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The relentless attraction, the moment she smelled her in her chambers when she lost her vision. The way her touch burned her skin, the way she craved to be near her every single second of every minute, of every hour, of every day. Valda could only succumb to Maris’s touch as she had never done for anyone. Valda burned for her as she had never burned for anything or anyone in her life. She craved her. No, she needed her like she needed to breathe.

The Fates spoke to her father about the union of the sea and the sky, but she could never have imagined the whirlwind of emotions it could represent. Maris was the sea, and Valda was the wind. Her raging gusts made Maris’s waves stronger, taller, more destructive. They slammed into her heart, breaking down the stone walls she had built. With just a touch, Maris had killed the old, stoic queen, and brought forth this person, this woman.

Valda couldn’t recognize herself…

Valda touched her face, arms, chest, and she felt the paint there. She remembered how she felt when she was with the children, and dancing around with Maris at the square, and she sobbed.

Gods… Maris was her mate, the one the Oracle spoke of.

She covered her mouth, closed her eyes tightly to hold her tears.

She loved Maris. She loved her, but was it because it was written in stone that their union was supposed to happen, or was it an amalgamation of all those moments they had spent together, of all those nights, those kisses, those tight, suffocating hugs…

Fuck… What if she still denied her? What if she said no to being her heart mate, her soulmate?

Valda slipped down to the cold, wooden floor and brought her knees to her chest, her hands now fisted her dark hair.

“Valda?”

The air got caught in her throat, and she lifted her head towards the door of the cabin.

“Valda, it’s me. Can I come in?” Maris called out from the other side of the door, and Valda wondered if she heard her cry.

She could tell her not to come in, to sleep somewhere else. Valda needed to think. She needed a moment by herself.

No, she couldn’t. She couldn’t stay away. Maris was hers, she was Maris’s, and the stars had agreed on that millenniums before their birth. Valda pushed herself off the ground and slowly walked to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. The smell of the sea engulfed her, and she almost succumbed to it.

“Hi,” Maris whispered, taking in how disheveled Valda looked. The paint on her face was smudged all over her forehead, cheek, and nose. A clean trail ran down her cheeks where her tears had slid. Maris felt her heart break into a million pieces at the state of her queen. “Can I come in, please?”

Valda simply nodded and opened the door the rest of the way before going back to the sofa.

Maris closed and locked the door behind her. She didn’t want any interruption this time. As she turned to her, Valda’s eyes were open and lost as if she was searching for something. Maris stood uneasily by the door, wringing her hands, wanting nothing more than to hold the tall woman and kiss her worries away, but Valda didn’t need that now.

“Valda,” Maris began, but Valda was faster.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Maris rolled her tongue over her lower lip. “I didn’t know.”

Valda lowered her eyebrows into a deep frown. “You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t…” Valda scoff and shook her head in disbelief before Maris continued. “I didn’t know! You must believe me!”

“How the fuck do you not know?” Valda’s rage bubbled and spilled out. “Please, explain to me because I fucking knew I was different from the first day I became self-aware as a kid!”

“I knew I was different! I knew it! I– I started to notice I could control water, but I thought it was just magic, tricks Sealians could do. It was nothing out of this world!”

“You can control…” She shut her mouth as sudden realization washed over her. “You could breathe underwater too.”

Maris nodded, her hands tangled in a mess of anxiousness and fear. “I… thought I was just another Sealian, a stray?”

“A stray?”

“Yes! You said that some people do have the gift, but they are bastards and—” She shuddered in a breath. “My parents… they were scared that I would be taken away. There was always this fear that my real parents would find me. I don’t think they could survive handing me back.” Maris knew that her fear might sound irrational, Valda’s confused expression washed over her, agitating her further. If Valda couldn’t believe her.

“Maris…” Valda began, shaking her head again as if trying to come up with some words that might be able to relieve some tension, but Maris was faster.

She spoke over Valda. She couldn’t brush this under the rug as if it was nothing. “I was petrified. When you took me to the pool, I was able to breathe underwater when I felt this...” She shook her hands desperately as if to prove a point. “This power surged through me as if I was being reborn again! I knew that I could’ve been the heiress.” She sighed, afraid that she wasn’t making any sense. “I had my doubts. I couldn’t be from royalty. I am just a—”