Page 125 of The Stolen Kingdom

A gust of wind slammed against her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. Valda shook her head and turned her attention back to Arwin. He lifted his hand and moved it forward. Another gust moved through the bubble, but this time, Valda captured it within her hands, dissolving the attack into nothing.

With a final grunt, she deflected another gust and jumped off her horse, tackling Arwin off his steed and onto the sand.

The haboob disappeared, as did Valda’s protective cocoon. For a second, she searched for Arwin within the thick sand. The sudden blast of sand next to her knocked her momentarily off her feet. Besides her, Arwin emerged from the within the ground, his hazel eyes burning through her.

“Found you,” Arwin snarled, raising his sword. Valda deflected his strike easily, pushing him off her.

A lick of flame pushed her back, creating a distance between her and Arwin.

Kenna jumped off her horse, her ax still in her hand as she presented it to Arwin, the flames disintegrating into embers.

Arwin’s confused gaze shifted between Valda and Kenna. His face contorted as he realized what was happening.

“An alliance?” he asked, surprised.

“And here you thought I was a lousy ruler. I keep bringing the kingdoms together.” Valda grinned.

Arwin’s eyes narrowed as he clutched his sword tightly with one hand. The other stretched towards Valda, aiming his attack at her. Whirling winds surged forward, laced with an icy chill, intending to knock her off balance. Valda responded by flicking her wrist and creating an opposing current that shielded her from Arwin’s assault.

Seeing her chance, Kenna lunged at Arwin, wielding her ax with both hands. But Arwin was swift, evading her blows with an agility Valda had seen time and time again. Although older than both, Arwin knew more about fighting than anyone Valda had known. He retaliated with a counterstrike, sending a razor-sharp breeze slicing toward Kenna, who barely deflected the attack with her ax.

Valda seized the opportunity to strike, her sword slicing through the air. Arwin redirected the trajectory of her strikes, causing her to face her own assault. Valda’s eyes widened. She pivoted, using her connection to the winds to regain control of her weapon. Valda dashed towards him and slammed the handle of her sword against his temple, ignoring the sound of bone cracking.

Arwin stumbled back, and Valda struck his sword’s handle before he could gather himself. The weapon tumbled to Valda’s feet, who kicked it away from Arwin’s reach. The General fell, blood pouring from his left temple, his sight lost to the blunt force of Valda’s strike.

Suddenly, the crumbling explosions faded into the sound of horses galloping toward the Sealians. Dread ran through Valda’s back. Maris and the rest were still there.

Fuck!

Without a warning, a sharp strike to her stomach pushed her down to the sand, knocking her grip on the Heaven Sword. Valda landed a fist over Arwin’s already injured temple pushing him off her enough to get her back to her feet.

Looming over Arwin, she kicked the man’s jaw. Landing on his back, Valda straddled his waist and grabbed his throat.

“Would you like me to pull the air out of your lungs or would you rather die with my hands around your neck, youfuckingtraitor?”

Arwin clutched her wrist, his eyes shifting to a distinctive dark brown. His hair lengthened, growing long and dark. Parting his lips, a feminine voice pierced through.

“Valda, stop!” Rionach’s unique voice filtered through the tight gasps of air.

Valda’s grip faltered, her fingers trembling as they uncurled from the neck of the figure beneath her. Her breath hitched, sharp and shallow, as she stumbled backward.

Her mother touched her neck, coughing and fighting to breathe again. Valda’s hands, still trembling, clenched into fists at her sides. “This isn’t real,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and breaking. “You’re not real.”

Eris…

Eris’s eyes, her mother’s eyes, watched her, unblinking. The smile that spread across her lips was wrong. It was twisted, ugly, and completely different from the smile that Valda remembered.

“Valda,” the voice came, and Valda’s stomach turned when she recognized it. “You wouldn’t hurt your own mother, would you?”

The weight of her mother’s gaze bore into her, and for a moment, Eris’s illusion almost cracked through her defenses. But then, the air split with a sharp sound, followed by the deafeningthudof steel cleaving into flesh.

Valda flinched, as blood sprayed across the ground in an arc. With a gasp, Valda turned from the stained sand to see Kenna’s ax buried into Eris’s shoulder, missing the head by mere inches.

“No!” Valda panicked as bile rose in her throat. Her mother’s face contorted in pain as she staggered.

For a moment, all Valda could see washer—her mother, struck down, bleeding, crumpling under the weight of Kenna’s attack.

But then the illusion shifted once more.

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