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Eyphah’s eyes went wide, and Maris could see the sudden regret of her words seep into her voice. She swallowed hard, looking at Maris as if she was staring at her very soul. She hoped Eyphah could see that she spoke the truth and not some script that she memorized to make her yield.

The older woman’s shoulders relaxed, and she said, “I am so sorry.”

Maris nodded and looked at the soft grass underneath her feet to hide that sneaky tear that always escaped when she talked about her mother. After the heaviness on her chest receded, she looked up at Eyphah’s cobalt eyes. The tenderness the older woman radiated was enough to make Maris sob. “I am sorry too. We have both lost people we care about; I am sure you are petrified of losing more.” Maris shrugged. “I understand. Now we must focus and see that we have each other, and by the Gods, Eyphah,” She sucked in her breath and exhaled her anxiety. “If we can help each other, why shouldn’t we?”

Maris got dangerously close to the other woman, her hand clamping over Eyphah’s forearm, anchoring them both. Maris needed to know that she was getting through her. Yet as she searched Eyphah’s face, the woman’s dark eyes fixated on her tears, then on her lips. Maris moved uncomfortably, taking a step back, releasing her hold on her.

Eyphah sucked in a breath and darted her gaze to Maris’s eyes. “Forgive me.” She trailed her tongue over her lower lip before nibbling it. “You are just…” She hesitated and then chuckled nervously. “Very easy on the eyes.”

“I will accept the compliment.” Maris laughed awkwardly.

Eyphah nodded, her eyes flashing with a shade of lust as she stood straight, squaring her shoulders. After seconds of silence, it was Eyphah who tore the tension with one serious question. “Would you like to go back to my cabin?” Before Maris could answer, she added, “We can continue talking. I have some meidaila we could drink if you wish.” She smiled a crooked yet charming smile. “Take a break from being the queen’s seeing-eye dog?”

Maris raised an eyebrow at the invitation. Sleeping with the settlement leader was not in her plans, and though she did find Eyphah’s character alluring, maybe because she had a thing for strong women, Maris noticed that she simply was not interested.

She was interested in Valda, her hands, her mouth, her perfect smile and short black hair, her sweet soft whisper, and her encouraging words. And she preferred Valda’s “seashell” to Eyphah’s “love” any day.

“Where would my diplomacy be if I went back with you to your cabin?” Maris teased. “Besides.” She tilted her head. “I remember your brother telling me you are married.”

Eyphah sneered. “Was.”

“So, you are a widow?”

Eyphah shrugged nonchalantly and took a step back. She gave up on her courting, to Maris’s relief. At least for now. “How long will you be staying in New Agenor?”

“I haven’t conversed with the queen. I don’t think we will be leaving tomorrow, if that’s what you are asking.”

Eyphah nodded. “Two nights from now we will be celebrating the Night of the Nymph at the square. There will be music, food, art.”

“What is the Night of the Nymph?”

“If our princess was still alive, she would be twenty-one by now. We like to celebrate her birthday just like we did back in the days. We try to resemble the patron nights we had in the Sea Kingdom as well... It would mean a lot if you partake in it.”

Maris bit the inside of her cheek to prevent her joy from overflowing. Seeing Eyphah relax, welcoming her at last, made her feel at ease, safer. Maybe she could get through this woman and get New Agenor the help it needed.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Eyphah nodded and extended her right arm out for Maris, whose eyes trailed over the tattooed forearm, taking in the intricate design. She would ask Eyphah about the tattoos, but not tonight. Maybe tomorrow, perhaps on the night of the celebration.With renewed confidence, Maris gave Eyphah’s arm a firm squeeze.

Valda’s leg wouldn’t stop bouncing.

She sat at the large sofa in House of Proteus. Eyes closed, ears wide open. She listened to the distinctive chirps of the night birds and insects. New Agenor was a quiet and peaceful place that deserved to have the tools to compete with the different villages across the sandy plains of the Sky kingdom. And her family had not given them what they needed.She had given them anything.

Valda sighed and leaned on her knees—a sad attempt to control her leg.

Her grip on her own kingdom was slipping. It was as if she was placed there as a faux ruler. She didn’t know much about the needs of the Sealian people other than their need to lower taxes. Yes, Eyphah had come to beg for help, but in her haste to proof that she was able to make good decisions, she didn’t pay much attention to them. She didn’t know anything about her royal army, the troops based in Umbriel. She was slowly discovering everything she believed in was not as she thought. Had it all been lies? She had been crowned then tucked away while someone else called the shots.

She frowned.

That person being the General.

Her stomach tightened. Valda had always been taught that she should trust Arwin. Her mother had somehow made it clear that he was part of the family, that he was her father figure, and that she should obey him. And she did. She obeyed his rules, his laws, his orders. Following them was how she survived all those years in training, all those battles.

But resentment was always there—that thorn of anger and doubt. He made her do something she never wanted to do, something that still to this day bothered her whenever she remembered.

Valda rubbed her hands in disgust. She could still remember the smell of the blood of her first kill—her first execution. Her stomach turned at the thought that it was one of her own that she had slaughtered. And although she remembered what she had done, she had tried her hardest to erase it, to blur the details, the face of the man, his pleas of mercy, his name…

Valda frowned deeply, her face darkening.