Page 118 of The Stolen Kingdom

“Asclepius will not bless you with his gift if—”

“I wouldn’t be the first time a god has ignored me, Melvian,” Maris said before walking to Eyphah. She patted Isen’s shoulders and switched with him. Cradling Eyphah’s face, she helped her drink more from the waterskin while Kenna focused on her.

Valda walked in seconds later, her presence adding more tension to the situation. After taking short sips of water, Eyphah opened her eyes and coughed, spilling the precious liquid down her chin and neck.

“Eyphah!” Isen called to her, his hand cupping her swollen face before turning her to him. “It’s me!”

At first, Eyphah seemed to be lost, unaware of the people around her. Once she recognized Isen, she released a sigh and leaned back against the wooden wall.

“Can you talk, Eyphah?” Maris asked, as she gave the waterskin to Valda, then pressed her hand to Eyphah’s flank.

The other woman hissed, clutching Maris’s hand. “Fuck! I can! You don’t have to keep hurting me!” Eyphah said, her voice hoarse.

“I don’t feel any broken ribs,” Maris said before touching Eyphah’s swollen cheek.

She had a cut under her right eye and a bruise on her jaw and a busted lip, but as Maris touched her shoulder, Eyphah gasped in pain. Grabbing the dagger she kept hidden under her tunic, Maris slashed away Eyphah’s top and stared at the black and blue skin over her left shoulder. She touched the swollen bulge and pulled away just as Eyphah barked at her to stop touching her.

“What are you doing to her!?” Kenna snarled behind her, stomping towards Maris.

Valda moved between them, her large hand pressing to Kenna’s chest and pushing her away. “Let her do her job.”

“She is hurting her!” Kenna said, reaching for her ax.

“She is healing her!” Melvian said as she stood next to Valda, her smaller frame dwarfed by Valda’s height yet looking just as determined not to let Kenna pass.

“She has a dislocated shoulder,” Maris announced, looking at Isen. “I need you to hold her still.”

Isen nodded, moving behind his sister and wrapping his arm around her torso. “This will hurt a lot, Eyphah.”

Eyphah huffed, closed her eyes, and turned away, looking for comfort in her brother’s embrace. She tensed as Maris straightened her arm before the dreaded countdown. When Maris counted to three, a disgusting, wet pop filled the cabin, followed by a pained groan.

“Keep drinking,” Maris said, grabbing a piece of clean cloth and tying Eyphah’s arm in an improvised sling. Hopefully, it would keep her arm immobilized until she felt better.

After allowing Eyphah a minute to breathe, Isen broke the silence by finally asking the questions everyone was holding onto. “What happened to you? Where were you?”

Eyphah touched her arm, inspecting Maris’s work before she looked up at Kenna. Her breath hitched, and she glanced away. “I was heading back to New Agenor after Valda beat the shit out of me back in Titania.”

Kenna’s eyes widened and without a warning she flung a fist to Valda, who dodged the attack and pushed her away.

“Hey! Hey! We are not doing this now!” Melvian said, getting between Valda and Kenna.

“On my way there, I was intercepted by a troop of Vulcanian. They also beat the shit out of me.” Eyphah shuddered, looking at Kenna once again. “They agreed to keep me alive if I told them where Valda was.”

Valda visibly tensed. “You put my mate in danger?”

“Of course not,” Eyphah spat. “I would never put my queen in danger.”

“Then how the fuck did they make it to Titania?”

“We are not stupid. We know how to track people,” Kenna said.

“Don’t get me wrong. I wanted to tell them…” Eyphah said, her eyes cautiously reaching Maris’s. “I didn’t know they were going to make it to Titania, I swear.”

Maris’s lips twitched. “Your mate almost killed me because I didn’t tell her where Valda was.”

“I didn’t know…” Eyphah whispered, her gaze downcast.

“What happened then?” Isen asked, smoothing his hand over Eyphah’s hair.

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