her position. She should have been worried about the boy closest to her.

“Will you please just let me explain myself!?” Rowen bit back, reaching for Wren’s hand. She slapped his hand away, her skin crawling. “Everything I felt for you—feel for you—is real. What wehaveis real. You have to understand that if I hadn’t accepted the position, the Vadonese king would have sent someone else in my place. They might have even killed me for turning my back on my country. The best way for me to protect you, to protect your entire family, was for me to take the position. I already loved you before I visited my homeland. You were my childhood sweetheart. I already planned to marry you as soon as we were old enough. You must believe me, Wren. Please.”

She could hardly look at him. Numbness began creeping into her chest.

All she saw was a stranger who had lied foryears.

“I trusted you,” she said, feeling hollow. Wren locked on to his pleading eyes. “You’re right, you know. I’ve changed. I’m not the girl you used to know.”

Wren couldn’t believe a word Rowen said, even if she wanted to. After all of the lies, the treachery, the secrets, she couldn’t find it in her to trust him.

He’d betrayed her.