1. GLORY IS THE REWARD OF VALOR
JENNA’S PULSE QUICKENED when the door to her bedchamber whispered open behind her.
There was only one person who’d enter her private space without buzzing first.
Dragging in a deep breath, she straightened up from where she’d been packing. Her shuttle was leaving shortly. She didn’t have time for this.
Steeling herself, she glanced over her shoulder.
Her husband stood just inside the doorway, arms folded across his chest. A scowl twisted his handsome face.
“Good morning, Tian,” she greeted him mildly, pretending not to notice his thunderous expression.
A muscle bunched in his jaw. “So, it’s true then?”
“What is?” Jenna took the shawl her droid passed her and carefully folded it, placing the item in her suitcase. Anxiety fluttered up under her ribcage. This washerspace; she didn’t like Tian invading it. A few months earlier, they’d moved into separate bedchambers. Her husband had never set foot in here, until today.
“Cathal’s agreed to negotiate a ceasefire with the Mir-Leliths.”
Jenna stifled a sigh. She’d known Tian would be angry about her brother’s decision. “Yes … finally.”
She twisted around to face her husband fully then. Tian had moved to stand before the window, his lean form silhouetted against a wide pink sky. Harsh red-hued sunlight streamed into the room, although the triple-glazed glass and air-conditioning prevented the planet’s blistering heat from entering as well.
Tian met her eye, his lip curling. “Cathal’s making a mistake. Instead of sending his simpering sister to treat with our enemies, he should be striking a blow they shall never recover from. Show Aran Mir-Lelith mercy, and he will despise you for it.”
“You’re wrong,” Jenna replied, deliberately ignoring his slight. “Aran knows … as we do … that an escalating conflict will just weaken both our clans. He’s humbled and ready to talk. And that’s why I’m going to meet his delegates … maybe we can mend some of the bridges we burned.”
Tian snorted. “What wouldyouknow? Your brother should be listening to me.I’mhis military advisor.”
“One that has sent us into open war with the Mir-Leliths,” she countered, her temper rising now. “Cathal no longer looks to you for counsel, Tian. Instead, he’s sendingmeto fix the mess you’ve made.”
That was the truth. For months, she’d watched Tian push her brother and his other advisors toward the point of no return. Now, the Mir-Lelith clan-lord wished to negotiate a ceasefire, and she was leading the Mir-Brennan delegation.
Someone had to do something—before it was too late. The balance of power between the sector’s three most powerful clans had always been a fragile one. Over the past years, the Mir-Brennans had grown in strength—and Jenna’s father had decided to use his position of power to work toward peace with their rivals: the Mir-Ferrins and the Mir-Leliths.
Jenna’s marriage to Tian had secured an alliance between the Mir-Brennans and the Mir-Ferrins, ending decades of feuding. Her clan had also been working toward a treaty with the Mir-Leliths, one to divide mining rights upon Staturine II, a mineral-rich planet the two clans had been in dispute over. But everything had unraveled when the Mir-Lelith ambassador tried to assassinate her brother on Jenna and Tian’s wedding day.
Peaceful communications between the Mir-Brennans and the Mir-Leliths had ended then, and their relationship spiraled into military conflict just weeks later.
Tian’s gaze narrowed. “Stuck-up bitch.” His gaze raked over her from the crown of her head to the hem of her golden ambassadorial robes. “You always think you know best, don’t you?”
Silence fell in the bedchamber, broken only by the hum of the climate control unit on the ceiling above them.
Jenna stared back at her husband—and as she did so, something gave way inside her. This man had brought her nothing but misery since their wedding day. She’d tried to like him—and when that had failed, she’d tried to get along with him—but Tian Mir-Ferrin’s scorn was poison.
Every encounter between them left her feeling diminished. Whenever they were alone, he did his best to erode her self-confidence, to grind her into the dirt. Cruel words left bruises no one could ever see, yet they scarred all the same.
Jenna inhaled sharply. “Enough,” she murmured. “We’re finished, Tian.”
Her husband tensed, his dark brows crashing together. “Excuse me?”
“Our marriage … it’s over.”
Tian moved then, so fast he caught her off-guard. Three paces brought him across the chamber. A moment later, he was looming over her, his gaze burning into hers. “You don’t get to decide that,” he snarled.
Jenna tilted her chin back to meet his eye properly. Tian was a lot taller than her, and she was used to his intimidation tactics. Even so, her pulse trebled, her mouth going dry.
She had to free herself of this bully.
