Page 51 of A Queen’s Betrayal (Legends of Worldbinders #1)
Arenna’s unease deepened. “So, rippling in and out isn’t an option until we’re back in Varios.
” She studied the map, her finger tapping on a darkened portion of the sea.
“If we were to sail from Alaraine to Dames Port, could we avoid the Sirens?” She remembered the heads above the water and the silent promise they made.
Her fingers curled tightly at her sides, and a heaviness settled low in her stomach.
Arenna wanted to avoid them if at all possible.
Rodsan sipped from his wine before responding. “That route has been cleared for years. I’ve received no reports of lost crews or naval ships.”
“Then we travel to Dames and ripple to Valdows,” Wylder suggested, cracking his knuckles. He turned his attention to Kayson. “And you believe we will find something in Mournstern?”
“I do,” Kayson affirmed.
“Arenna, there’s something I must ask.” Marea shifted, the leather of her armor creaking as she moved.
“There’s something unearthly about your former husband.
We’ve faced him in battle—watched blades pierce his flesh, seen blood pour from his wounds—and yet he does not die. Do you know anything about it?”
Rodsan leaned forward. “Oh yes, I am eager to hear this.”
Arenna blinked, caught off guard. She hadn’t truly considered it before—not like that.
But now, piece by piece, it began to make sense.
The nights he returned from battle without a scratch, the way even deep gashes vanished within a day.
She’d told herself he was careful. Untouchable, maybe. But invincible?
“I have seen similar signs, but I know nothing,” she admitted, her voice low. “I don’t think any of you realize how kept in the dark I was. To Jaksen, I was nothing more than a breeding mare, a thing to unleash his anger on, and something he had to have because his council told him to.”
Shame gnawed at her insides, but Arenna dared to look at Kayson across the table. He leaned his elbow on one armrest, his hand propping up his chin while his other gripped the edge of the right armrest, his knuckles turning snowy white.
“That was until I realized what I really was to him,” Arenna continued, forcing herself to speak the truth.
“I thought he loved me once. From the start, our marriage was a trick—a ruse—so he could claim the power I didn’t even know I possessed.
My life wasn’t my own. He chose what I wore, how I spoke, where I went, and even what I ate.
I was dressed in serpentine accessories, paraded around his kingdom like a trophy in a glass case for everyone to gawk at. ”
Bramnen said softly, “You don’t need to tell us this.”
“I do,” Arenna argued, her voice rising. “None of you believe me when I say I know nothing . I can help you with the castle’s layout, what a day looked like in Brookworth, but in regard to Jaksen . . .” The words caught on her tongue. “I realize now I didn’t know him at all.”
“We believe you,” Marea reassured her, draining her glass. “Give us time, Arenna. You might have walked into the kingdom of your greatest enemy, but we have also allowed ours into our home.”
Arenna gave a small nod, though unease still coiled in her stomach. Her cheeks burned with the weight of everything she’d confessed—the truth laid bare, her vulnerability exposed.
Feeling a tug to the opposite end of the space, she found the king watching her. His face was calm and neutral, but his eyes bore into hers with such intensity that she wished she could hear the thoughts in his head.
Eldric stood, his movements slightly labored.
Kayson broke their eye contact, and Arenna’s chest felt heavier when he looked away. “Then it’s settled.”
“I will alert the Houses and the Palace of your travels,” Bramnen added.
Arenna folded her arms across her chest, sinking deeper into her chair. The thick wool coat she wore did little to warm the chill that had settled in her bones. “You won’t be joining us?” she asked Bramnen.
He offered a close-lipped smile. “My place is here when the king is absent.” He patted her hand gently. “They might be cold, but they are good. You will learn that in time.”
He didn’t need to name names for her to understand who he was referring to. Arenna gazed at the commander and the king, both hunched over the map on the table. “Yes, I will,” she replied. She owed it to herself and to them to give them the chance they had given her.
“Arenna, you need to train that power. We cannot leave until you are more prepared for a fight,” Kayson said without looking up.
Heat stirred within her, a flickering flame that ached to be released. The thought of working on it was exciting.
Wylder nodded, his expression earnest. “It’s still uncontrollable.
When the time comes to fight, you need to be better prepared.
But you must work on other fighting tactics as well.
You cannot just rely on your flame, especially with how new you are to wielding it.
You’re likely to burn out faster in your first years due to inexperience. ”
“I can do it,” Arenna declared, a fierce determination rising within her.
Rodsan grinned, his confidence infectious. “That’s the spirit.”
Kayson pushed his chair back and sauntered toward the door. “Selphia will show you to the training arena tomorrow. Do not be late,” he instructed over his shoulder, a hint of authority lacing his tone.
With that, the remaining members of Kayson’s council filed out behind him. Arenna took her place in line, moving toward the door. As she crossed the threshold, a turquoise jewel struck her shoulder, yanking her to the ground.
She stifled a wince as pain flared.
Eldric glanced down at her, lips curled in a snarl. Arenna would not show this male any satisfaction in her pain, though every muscle in her body screamed with memory—making her want to curl into a ball to protect herself from another attack.
His face was gruff and angry. “Know your place,” he said, pushing past her and limping through the door.
Marea extended a hand, helping Arenna to her feet. “You need to start defending yourself, Firewielder.”
“I don’t know how,” Arenna whispered, the words tasting of failure.
“He ruined more than I care to admit.” Instinctively, she folded her arms across her chest, as if shame could be hidden like skin.
Her gaze dropped to her hands, where flickers of flame curled and danced beneath her skin.
“It’s ironic,” she murmured, “to command fire itself, yet be powerless to burn away what he did to me.”
It was quiet for too many breaths. Marea didn’t look at her or even shift at the small sliver of truth Arenna had offered. She said nothing, either—not out of judgment, Arenna realized, but because some wounds deserved the dignity of being heard without reply.
When the Lady Commander finally spoke, she said, “Everyone has a past. Something that we relive every time our eyes close, or even a feeling we might never unfeel.” She placed a hand on Arenna’s shoulder. “But right now, you can choose to let it consume you, or you can overcome it.”
“I’m ashamed to admit it already does consume me,” Arenna replied, in every way she spoke, acted, thought, and moved.
“Then rewrite it.”
Arenna looked up, meeting ocean eyes. “How?” she whispered, her voice so faint she wasn’t sure if she had actually spoken.
Marea’s shoulders sagged as she loosed a breath, as if she, too, was in a fight to rewrite a wrong.
“You adapt. You accept that this world is not kind, and it will not change to make it easier for you. You must change to survive it.” Her gaze drifted toward the open door.
“And you find people who make it more survivable, people who give you a reason to wake up in the morning.”
“I had that once. Three of them, actually.” Arenna braced herself on the edge of the table. “I left them behind when I escaped.”
“Did they help you get out?”
“Yes.” Arenna’s throat felt thick. She turned to the side to hide a single tear that rolled down her cheek, brushing it away as quickly as it fell.
“Then do not take their sacrifice in vain.” Marea placed a hand atop Arenna’s. “Do everything you can to live for them. Train with us. Grow. Learn.”
Arenna nodded, the pressure on her chest lightning. “You were right about the world not changing for us. But I think we can make it better.” Marea’s red brows lifted. “We can fix it. Rejoin it. We can make this world better than we found it.”
Marea grinned. “Maybe you aren’t so bad after all, Firewielder.”