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“What is it?”

“I…” Maris bit her lower lip and slid down Valda’s lap. “Do you think some gods are still around us?”

Valda frowned. No one knew if the gods were still around. The Great Disappearance happened centuries ago, but no one was sure if it was of their own accord, or because they were forced out. The Fates would still foretell the future within mortal’s dreams. Asclepius lived on in the hands of his worshippers, Ouranos, Poseidon, Vulcan, and Ares among others were still present in the form of the rulers.

Maybe among those gods there was one that was angry at Valda. But why? What had she ever done?

“Valda.” Maris moved closer, grabbed her hands, and pressed them to her lips. “Valda, last night we joined the gods’ symbols together when they glowed. That must’ve done something, right? Maybe healed you or broke the curse?”

“I haven’t done anything to receive such a curse, Maris. Why would I be damned in such a way?” Valda’s face darkened as she stood up and ran her fingers through her hair in irritation. “Maybe someone asked their god to curse me?”

“Is it forbidden for people to worship other gods other than their patron?”

“Not really. As there are worshippers of Asclepius, there are different worshippers for different deities.”

Maris moved uncomfortably. “What deity is connected to a golden apple?”

“Eris,” Valda answered. “Why do you ask?"

"Are there Eris worshipers?"

"I guess. I do believe each kingdom has tried to eradicate them. Some of them are horrible enough to make them choose evil over doing good. They are agents of chaos; they take any opportunity they can to jump into any destabilization.”

Maris’s eyes moved around, thinking and analyzing everything Valda said, until her face dropped, hurt. “So, the Sea Kingdom,” Maris trailed off before finishing her question. “It was destroyed by—”

“We don’t know that. It was a storm, anyone, even—”

“Poseidon wouldn’t do that. Why destroy what he helped build?”

Valda pursed her lips and nodded. “That’s why it is so hard for me to understand why a god would curse me. What is the gain?”

“Maybe the god is not gaining something, but their worshiper is. Why would they want you blind and not dead?” Maris asked, touching the wedding bands dangling from the necklace.

“Because they didn’t want me to meet you,” Valda mumbled as her eyes shot back to Maris. “They didn’t want things to change, if things went as planned, we would’ve seen each other, and we would’ve felt exactly what we just felt as I linked my gaze with yours… It was written.”

“You still met me that day.”

“True, but not under the circumstances needed to create the bond you feel, that I feel,” Valda whispered in the last part, touching her chest. “I feel full, content, as if I found something which has been lost for such a long time.”

Maris’s smile could light up Tartarus, and Valda felt as if she was slowly melting again. “I felt that the moment I saw you. I heard the wind inside my head, and a rough sound I can’t quite make out.”

“Waves, the sound that you hear, that I hear, are the winds and the waves merging together.” Valda mirrored Maris, yet the grin faded as she looked back down to her hands. “Someone wanted me blind so I couldn’t be with you. So, they knew you were alive?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Or they just didn’t want you to find your mate regardless of if it was me or someone else. They wanted you to be vulnerable, weak.”

“Manipulated…” Valda growled, her hands forming fists by her side.

“Arwin…” Maris whispered the name.

The only person who could benefit from her blindness was him. He would also benefit from her father’s death, Tartarus! Even her mother’s. Maybe he kept Valda alive out of the goodness of his heart? Because he saw her as a daughter?

No…

“Valda…”

Honey eyes connected with sullen and worried blue. Valda frowned, grabbed Maris’s hands, and kissed the center of her palm. “What is it?”

“Arwin, is he…” Maris’s shoulders shrank. “Does he worship Ouranos like you, or…?”