Chapter 35: Traumatized
The words struck like a whip, slicing through Ren’s defenses. Her breath hitched, her pulse hammering against her ribs. How did she know? Had Kaisun spoken of it? Or worse, had he found solace in this woman’s arms? The thought was venom, curling through her mind like poison, unraveling the fragile unintentional trust she had placed in him. She barely knew him. Every piece of him remained locked away in a chest to which she had no key, and yet she had thrown herself into this marriage blindly.
"Who said I won’t?" Ren countered, her voice edged with defiance. "I am his to take, little puppy."
She hadn’t meant to play this game, hadn’t wanted to engage in this wretched tug-of-war, but Elaika had crossed a line.
The woman’s smirk only widened, unbothered. "He has to marry me if he doesn’t want to lose his power, silly human. The clans agreed to assist him in the war only if he weds me, beds me, and makes babies with me."
Ren’s body went rigid. The words settled in her chest like stones, dragging her into a suffocating abyss. Her husband had canceled that treaty, or at least, he had claimed to. But the certainty in Elaika’s voice made doubt claw its way into her heart. Was he lying to her? Had he merely told her what she wanted to hear?
She forced a smile, bright and cutting. "Then I won’t stop him. If he wants you, he can have you."
Elaika’s expression faltered, just for a breath, before twisting into something vicious. "I’ll make you drop that fucking innocent mask, princess. I’m sure you are here for ulterior motives!"
"You are delusional!" Ren smirked and turned sharply on her heel before she betrayed the raw hurt bleeding inside her.
The walls of the palace blurred around her as she strode forward, her mind storming with thoughts she wished she could silence. If Kaisun had deceived her, she had no choice but to accept it. Their marriage was built on shifting sand, and she had been foolish to believe it could be anything else. But more than that, if the treaty allowed him to take multiple wives, what could she do? This wasn’t Alvonia. This was Thegara, a world she barely understood.