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“I was thought fidelity, General. And I do not like—”

“I don’t give a fuck what you like or not.” Arwin turned to Valda and slammed his hand on the wooden desk. “This is the problem right here, Valda. You use these maids as fuck toys, screw around with them once or twice, and they think they have the right to come in here and talk when clearly all they are good for is to spread their legs and open their mouths.”

“Arwin…” Valda growled the second warning of the day.

“No. I will not be quiet. It is clear as day you are your father’s daughter. All it takes is a pretty little face and a wet cunt and you are no longer able to make any right decision for your kingdom! Look what is happening. She is doing exactly what the bastards down at Umbriel want to do; destabilizing. Gods know if she is with them, and they pushed her in this place to fuck things up. As she said, those assholes probably wanted you in power. They know how easily you can be manipulated by a pair of tits and a cunt—”

Air was dragged out of his lungs. Gasping, his wide eyes settled upon Valda, her hand extended, eyes opened. He moved his hand to touch his throat, but all there was the wafting wind around his head.

Arwin’s red face took Maris aback. What scared her the most was that she didn’t want Valda to stop. She wanted her to hurt Arwin. If she couldn’t do it herself, she should allow Valda to do it on her behalf. Shouldn’t she? But then who would answer her questions regarding her father’s death? When will she have closure?

Fighting with her own indecision, Maris groaned in frustration before calling out to Valda.

“Enough! Stop!” Maris stood and grabbed hold of Valda’s thick forearm. She tried to push the hand down, to stop Valda from suffocating the general, but Valda’s anger disgorged out of her pores.

The queen snarled, showing her teeth like a rabid wolf as she concentrated on Arwin’s gasps.

“Valda,” Maris whispered, her soft hands trailing over her face. “Please, don’t.”

The General rolled his eyes to the back of his head, his arms going limp at his side. Maris panicked, grabbed Valda’s hand once again and squeezed.

“Stop it! You are killing him!”

Suddenly, Valda released her hold on and Arwin fell back, coughing and gasping.

As the queen jerked away from her, Maris pulled her hand back, noticing how enraged she was. The calm woman from earlier in the morning had disappeared; in her place stood a warrior, engulfed in flames and ready to destroy whoever stood before her. Maris debated within herself whether she should talk again, touch Valda and try to reason with her, but as her hands moved, so did Valda’s.

Valda slammed her fist on the desk, the wood cracked underneath her hand, tearing from within down the middle, breaking in half.

A surprised yelp escaped from Maris as she pushed back, avoiding the flying splinters. Her gaze moved from the desk to Valda, and back to Arwin, who still lay on the ground, trying hard to even his breathing.

“I want you to listen to me, and listen well, Arwin,” Valda began, leaning closer. “I am the Queen. I am not my mother. You will not intimidate me or manipulate me into doing or thinking what you want. Not anymore! I am not a little girl! You will respect me, as your superior. If you dare disrespect me again, I swear upon my mother’s grave I will have no hesitation in suffocating you. Understand?”

Arwin pushed himself away from Valda, nodding his answer.

“Speak,” Valda barked.

“Y–Yes, Your Highness.”

Valda’s upper lip twitched, she stood straight and took a cautious step back. “This meeting is postponed for another day.”

12

Valda was so tired of people telling her what to do, when to do it and how to do it. She was tired of Arwin, telling her when she was doing something wrong, while leaving her out of all the important decisions. She was… tired of him. She had been tired of him for quite some time, but she had never been able to get rid of him. Even now, Valda knew that he would still look out for her, take care of her. She hated him for that. She hated that he wouldn’t apologize, and neither would she. Arwin deserved what she’d done, but there was a sliver of truth in what he said.

She allowed her emotions to get the better of her, she allowed others to get inside her head. Maybe Maris wasn’t who she said she was. Maybe she should’ve allowed him to investigate her. She barely knew who this woman was, and she had fallen into a routine, into a comfortable familiarity.

She enjoyed her company. Now more than ever…

As Valda walked down the hall, using her hand to the wall as a guide, she smashed her body into a wall that wasn’t there. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and steady her. She tensed, but the artificial calmness let her know right away who she had bumped into.

“Busy day being a queen?”Kayden’s taunting voice pushed away her anger just for a second. The hurried steps behind her let her know that Maris was close.

“I thought you left.”

“I was about to. I was just heading to your chamber to check on you. I heard you had an audience.”

“Your Highness!” Maris said behind her, out of breath. “Please, you need to wait up.”