Page 19 of A Queen’s Betrayal (Legends of Worldbinders #1)

After Koltin cleared the hallway, he and Arenna ran hand in hand through the stone corridors, clinging to the shadows. She didn’t recognize where they were. Brookworth Castle’s halls were pristine—white marble with gold veining, the floors polished so smooth you could slide if you weren’t careful.

But where they were was the opposite. It was dark, cold, and uninviting—much like the path to her chambers deep below the castle. Both the walls and the floors were made of stone. There were no lanterns, no candles, and no light at all except for the moon pouring in through the paneless windows.

“Where are we?” she whispered, clinging to Koltin. Their boots were the only sounds for miles.

“The North Tower.”

Arenna gritted her teeth . Of course . The only place in the entire castle she was thankful she was forbidden. It was where Jaksen kept his prisoners of war, where he interrogated them long into the night, and—apparently—where he conducted horrific experiments.

“We’re almost out. Just a little longer.” Koltin squeezed her hand.

They ran through hall after hall, their footsteps pounding against the cold stone, echoing in the vast emptiness. Corridors blurred around them—archways, shadows, flickers of torchlight—none of it familiar. Arenna’s legs burned, her breath coming in sharp, short gasps.

Still, they didn’t stop.

They stumbled down a narrow staircase, then another, spiraling so tightly she nearly lost her footing. Koltin caught her, tugged her forward, and they kept moving.

When they finally reached the main floor, a wave of cold hit her like a slap. Wailing rose through the frigid space—inhuman, echoing, wrong.

Arenna risked a glance over her shoulder, toward the black, empty pit of a hallway stretching away from where they’d come. It looked like it led to nothing—and yet it did not feel empty.

Horrible sounds drifted from the darkness, nails scraping against stone, screams breaking in throats, the wet slap of blood hitting walls.

Her heart lurched into her throat.

“You don’t want to see any of that,” Koltin whispered, tugging her toward a small door with a latch. “Believe me, Ren. You will never be able to unsee it.”

With a small nod, she let Koltin pull her away from the horrors in the dark. She ignored the guilt of not helping those they left behind, knowing there was nothing she could do to save them. Even with the fire smoldering in her veins, it was uncontrolled, damaging, and unknown.

The door clicked shut behind them, and Arenna focused all her energy on the trek ahead.

* * *

Arenna could have easily cried as they emerged from the bottom of the tower, the stables just a few paces away.

A familiar feminine figure caught her eye, and her breath caught for a moment.

She knew it wasn’t Faylen. It could never be Faylen.

Her heart sank, but the time for grief would come later. Right now, she needed to get out.

“Isa,” Arenna whimpered, her voice breaking. She collided with her friend in a near-tackle, arms wrapping tightly around her.

Isabella had been standing in the stables; travel packs clutched in both hands. As they embraced, her friend didn’t speak—she only held on, as if letting go might break them both.

Arenna breathed in the familiar scent of her skin and her hair, losing herself in Isabella’s tight curls. Seeing her friend was like finding breath after spending too long beneath the waves.

“Sisters above,” Isabella sobbed, squeezing Arenna tighter. “Are you okay?” She pulled back.

Arenna’s lip wobbled. No . Not even close .

Isabella waved her hand. “Stupid question; don’t answer it.” She pulled Arenna in for another embrace. “I grabbed the pack from under your bed. There isn’t much, but you have the necessities. I threw in a few more things too. Just in case.”

“Thank you, Isa.” They broke apart, and Arenna slung the heavy pack over her shoulder. Its weight nearly yanked her to the floor. “Only a few more?”

Her friend laughed, the sound warming the cold air around them. Arenna would miss that laugh. She would miss her friend. After losing Faylen, she couldn’t stomach being apart from Isabella. “And I thought you might need this,” Isabella whispered, placing a blade in Arenna’s hand.

Dread hung in the air of the stables. With shaky hands, Arenna gripped the gold and black handle of her dagger, clutching it tightly in her palm. She examined the steel, running her fingers along the edge, her scar screaming in response.

It was the dagger Jaksen had made for her, the one he had used to tear her face.

“I don’t remember the last time I even saw this.”

After Jaksen released her from the dungeon two years ago, he left the blade waiting for her in her bedchamber beside a small note: Keep this . Let it remind you what will happen should you disobey me .

Arenna closed her eyes, breathing in the night air.

She didn’t want this.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Isabella spoke softly, placing her hands on Arenna’s shoulders.

“Rewrite the memories that live within this blade. Let it empower you. Think of all the good you can do with something created by evil. And here…” Isabella fastened a silver chain around Arenna’s neck, a small oval locket falling between her breasts. “I knew you would want this.”

Tears welled in Arenna’s eyes as she grasped the locket that belonged to Faylen. She shakily opened the clasp. Inside was a portrait of the two of them on one side and their mother on the other. She sniffled. “How did you get this?”

