Page 70 of The Stolen Kingdom

“Then let’s go. No one will put their hands on you.” Valda reached for her again, but Maris took yet another step back. “I swear to Ouranos, Maris…”

“I won’t leave them to fend for themselves!”

Valda closed her eyes with a snarl and took a deep breath. She ran her dirty fingers through her hair and opened her eyes to stare down at Maris. The younger woman shuddered at the sight of Valda’s contained rage.

“Fine,” Valda exhaled.

Maris relaxed when Valda lowered her shoulders. “Help me go through the houses and make sure everyone made it out,” Maris said, and when Valda nodded, she turned back to the settlement, but a sharp strike to the back of her neck made everything around her succumb to the shadows.

Maris was the most stubborn woman Valda had ever met in her entire existence.

Though she was used to Skylians being hardheaded idiots, she never thought Maris would be like that. Then again, the woman was raised amongst Skylians, it was only natural for her to adopt their hardheadedness.

She knew Maris would resist leaving New Agenor. What she never thought was that Maris would kill anyone. It took Valda by surprise when she ran by the lakes and saw five soldiers floating in one of them. A sense of pride spread through her, followed by dread. She couldn’t tell if Maris was hurt in this encounter, so before she made it to the square, she filled her waterskin with water from one of the cleaner lakes. Hoping she wouldn’t have to use it, Valda kept it close in case she needed to heal Maris.

When she made it to the square amidst the chaos, she screamed Maris’s name, bellowing it to no avail. Maris was not there. If she wasn’t in the settlement, where was she?

Valda searched for her, killing anyone who stood in her path. Her sword did not cease to move as she thrust into the stomachs of traitors to the real crown. How dare they call themselves Skylian soldiers?

Then she heard her. Valda could recognize Maris’s voice amid a storm. She had engraved her sounds deep within her very soul. Her mate called for Melvian, making it easier for her to point out where she was.

It took Valda a moment to realize that the woman she was staring at was the same woman she saw in her dreams.

This Maris was a warrior, ready to sacrifice her life for her people and friends. But Valda would not have that. She would not have Maris give up her life to save others, not when she was there to protect her. As vermin attacked her mate, Valda saw red when he kneed her face and slammed his sword handle to Maris’s brow.

Before she knew what she was doing, Valda skewered the traitor with the Heaven Sword, lifting him from the ground and tossing him away as if he was nothing but a dead animal. And then she saw her, so close she could almost touch her. Even with her bloodied lips, disheveled hair, and petrified eyes, Valda had to stop herself from kissing her.

Of course, after saving her life, Maris had to be stubborn. There would be casualties. They were in the middle of a war. To stay behind and hope for everyone to survive was ludicrous, not to mention that Valda planned the evacuation alongside Isen. Everything would be fine.

But no.

Maris needed to threaten her with the trident, and Valda had no other choice but to knock her out if she wanted to leave the settlement and put her some place safe. Not even poor Cerberus could make her reason.

Valda jumped on her horse, secured the trident tightly to the saddle, and waited for Cerberus to jump behind her. Looking at the trident, her stomach turned when she remembered who taught Maris how to use it.

Eyphah…

Valda sniffed in disgust and settled Maris securely between her legs, helping her lean against her chest, before grabbing the reins. Within minutes, Valda cleared the outskirts of New Agenor, completely ignoring the trail of carriages of Sealians and her soldiers had created in their evacuation. Valda took a different turn no one knew about. Isen wouldhead to Titania with the rest of her people and the Sealians. If she wanted to talk to Maris, she needed her undivided attention, and if she was too worried about her people, Valda wouldn’t get through to her.

Valda didn’t go far, finding the caves the rogues mostly used as a hideout. One cave already had amenities for anyone needing shelter for days. Arwin had told her about the cave system long ago, and they always used it when training or fighting rebels.

Now, Valda was the rebel.

She tied the reins by the cave mouth and walked in, carrying Maris securely in her arms. She didn’t go too deep into the cave. A fire pit and a mess of animal fur waited on the far end, close to the cave wall. Valda settled Maris there, making sure she was comfortable. Cerberus quickly jumped on Maris, laying on her stomach and kneading her abdomen while purring and closing her eyes.

“I missed her too, Cerberus,” Valda whispered, looking down at Maris’s face. She looked calm, and Valda wanted nothing more but to keep it that way, but she knew that as soon as Maris opened her eyes, Tartarus would rise from the depths of the earth and settle upon the surface.

Yet Valda couldn’t stop looking. Her dirty hands clenched into tight fists to stop herself from touching her. Her body called to her. She needed to feel that she was real, that this wasn’t another dream.

Loosening her fist, Valda brushed the back of her fingers over Maris’s swollen cheek and then her busted lip. She decided that as soon as Maris woke up, she would give her the lake water, but first, they needed to eat. Valda returned to her horse, pulled her satchel, and then knelt before the pit. She quickly started a fire to keep them both warm for the night and cook the meat rations she had taken before heading to New Agenor. She placed a long slab of rock over the fire and settled the pieces of meat over it to cook.

Once the meat was cooking, Valda sat on the ground, staring at the fire before her eyes trailed back to Maris. She was facing the wall while Cerberus rolled up into a ball and slept by her feet. For a second, Valda envied her cat.

Valda noticed the subtle changes in her mate. Her hair was longer. Her arms and thighs looked slightly thicker. Valda exhaled sharply and squeezed her hands into fists again. It had been so long since she had touched and kissed her. It drove her insane to sit by the fire instead of being with her. She wanted to wake her up, talk to her, and get this over with, but she allowed Maris to rest.

After a long, quiet hour, Maris finally stirred and groaned in pain.

Valda didn’t go to her, even if her body begged her. Maris turned to face the fire and narrowed her eyes, adjusting to the brightness seeping through the cave’s entrance. Her mate touched her head and then her lip and hissed.

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