Page 31 of The Stolen Kingdom

Valda stood before her, looking down, her wide-open eyes unblinking and white. The stare, devoid of irises, burned into Maris’s very soul.

Valda was blind again.

How? They’d cured the curse.

Maris swallowed hard as a tear escaped, streaking her cheek. Her breath caught when Valda’s hand rose, wiping it away with a tenderness that sent shivers through her.

Confusion churned within Maris as her gaze remained locked on the whiteness of Valda’s eyes. Her stoic features, devoid of warmth, seemed to cut through her, leaving a coldness that settled deep in her chest.

Hissing through clenched teeth, Maris shut her eyes, her body shuddering violently. The cold was unbearable, seeping into her very bones and spreading through her chest and limbs. Even her fingertips felt icy, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

When she opened her eyes, Valda was sitting on the ground.

Her orange blouse was soaked in blood.

In her hand, Valda gripped a cutlass, the blade dripping crimson. She stared at it, inspecting it, before letting it clatter to the ground. Petrified, Valda rubbed her bloodstained hands against her dark pant leg.

“It won’t come off.” Her voice broke as she lifted her trembling jaw, her white eyes moist with tears. “I can’t wipe it off… I thought…” A sob escaped her. “Arwin said—”

She stopped, grabbing fistfuls of her dark hair before burying her face between her knees.

Blood.Who had Valda killed?

Frowning, the image of Raan flashed before Maris’s very eyes. His smile, his dumb jokes, his warm hugs, his bearded kisses to her cheek; all of it was ripped away from Maris.

And it was all because of Valda.

“Murderer!” Maris screamed, her voice breaking as she loomed over Valda.

Valda’s gaze darkened, the motion of her hands against her slacks stilling. Her narrowed eyes seemed to shift—honey irises flickered back for a fleeting moment before they were swallowed by blackness.

Rising to her full height, Valda towered over Maris’s smaller frame, looking down with teeth bared and fists clenched at her sides.

“And you are a liar,” Valda hissed.

“A liar? Why—”

“You left! Just when you promised you wouldn’t! Have you already forgotten? You leftme.Yourmate, how could you?”

“You killed my father, my mother, you killedme!”

“How can I make you understand that I never meant to hurt you!?”

“But you did!” Maris screamed, the air tightening inside her throat. “You did.”

Valda’s frame quivered as she closed her eyes. For a moment, her painful expression cut through Maris, striking something deep inside her. But she didn’t waver.

When Valda opened her eyes again, they were the warm honey color Maris had once loved. Her body was clean, and her sword rested quietly in its scabbard.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Valda murmured, her voice breaking.

Maris swallowed hard, shaking her head. She believed her, but the anger still clawed at her insides. “I don’t care. Everything I suffered—all of it—was because of you.”

“I never… I…” Valda groaned, pressing her knuckles to her temple. “You said you would never leave. You told me right before heading back to Oberon! You lied to me.”

“I had to. I… I couldn’t stay, Valda. What would they think if I stay with the one person responsible for their death?” Maris swallowed the knot in her throat. “I want to see you, but… I can’t be nearyou.”

Valda’s eyes dimmed with a darkness Maris had never seen. A rough, callused hand clutched her jaw, opening her mouth and parting her lips. Maris gasped as she was jerked to Valda’s muscular body. Maris stared at her mate’s face; her eyes unreadable in the dark consuming them. She tried to talk, but Valda’s hand prevented her from doing so.

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