The Traitor Queen

Aren Kertell is one of two protagonists and point-of-view characters. His failed arranged marriage with Lara Veliant, in accordance with the Fifteen-Year Treaty, has ended in a betrayal that led to Aren’s capture and the invasion of Ithicana. Aren struggles with immense guilt. Though he is angry at Lara for giving her father all the secrets he needed to take Ithicana, Aren is most disappointed with himself for trusting her.

Aren’s care for his people is nearly his undoing as Serin tortures, kills, and hangs every Ithicanian caught attempting to free Aren. The guilt he feels as his people continue to die on his behalf pushes Aren to suicidal ideation as he considers ending his life to stop the needless bloodshed, showing The Responsibility that Comes with Power. Though he was trained to be an exceptional archer and fighter, his physique slowly deteriorates during his imprisonment in Vencia, further diminishing his ability to aid his kingdom. When he is finally rescued by Lara, she admits she “hadn’t accounted for the toll captivity had taken upon him, mentally or physically” and that while she’d always known him as an extremely fit person, his time as a shackled prisoner, “never walking farther than the distance between his rooms and the palace courtyards” was “so at odds with who he was that it was a wonder he hadn’t been driven to madness” (198).