Page 56 of A Queen’s Betrayal (Legends of Worldbinders #1)

Her vision blurred with tears as Arenna rushed through the green halls. Although she still struggled with the layout, she knew enough to find her way back to her chambers from the training pit.

Servants and guards watched her as she passed, some might have even reached out to ask if she was okay, but Arenna could hardly hear them over the blood rushing in her ears.

Turning the corner at the end of the hall, the tears that had welled finally spilled over, streaming down her cheeks in steady drops that splashed against the collar of her shirt as her chamber door came into view.

Breathing became difficult.

Her heart thundered, panic flooding through her body faster than she could inhale and exhale. As she reached for the bronze knob, Arenna noticed how badly her hands were shaking.

Choked, raspy sobs clogged her throat. She hated how much control Jaksen still had over her, even from afar.

He was on an entirely different continent, yet she could not escape him.

She couldn’t remove the feel of his fingers on her skin or in her hair.

She could not unhear the way he whispered in her ear as he broke her apart, bit by bit.

Arenna pressed her head against the cool wood of her door. Slowly, she knelt, bracing her hands against the floor to steady herself. The leveled surface often realigned her spinning mind, allowing her a moment of calm amid the swaying she felt. But as she hit the floor, everything inside her broke.

Heartache pounded in her chest, bursting through her ribcage and splintering across her entire body. Her suppressed cries rang free as she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to endure another moment staring at the world through blurred tears.

Bringing one hand from the floor to clutch her stomach, Arenna held herself tightly.

She didn’t know if she would ever find peace or understand what life could be like outside of Jaksen Steele and the torment he inflicted upon her.

His face appeared in her mind: sharpened cheekbones, a strong jaw, tousled platinum hair, and full pink lips.

She could make out every line in his skin, every scar.

Squeezing her eyes tighter, she tried and failed to force the image away.

And then, she cried harder.

Arenna wasn’t sure when she curled into a small ball, cradling herself like a newborn babe against the floor outside her chambers. All she felt was the pain in her heart, the memories that refused to leave her, and the shame coursing through her veins.

Warm arms wrapped around her, pulling her against a female’s chest. Arenna did not open her eyes to see who held her close, not even when a hand rested on the back of her head, cradling her against the soft material of their jacket.

Arenna finally opened her eyes as her body was laid gently on a mattress, a duvet tucked beneath her chin. Though she lacked the strength to turn and see who stood beside her bed, she whispered a thank you—or something close to it—and drifted into sleep.

Nightmares came quickly that night, invading her mind like the Rot of the land.

* * *

Arenna’s husband was going to kill her. At least that was the belief she clung to as she lay against the cold, damp cobblestone floor of Brookworth’s dungeons.

Jaksen towered over her. Blood splattered his forearms and cheeks, even the exposed portion of his chest from his partially unbuttoned shirt.

They had been in this position for what felt like an eternity while her mind raced.

Arenna didn’t dare move a muscle, praying to the Seven that she wouldn't interrupt his thinking—the longer he pondered, the longer she remained untouched.

There wasn’t an inch of her thin, fragile body that wasn’t screaming in pain. It started in her head and radiated down her neck, splintering off to her arms and torso like a river branching in the mountains.

Although open, her eyes betrayed her. Arenna could hardly see anything beyond the blurry silhouettes of torches anchored to the walls, occasionally catching glimpses of Jaksen if he hovered within her line of sight.

A few weeks ago was the first time he had ever laid a hand on her in anger.

He had begged for forgiveness on his hands and knees, cowering at her feet.

Stupidly, she had forgiven him. Had she known that his attacks would only become more frequent and more cruel, she would have plunged a dagger into his back while it was turned.

Not realizing he was speaking, Arenna pulled her blurry focus from the warm glow of dimming light and settled it on her husband.

He knelt down, pressing his kneecaps into both of her biceps, pinning her to the floor.

She felt her muscles straining beneath his weight, urging her to fight back, to relieve some of the pressure.

But she had nothing left to give.

He had pushed her body to its breaking point five times over the course of four days. She was tired, broken, and bleeding from areas she could no longer feel. There was no fight left inside her.

Pale fingers moved under her chin, lifting her face to align perfectly with Jaksen’s.

A white-hot pain shot down the length of her spine, but Arenna forced herself to suppress the flinch.

With his face so close to hers, there was nothing to see but two empty, black pits where even Sorrows itself might be found.

The icy blue color she had come to love was gone.

The man standing above her was no longer Jaksen Steele, King of Brookworth. Instead, he had transformed into a monster—a vicious, cruel, cold-blooded beast.

Jaksen’s thin lips eased into a terrifying smile, stretching from ear to ear and revealing rows of perfectly white teeth. He dangled a dagger above her throat, letting it swing side to side.

