Page 22 of The Stolen Kingdom

Inserting a second finger, Valda pressed her head to the pillow, fighting the urge to open her eyes and hoping to find Maris. Dragging her fingers up to her clit, Valda moaned as pleasured zipped through her, bucking her hips off from the bed.

Suddenly, Isen opened the door to their room unceremoniously loudly. Valda’s eyes flew open, grabbing the bedsheet and covering herself.

“Fucking knock!” Valda screamed, just as Isen turned to look at her, confused.

Crimson red covered his cheeks and ears, as he turned his back to her. “My apologies. I thought you were asleep,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

Valda pulled her pants up, using the sheet as a shield. She fixed the blouse, tossing the chest wraps away for the time being.

“Is it cultural for Sealians to not knock on doors?”

“I said I was sorry.”

Cerberus stood from her spot on the ground and stretched her back paws before heading towards Isen. The man looked down at the animal, avoiding at all costs making eye contact with Valda.

“I got us some provision,” the Sealian said, dropping his bag near the door. “It’s not much.” He sounded both tired and embarrassed. He released his breath before rubbing his chest. Sensing his distress, Cerberus pressed her large head to his knee, rubbing her cheek against him, leaving a streak of hair all over his pants.

Valda hissed as she sat up, touching her flank in the process and allowing the bedsheet to drop to her lap. “Were you able to get everything you needed, though?”

“Yes.” His terse answer didn’t sit well with Valda. He sat down quietly, rubbing his eyebrows.

“Are you all right, Isen?”

He shook his head at first, but touched his chest again. “My mate is not feeling well, and I can’t do much about it.”

Oh.Trailing her hand to her own chest, Valda pressed her index and middle finger to her sternum,but she felt… nothing.

“I am going to sleep now,” Isen said with no room to argue. He stood off the chair and walked to the other bed. He gave his back to Valda, while Cerberus followed him. The large cat curled up into a ball right next to his bed.

Valda didn’t question him. He needed his space as much as she did and, to be fair, she wasn’t exactly being easy. She lay on her back, staring up at the wooden ceiling. She needed to rest before they could head out, but sleep had become a double-edged sword that could either harm or help her.

All Valda wanted was to see Maris, and within the yearning, it was as if Valda could materialize her in her dreams.

Formed out of a drop of water itself, Maris grabbed her hand and pulled her into a dance resembling the last one they shared back in New Agenor’s square. She could see the flowing edges of her tunic moving as she did around the large fire.

This dream was a memory, a reminder of what Maris looked like when surrounded by what she loved and cared for. Valda painted the image of Maris in her brain, etching it into the corners of her mind, never to be erased.

As Maris pulled her into the crowd of dancing, young Sealians, Valda took in how her mouth curved, the subtle dimple on one side of her face, and how her nose scrunched. Her eyes were thin slits as her cheeks rose with a burst of upcoming laughter.

Valda would fight a million battles, get stabbed a thousand times, and die a hundred more to keep the smile painted on Maris’s beautiful face. She would drown in the deepest sea if it meant she got to run her fingers through Maris’s ocean blue hair once more. She would swim in the river Styx, lose her very soul if she were to be promised she could kiss Maris one last time…

The dream consumed her. As Maris twirled in her arms, pulling her into a gentle kiss, the fire pit behind her lover dimmed. The surrounding couples vanished, crumbling around Valda like broken stones.

Maris’s smile, which was pressed against her lips, slowly disappeared, and the coldness in Valda’s chest came back.

As Maris pulled back, a snarl of disgust spread over her perfect little mouth. Now Maris stood before Valda, arms crossed over her chest, distant as the darkness swallowed her until there was nothing but the same blackness suffocating Valda.

The blindness was back, and the visions weren’t a dream.

It was a nightmare.

And she had to wake up before it consumed her.

Valda sat up on the hard bed, drenched in sweat, her cheeks wet with tears. She wiped them away with a burning, nauseating fury. Then she looked down at her hands. Isen slept soundly in the bed next to her on the other side of the room, shirtless and looking uncomfortable. The sheet he’d wrapped himself in was long forgotten on the floor.

Standing up, Valda touched her flank. New and clean bandages had replaced the bloody ones she had worn upon arrival at the tavern and inn. Isen probably woke up and cleaned them up as she slept. This man was giving up so much, and she was giving him such a hard time.

Walking towards him, she noticed the worried frown permeated on his brow. She felt her own frown forming in her visage. Valda grabbed the sheet from the ground and covered his torso before sitting back down on her bed.

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