Page 40 of The Stolen Kingdom

“Don’t ever stop.”

Valda wouldn’t. Not now, not ever. She would never stop desiring every inch of her, craving her scent, her taste, her touch.

Even as rage consumed her, even when she felt lost to herself, it was always Maris who brought her back. Maris was her tether, her salvation—the only one who could pull her from the darkness.

Valda’s grip tightened, her rough hands holding Maris in place as she used her tongue urgently. Maris’s cries grew louder, filling the space with desperation.

Then, suddenly, there was silence.

Valda opened her eyes to darkness. Her heart quickened, scared for a second that she was blind again. The moon’s soft light filtered through her tent. Her skin was covered in a faint sheen of sweat, while her hand was buried between her thighs, while her parted lips released soft pants and gasps wracked her entire body.

It felt so real. She could almost taste Maris on her lips, the memory vivid enough to make her pulse quicken. For just a fleeting moment, she’d brought her back.HerMaris.

If she opened enough to let her emotions flow, she would see her again. Isen was right…

And now she wondered if she could do that repeatedly.

“I miss you, Valda.”

Valda closed her eyes and pressed her head to the damp pillow. She could still hear Maris’s voice.

If she missed me so much, why won’t she let me come back?

Her teeth ground together in frustration. With a sudden burst of motion, Valda rose from the bed. Her naked, scar-covered body trembled as a raw, earth-shattering yell tore from her throat, reverberating through the tent. A violent gust of wind swirled around her, knocking over the nearby lantern and scattering loose papers.

If Maris wanted to play this game—to avoid her by day and yield to their bond only at night—Valda would do just that. But she wouldn’t make it easy.

If Maris missed her now, she’d make her miss her even more.

She’d make herbeg.

8

“We are fighting two enemies here. We have Arwin’s goons, who have infiltrated every city near the castle, and then there are these savages that just want to see your head roll.” Isen leaned over the large table and pointed at a large map before him. They had established a meeting point in Cressida where they had been staying in the town’s small inn. They were safe there, at least for the time being. “We have already taken over the cities around Umbriel.”

“We still have Vulcanians coming in and out as they please,” Valda muttered, as she looked at the map. “They must have sent hundreds, if not thousands, of them through Harmonia’s shores.” Valda tilted her head as she touched the Sea Kingdom. “Maybe even used the Agenor’s Islands to make way over here.”

“We don’t know that yet. What we know is that the desert is immense, and they are making good use of it. I can’t believe they’ve moved about so easily—”

“Isen, their kingdom is full of active volcanoes. They are used to smoldering heat. Our desert is a rainforest compared to the Vulcan Kingdom. Good thing is that they are getting lost. We get them, take their weapons, and use them to our advantage.”

“If only we knew where the rest of them were, so we can take all of it…” Isen pouted. “We must come up with something. Yes, our army is getting larger, but as it does, we grow vulnerable. How can we know these men and women are not here just to gather information?”

“If they were, we would be dead by now, Isen.”

The Sealian man sighed while Valda sat down. She had been training all day long, she was agitated and didn’t have the patience to hear Isen tell her what was wrong. She knew what was wrong. Of course, she was terrified of being double-crossed. She feared waking up to find Arwin staring down at her with his stupid, arrogant smile. She was petrified to learn there had been an attack on New Agenor, yet all she could do was wait, build her army and be ready to battle.

It had been four months, and although her nausea had subsided after her encounter with Maris, she still couldn’t reach her whenever she wanted to. It was easy to slip into a dream state. Some nights, she was too preoccupied with what was happening, she couldn’t dream. She was too tired to do so. Other nights, she found her sitting by the bed and waiting for her.

Their encounters were brief yet passionate, filled with longing. It broke Valda’s heart every time she woke up to find it wasn’t real. It was as if she was being snatched from her lover’s arms all over again. Fear of abandonment raced through her, slicing the wound open again.

“I’ll await your orders then,” Isen said, hooking his hands in front of him. “What is the next step?”

“Send out two troops to the Sea Kingdom. I want them to stand guard through Agenor’s Islands, especially the western islands facing Harmonia. Vulcanians must be using that as a bridge to get here.”

“We are sending watchdogs to the Sea Kingdom?”

“They know that place is empty. Only a handful of Skylians and Sealians are there. There won’t be any trouble. Send the troops with water, food, weapons, and our blessings. We will continue combing Umbriel from here.”

---