Isabella put a hand to her chest. “It was found in the colosseum. One of the servants gave it to me to return to you.”

Arenna ran her thumb across the locket, realizing how precious life was and how it could be taken away in the blink of an eye.

Her sister was gone, and Arenna would not allow the same thing to happen to anyone else she loved.

“You have to come with me.” She placed a hand on Isabella’s umber cheek.

“He will not offer you the freedom of death. If he finds out, it will be worse.”

Koltin paled.

Isabella only smiled. “He will not find out.”

“You have to come with me.” Arenna turned toward Koltin. “Both of you. We can get your family. We can all get out of here together.” She grabbed Isabella’s warm hands.

Isabella shook her head. “They’re old; they cannot keep up with the pace we need.” She wrapped an arm around Arenna’s shoulders and leaned into her. “You need to put as much space between you and this place as possible before Jaksen realizes you’re gone. We would only slow you down.”

“I don’t car—”

“ Run , Arenna,” Isabella interrupted, urgency in her voice. “Be free. This is your time, your story.” She reached out to the man she loved, and Koltin did not hesitate to take her hand. “We will find you again.”

“It’s not right. I cannot leave you behind.”

“I’m not giving you a choice,” Isabella whispered.

Tears fell freely, blurring what little vision Arenna had in the dead of night. “How can you ask me to do this?” she whispered.

Isabella pressed their foreheads together. “For once in your life, be selfish. There is nowhere you can go that we will not follow.” She leaned back, placing a kiss on Arenna’s cheek. “But now is not our time. When it is, we will find you. Forever bound by heart…” Isa began.

“No distance can tear us apart,” Arenna choked out.

A firm grip wrapped around Arenna’s hand. Koltin pulled her back toward the mare and away from Isabella, knowing she couldn’t walk away.

Cold crept in with Isabella’s absence, and Arenna watched as Koltin approached his wife.

She melted into Koltin, resting her head against his chest. “Come back to me, Koltin Havenwood.” Isabella placed a kiss against his jaw, then another.

He cupped her chin, tilting it upward. “Always.”

When they finished, Koltin helped Arenna onto the black mare and nestled into the space in front of her. “Hold my waist and keep your head against my back,” he instructed. “We will ride hard and fast to get through the first trek.”

She nodded, pushing aside any thoughts of doubt. There was no going back. This was it—the one chance at a life free from pain, suffering, and death.

Koltin snapped the reins, sending them out of the stables and into the chilled night.

Arenna’s heart begged her not to look back at her friend, but she needed to see her one last time.

She needed to remember her features, her smile, her thick hair, and innocent eyes.

She needed to remember the face of her sister, formed by love and not by blood.

Isabella stood in the opening of the stables, one hand clutching her chest, the other covering her mouth. Even in the dead of night, Arenna saw the tears in her brown eyes.

Arenna’s heart broke at the sight, but there was no going back.

Freedom was calling.

It didn’t take long to reach the bottom of the narrow path cutting through the center of the mountain. The bold, black iron gates came into view, standing as tall as the mountain they were carved from.

Four guards lay in red clumps, their capes stained with the blood pooling around them. “Kayson was here,” Koltin whispered as he pulled back the reins.

Arenna looked closely at their bodies, the deep gashes on their throats. She shuddered, tightening her arms around Koltin’s waist. This hadn’t been a panicked fight. It was controlled, precise, and lethal.

The mare charged into the night, away from the bodies, away from the carnage that one man alone succeeded in. Trees became denser as they pushed toward Burwood, though they all stood tall and dead, rotten to the roots in the ground.

Glistening water shimmered ahead—a sign they were nearing the lake nestled at the base of Brookworth’s mountain. Moonlight danced across its surface, bright and mesmerizing, like silver stitched into the waves.

Thankfully, they could bypass the kingdom’s city, Tolgan, and head straight for the entrance to Burwood. Arenna didn’t even want to imagine trying to navigate through the town—or how long it might take to find a safe way around it.

“Keep your arms around me, okay?” Koltin said, his voice low but steady.

With an acknowledging nod, Arenna glanced back at the mountain looming behind her and the stone fortress carved into its side, memories flooded her mind. It had been her home for most of her life, and she recalled the first time she saw it.

Brookworth castle had overwhelmed her as a child, a mix of the unknown and excitement.

Arenna and Faylen were brought there the night after the destruction of their home.

Despite witnessing unspeakable horrors—Faylen nearly dying and their mother’s blood still coating her hands and arms—Arenna had felt joy.

A beautiful castle to a small child with nothing meant everything .

Now, as they rode farther into the dark, thick trees, the castle resembled a glorified dungeon. It was still magnificent and large, but the excitement that had once threaded through her had vanished, leaving only terror.

Taking a deep breath, Arenna looked away from the castle and toward the thick blanket of dead evergreens, focusing on the path that led her to salvation.