Page 64
Wren’s lips curve faintly.
“That sounds like you.”
“She disagreed.”
“I bet.”
“Nemesis knew she could not defeat me in battle. My strength grew with every injustice I witnessed. Every act of cruelty fed my wrath.”
“So she tricked you.”
I nod.
“She placed a curse upon my power. Every time I struck an enemy, part of my body hardened into stone. Every time I summoned my wrath, the curse spread.”
Wren leans forward.
“Then why didn’t you stop fighting?”
“Because her soldiers were still killing people.”
“But you knew what would happen.”
“Yes.”
She stares at me.
“Vidar…”
“The curse reached my legs first. Then my hands. I could feel the stone creeping beneath my skin, but the temple was collapsing, and there were children trapped inside.”
Her eyes shine.
I look away.
“There was one girl left. Small. Frightened. Her mother was screaming for her beyond the gates.”
“What did you do?”
“I went back.”
“Even though you knew…”
“Yes.”
I remember the heat.
The falling stones.
The child’s little arms wrapping around my neck as I carried her through the burning temple.
“I could have escaped before the curse consumed me. Nemesis even offered to release me if I surrendered the child and acknowledged her authority.”
Wren’s mouth falls open.
“She wanted you to leave a little girl to die?”
“She wanted me to kneel.”
