Page 67 of The Stolen Kingdom

“I was about to leave when I saw these three individuals coming here! I couldn’t leave them!” Melvian refuted, her arms crossed. A horse with a small wagon was not so far waiting for them. There were already baskets of food, sheets, and boxes with personal effects in the wagon. “They won’t tell me why they are here and won’t leave.”

Maris’s anger turned to Coljar and the others. “I need all of you to leave this place right now!”

“But—” Coljar’s explanation was cut off by Maris’s urgency.

“No ‘buts’!” Maris pointed at the wagon with a ferocity that made the young boy flinch away from her.

“But we can’t find the black cat,” Lia whispered, and her small voice almost went unheard.

Maris’s eyes turned to the little girl. “What did you say?”

“Lia!” Kimmi scolded her and lifted her face just in time to see Maris. “I’ve told her time and time, there are no cats in here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s been months since we saw a black cat, Lia!” Coljar cut in.

Maris turned to Melvian now. “A black cat?”

Melvian scoffed and grabbed hold of Coljar’s hand. “She is not the only one with a cat, Maris. Skylian soldiers will be here any moment, and we need to get you all to safety!”

“She could’ve—” Maris’s words died in her throat as a soft rumbling vibrated beneath her feet. It felt almost like an earthquake, getting louder and stronger. A surging roar of many voices drifted through the wind, and Maris’s entire body went cold. “They are here.”

Maris grabbed Coljar as Kimmi lifted Lia before running to the horse and carriage. Kimmi jumped in before taking Coljar from Maris. The gallops were getting louder. Louder than Maris’s deafening heartbeat.

“Get in the wagon, Melvian!” Maris snarled as she tied her horse to the wagon next to the other beast. Grabbing her best friend’s elbow, Maris pulled Melvian into the wagon just as Kimmi climbed on one horse, clutching the reins and slamming her feet to the animal’s flank to get it moving.

As Maris watched them leave, a group of five Skylian soldiers ran past the trees, limiting the lakes. They pulled on their horses’ reins and looked at her in surprise and amusement. Maris glanced back and saw her best friend and the children safely returning to the settlement. She breathed hard yet felt the anxiety slip off when she knew they were not in danger, at least for now.

“I guess it was true,” one soldier said, jumping off his horse and pulling out a sword. “How could you have slipped from our grasp like that?”

“Does it matter? The orders were to kill everyone on sight.” Another soldier, a woman, pulled two small daggers from the belt on her waist and slipped off her horse. “We are just lucky we found the leader.”

The other three soldiers dropped from their horses, grasping their weapons as they eyed Maris.

Maris took them all in. Two women, three men. Like all Skylians, they were much taller than her, their black locks disheveled by the wind. Their arms and shoulders were massive with power, and their honey eyes, though different shades, all had one thing in common. They were shadowed with an unexplainable rage.

Maris realized she couldn’t take them all on with her trident. If she attacked one, the other four would jump on her, and she would be dead in seconds. Her eyes trailed down tothe bioluminescent lakes with crystal clear and unmoving water. The water was so clear it perfectly mirrored the soldiers standing by the edge. For the past months, she had been so focused on her skills with the trident she had completely abandoned her greatest weapon. Controlling water.

Burying the base of the trident on the ground, Maris thrust her hands forward. Snake-like ribbons of water formed before her, clutching each soldier by their neck, and dragging them down to the lake’s depths. Once submerged, Maris’s fingers rolled into tight fists. Holding the weight of all five soldiers, she pushed them deeper, ensuring not even one of them could gasp for air.

Water splashed and gasping turned into gargling screams. Maris lowered her fists, gritting her teeth until she firmly pressed her hands to the ground. The splashing slowed until there was nothing but silent air.

Maris opened her eyes and saw five bodies floating on the lake’s surface. She released her breath and touched her chest. Her heart was seconds away from coming out of her throat.

She’d killed them…

She’d killed someone… not someone, five people all at once for the first time in her life. Her hands quivered before clasping the trident tightly.

Her bond with Valda tugged at her harshly. She felt her mate’s worry and rage. “I am fine…” she whispered to no one. “I am fine. I am unharmed.”

She braced herself on her knees and inhaled through her nose as she forced herself to calm down. Once she thought she was fine, Maris turned to the road leading to the settlement and ran as fast as she could back to the square. She needed to head back before any harm came to the others.

She wasn’t fast, though she wished she was. She was sure Valda could run so much faster than she could, yet the hammering on her chest indicated she was giving it her all. As she got closer, chaos unfolded before her. Skylian soldiers were destroying the cottages and fighting the guards.

As she made her way through, Maris slammed the bottom of the trident into a Skylian soldier’s nape who was grabbing a young Sealian woman by her blue hair. Maris ignored the disgusting crack of his skull as he fell dead to the ground.

“Leave,” Maris growled as she pushed the woman toward a carriage.

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