The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 520

Chapter 520

But that kind of detachment wasn’t normal. A person completely devoid of emotion could hardly be called human.

Jessa had gone through that herself. Only after she finally let it all out did she start to feel like herself again.

At this moment, Athena gave Jessa a cool, distant glance, clearly reluctant to speak.

She lowered her lashes to hide her emotions, but Jessa spoke in a distant, even tone. “I once clawed my way through piles of the dead. In the slave camp, severed limbs were everywhere, bones jutting from wounds, blood soaking the ground.

“I was like a wild beast, knowing only how to fight and kill, all for a scrap of bread. Survival. That was my only drive.”

Jessa looked at Athena with a radiant smile. “Athena, you had it the slave camp.”

Athena stared at Jessa in surprise, her smile was brighter than

easier than I did. You only spent three years in the military camp, but I endured eight in

sunlight.

Athena had once smiled that way, without effort or thought. But somewhere along the line, the smiles faded.

Now, even in moments of joy, all she could offer was a faint curve of the lips, a shadow of what once was. It wasn’t for lack of trying. It was simply that nothing touched her heart quite the same anymore.

Jessa looked into Athena’s somewhat dazed eyes and said softly, “Prince Xander wants you to be happy. He blames himself every day for failing to protect you. Athena, maybe you could try to trust him… and maybe trust me too.”

Athena darted her eyes nervously as the path became harder and harder to navigate.

The mountain trail, now muddy from melting snow, was nearly impassable.

Mud clung to her shoes and skirt hem as she and Jessa leaned on each other for support, trudging forward together.

Only the occasional birdsong broke the mountain silence, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Both women panted heavily, yet the temple seemed to recede further into the distance with every step, its gates perpetually out of reach.

Athena wiped the sweat from her brow and let out a bitter laugh. “Same old routine; forced kneeling, beatings. They knew I was nobility, so they made it a point to humiliate me.

“Ripped my clothes to shreds, left me half–naked, made me kneel in the snow, begging like an animal.

“As long as I obeyed… submitted… at least I could get a full meal…”

Jessa froze in her tracks, staring at Athena in shock. She saw that the corners of Athena’s eyes were flushed crimson, as if stained with rouge.

“Then… you…” Jessa began, but the rest of her question died in her throat. She dared not ask further, nor could she bear to dwelt on the implications.

Given what that place was like, the fact that Athena had survived at all

was nothing short of a miracle, more than anyone could ask for.

Athena gently rolled up her sleeve, revealing a vivid scarlet chastity seal before Jessa’s eyes.

Jessa gasped in shock, her eyes widening, but not a single word escaped her lips.

Athena let her sleeve fall, a cynical smile on her lips. “There was a pond in the camp, teeming with toads. I’d skin them and smear their skin on myself. Soon, my whole body broke out in blisters, just like I had smallpox.

“Those men were terrified for their lives. When they saw me, it was as if they’d seen a ghost. They wouldn’t dare touch me, only forced me into the hardest, most backbreaking work. They thought I’d die, but I survived.”

1/2

Chapter 520

Jessa looked at Athena, then gently pulled her into a comforting embrace and whispered, “Don’t be afraid. It’s all in the past now

Athena, held tightly in Jessa’s arms, spoke in a muffled voice. “I’ve always been terrified of toads, just seeing one would make me shiver, but in a pla like that, I could skin them with my bare hands… even eat them raw.”

She went on quietly, “It wasn’t just toads. There were rats and snakes too. When I had nothing else, they were what kept me alive.”

ga