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Valda never stopped gazing at Maris as she shrugged. “I was cured. Maybe it was really a sickness and—”

Biting her lower lip, Maris wrung her fingers, deciding whether to say something she wasn’t supposed to. Valda canted her head and grabbed her hands. “Maris? Do you know something that I don’t?”

“Maybe?”

“I need you to be honest with me. Enough secrets. What is it?” Valda asked, taking in the little twitches and gestures Maris made when she was debating within herself.

“It wasn’t a sickness, Valda.”

She frowned and straightened her back. “How do you know?”

“Melvian. She told me it wasn’t a sickness.”

“What does she kn—” Valda’s jaw slackened. “She… she is a blessed Asclepius worshiper, isn’t she?”

“Yes. I… found out the day I was hurt in Lasmeer’s joint.”

Valda closed her eyes and racked her fingers through her hair in frustration. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“To be fair, she asked me not to. And…” Maris frowned, placing a hand over her chest and blinking rapidly.

Valda was about to ask what was wrong until she felt it. Maris was confused.

“You are angry at me?” Maris asked, rubbing a distinctive spot over her chest.

The bond…

They formed it. They could feel each other’s emotions.

“Wait. You are not angry, you are happy…” Lifting her gaze, Maris came face to face with Valda’s broad grin. “Is this the bond—Stop smiling! I am serious!”

Valda crawled to her, grasped her jaw tightly and lingered in a kiss, ignoring Maris’s objections and light shoves. Chuckling teasingly, Valda took in Maris’s scrunched nose. “I have opened you up like a true seashell,” she said, her lips hovering over Maris, stealing her breath away. “I have your pearl now.”

“Valda, please!” Maris shoved her away, and Valda feigned being hurt as she stumbled to the ground.

“I should be angry that you kept that information from me, though.”

“She is my best friend. If Kayden told you to keep something a secret, would you?”

Valda shrugged, facing the ceiling, her arms stretched to her side. “What does it matter now? I can see!” She pointed at something on top of her. “This house is falling apart. There is a huge crack in the ceiling. If it rains water will get in.”

Maris slapped her hand away, crawling to sit on her hips. Valda didn’t waste a second to clench Maris’s thighs, watching closely how the flesh molded under her firm grip. “Valda, this is serious.”

“I am being serious. You need to let me celebrate that I have my sight back.”

“Yes, but we also have to figure out how it happened. Melvian couldn’t heal you. She told me it wasn’t a normal sickness.”

“She tried to heal me when she was taking care of my brow, wasn’t she?”

Maris nodded, absentmindedly rubbing against the hard blocks of muscles in Valda’s stomach. “She believed it was a curse.” Valad snorted and shook her head. “Valda!”

“After The Great Disappearance there hasn’t been one curse brought upon us humans. The gods are gone.”

“Then why do we still pray? Why do the Asclepius worshipers still bend to their knees to heal us?”

Valda shrugged. “Some of us believe they can still listen.”

“If they can still listen it’s because they are near us…” Maris said, her eyes trailing down Valda’s shoulders and chest.