Page 69 of The Thren's Fated

Lena’s chest tightened with strain, worry overcoming her despite all that Screl had done.

“For you, Lena. So he could return to Henios and be with you.”

All the air left her lungs, and she pressed a hand to the open doorway, trying to steady herself. She knew he had no love for his father, had not seemed like an eager royal, and yet he was in prison, suffering, because of her.

Dronzal shuffled her feet, not meeting Lena’s gaze.

“Did you know he was going to do this?” Lena asked, eyes narrowed into a scowl.

Now her anger was flaring, like a star ready to supernova. Dronzal should have warned her. Despite all the confusion she felt about Screl, she knew how cruel his father was and didn’t wish to see him imprisoned for her.

“He does not apprise his crew of his decisions, but it is what I suspected. It would be the only way the Sovereign would allow him to go to Henios, to be with you. As a prince, he is expected to travel across the galaxy as needed to follow his father’s orders, but as a commoner he would be free to pursue whatever he wanted.”

“What’s going to happen to him?”

Panic was building quickly, a jittery sensation that started in her empty chest and extended to her limbs, making it difficult to focus.

“I do not know.”

Lena inhaled deeply, her thoughts racing to a single conclusion.

She had to go back.

Could she live with herself if she let something bad happen to him? Would she even survive if the Sovereign sought to punish him more thoroughly than he had before? She recalled the mirrored pain slamming through her body with each blow, each strike to her fated.

Her fated.

She was really calling him that, after everything.

But yes, after everything, she couldn’t just abandon him to his abusive father, an ancient Thren who was far past the point of coherence.

You must be really desperate if you’d sacrifice everything for someone who doesn’t love you.

No. She wasn’t desperate, and whether he loved her or not wasn’t the point. Screl was willing to face his father and renounce his royal status for her, and that had to mean something.

Why else would he be willing to give up so much?

There was a feeling of warmth in her chest, one drowning out the cruel voice inside her head telling her that she was worthless. The voices of her father and mother and Greg and the one-night-stands—anyone who had ever made her feel like she wasn’t good enough.

“I want to go back,” she said, and Dronzal eyed her carefully.

“Are you sure? The Sovereign asked for you to leave, and I am uncertain how he would react if you were to return.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Take me back.”

Dronzal paused as if assessing the situation, but nodded after a long, expectant silence.

“Get dressed. We will leave at once.”

CHAPTER 23

The shuttle ride to Botune was strained, though a transformation overcame Lena as they got closer and closer to the planet.

The physical pain of the separation was lessening, that clenching in her heart that was overwhelming anytime she was off her pain meds, but an intense sensation of despair began to infiltrate her. Somehow, she knew it was Screl, his emotions seeping into hers as they approached Botune, and anxiety turned into fierce determination.

Dronzal landed the shuttle without issue on the roof of the palace, echoing the memory of the last time Lena had been there.

Two bulky guards ushered them through the maze without a word, but the final destination was clear.