“ I remember the night I gifted this to you. ” His voice was low and almost seductive.

“I worked tirelessly with the blacksmith to create it for you.” He brought the blade to the base of her throat and pressed it against her skin.

Arenna’s chest tightened as he dragged it down the length of her body, following every curve, stopping just above her navel.

“ You haven’t spoken in some time, ” he noted. “ Have I broken you? ”

His question struck a nerve.

Yes, he had. In more ways than one. But giving him that piece of information was exactly what he wanted. He fed on her pain, relishing the power he held over her. It was one of his many tricks—to see how far he could push her and how long she could survive.

“ No, ” Arenna lied, the words barely escaping her lips. Her throat was so raw from screaming that each syllable ached as she spoke.

“ Good. I’m not finished with you yet. ”

She didn’t have time to fully register his words before a scorching pain erupted across her face. Jaksen pressed the dagger into the flesh above her left eyebrow, slowly dragging it down diagonally, not stopping until he reached just beneath her right eye.

As hard as she tried to mask her pain, she couldn’t suppress the scream that tore from her throat.

Her consciousness flickered in and out, stars dancing in her vision.

She longed to stop him, to fight back. But with her arms pinned beneath his knees, she was powerless.

He barely budged against her kicking and thrashing.

“ This scar will be with you for the rest of your days .” Jaksen finally pushed off her arms and stood, wiping the blade of the dagger on his pants.

Arenna’s hands flew to the source of the pain, trembling as she inspected the area.

Blood seeped from her open wound, streaming into her eyes and further blurring her already distorted vision.

The skin was ragged and torn, violently ripped apart in a way that would make perfect healing nearly impossible.

Her screams devolved into sobs, and as she leaned against the cold floor, pressing her hands into the wound to staunch the bleeding, a sticky warmth seeped through her fingers, staining the cuffs of her favorite blue dress.

Jaksen knelt and seized her face, forcing her to meet his gaze once more.

“ Every morning when you wake, you will feel it. ” He leaned into her neck, exhaling heavily.

“ Every night when you close your eyes, you will replay the events of tonight. Each time you look into a mirror, you will be reminded that you belong to me and only me, because I am the only one who could ever love such a torn face. ”

“ Jaksen, ” Arenna whimpered, her voice stripped of pride and defiance. There was no fight left in her. Whatever reaction he sought, it was his for the taking. Clinging to the remnants of her soul had led her here, and she would not resist him again. “ Please. ”

She didn’t even know what she was begging for—perhaps for the pain to cease, for the abuse to stop, or maybe just for Jaksen to see her again as he once did, as the woman who loved him more than she cared to breathe.

Strong hands gripped the nape of her neck, squeezing as he pulled her back toward the dungeon wall. He ignored her cries and pleas. Deep down, Arenna knew he would. Still, she shattered beneath his touch, begging him to leave her be.

A chill crept up her spine when she realized where Jaksen was taking her. “ No, please ,” she begged. “Please don’t leave me here again. I can’t endure another night.”

He released her matted hair, forcing her to sit up, then pressed both of her wrists into the iron shackles anchored to the wall. Her arms sagged against the cold metal, devoid of strength, unable to lift them to alleviate any pressure.

Jaksen swept a finger through the blood oozing down her cheeks like tears and licked it clean. “ Then how will you learn, Little Dove? ” He clicked his tongue, a predatory smile playing on his lips.

Just when she thought he couldn’t inflict more pain, Jaksen clamped the shackles tighter, nearly robbing her hands of sensation.

Arenna cried out again, the unbearable pressure igniting fresh waves of agony.

The shackles were deliberately small and cruel, designed to rub against the already torn flesh beneath them.

“ I will return to you in a day’s time, ” he said, his tone cold and calculating. “ While I’m gone, I want that wound to remind you of this lesson. A healer will come tonight to stop the bleeding, but the rest will be up to you. ”

Ignoring her sobs, Jaksen stood and snuffed the torch behind him, plunging the room into oppressive darkness. The door clicked shut with a finality that felt like the snapping of the last thread holding her together.

A cry, vicious and devastating, echoed through the room as she pushed back against the mildew-drenched wall and curled her knees to her chest. The darkness felt so dense it nearly suffocated her.

Arenna sobbed violently into her knees, her body trembling in agony. Tears and blood mingled on her cheeks, splattering against her skin until she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.

She wailed until her voice gave out, leaving only soft whimpers escaping her throat.

There was no use in continuing to fight against the iron restraints.

She surrendered to the pain as the blood dried and hardened against her skin.

Eventually, exhaustion took hold, and she drifted into a fitful sleep, praying to the Seven that she wouldn’t wake up.