Page 57 of The Stolen Kingdom

Maris chuckled, shaking her head as Eyphah took one last gulp from her glass before reaching for the pitcher to refill it.

It was empty already, and both women wanted more.

“I will be right back.”

“All right.” Maris nodded while Eyphah gathered the pitcher and headed inside.

In the center of the square, Melvian waved her hand at the children, dismissing the questions for the day, but the children didn’t leave. Some played with the instruments laid out. Moments later, Maris noticed young Cai walking into the square and sitting next to Kimmi. The young girl talked to Coljar when the young guard patted her arm.

Maris tilted her head to the side as she watched from the comfort of the deck. She was enthralled and slightly light-headed from the drink, that she didn’t notice Eyphah sitting next to her and filling up both their cups. Maris welcomed her with a smile before tilting her chin towards the square.

“Look over there.”

“Hmmm?” Eyphah lifted her gaze from her drink to Cai and Kimmi. “Oh! Will you look at that!”

Both women watched in silence as Cai tried to get Kimmi’s attention. Sadly, when Kimmi turned to look at him, she rolled her eyes, stood up, grabbed Coljar’s hand, andwalked away towards the men with the drums.

“Ooh!” Eyphah scoffed a laugh. “Oh boy! He reminds me of someone!”

Maris’s curiosity peaked as she leaned and rested her arms on her knees. “Who? You?”

“What? Me? Please! He reminds me of Isen when he was younger. Gods know that boy was horrible with girls. He would go around acting like a lost puppy whenever a girl smiled at him. He was painfully awkward.”

“Really? Your brother is a very handsome man. I wouldn’t doubt he had people running after him.”

“Yes, of course. Puberty was kind to him, but when he was a kid, he was—“ She scrunched her nose. “Not so easy on the eyes?”

Maris threw her head and laughed. “Ugly? Isen?”

“And clumsy as fuck!” she added, looking down at her forearm and rubbing the tattoo there.

Maris noticed Eyphah touching the tattoo. She knew that at some point she and Isen were close enough to get matching tattoos.

“When did you get that?” Maris asked, pointing at Eyphah’s arms.

“A long time ago, back when this place was a bigger dump that it is,” Eyphah said, looking at the designs of waves hitting rocks in her tattoo. “Isen was about to leave to find help, or so he said. I… I didn’t want him to leave, but he insisted. I told him we should get something to always remind us of where we came from.” She extended her arm for Maris to see. “We got this done days before he left, and I remember how fucking whiny he was. He wouldn’t stop crying, saying that it was painful.”

Maris touched Eyphah’s arm, taking the time to notice the colorful blue lines of the waves and the darker ones for the rocks. Her fingers drifted over the other woman’s skin until she noticed the goosebumps and quickly pulled away.

Valda didn’t have tattoos, but so many freckles adorned her skin. Maris missed them. She missed trailing her hands over them, then using her lips to follow that same path. She missed the way they moved when Valda scrunched her nose when she smiled…

With a sigh, Maris tucked her hand on her lap and turned back to the plaza. “I bet the tattoo was painful,” Maris said, trying to ignore the heavy breath that escaped Eyphah.

“Not really.”

“Stop acting like you are the toughest of them all, Eyphah. You are not and neither is your brother. You two are two big softies.”

“Oh, please. My brother is super dramatic. I am surprised he even snatched himself a mate.” Eyphah shook her head, rubbing her lower lip with the edge of her half-full glass. “I guess some people are lucky.”

Maris frowned, placing her empty glass on the floor. “Weren’t you married? I remember Isen told me you were married when I first met him.”

“You guys were talking about me?”

“He was talking to me about his family…” Maris wiped the sweat off her brow.

Eyphah sighed and rubbed her temple before casually filling Maris’s cup again. “I was. She left.”

“Oh.” Maris didn’t want to prod, but she was curious. “Why?”

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