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Thankfully, Valda made it to the washroom to stop them. But, Maris couldn’t just sit back and watch everything unfold. As one of the guards slammed his elbows against Valda’s brow, she used her powers to smother him with water, giving Valda enough time to attack.

Sometimes Maris wished she was stronger. She was done sitting back and watching. She wanted to fight too, to help.

Shifting in her lap, Maris turned her face enough to look at Valda. The queen was frowning deeply with her eyes closed.

“I am fine,” Maris whispered again.

Valda’s answer was another angered grunt.

“Really, I am—”

“We will see if you are fine or not when we get to the castle.”

Maris decided to stay quiet the entire ride back and didn’t protest when Valda carried her the rest of the way to her chamber. Once there, Valda settled her on the large bed and called for Melvian.

Maris laughed at that. She was sure her friend had no idea she was being called on to attend her. She knew about Melvian’s curiosity with healing, but never thought much about it.

Valda sat at the bedside as they waited. Cerberus jumped on the bed, meowing at Maris and then slowly making her way towards Valda.

The queen leaned down, allowing the cat to bump her head with hers. Maris moved closer, but the simple movement of reaching out made her cringe in pain.

Valda’s face contorted with anger. She grabbed Cerberus, who released an annoyed growl before Valda set her down to the ground.

“This won’t do. I can’t have you like this and expect you to help me around.”

“I can manage just fine,” Maris said, while Cerberus jumped back on the bed and sat between both of them.

“You can barely move. What did they do to you?”

“Nothing, I– Cerberus! Stop it!” Maris hissed, waving her hand at the cat, and pushing her off her lap.

“Can’t even take Cerberus’s weight on you.”

“To be fair, your cat is pretty big,” Maris said, pushing Cerberus’s face away from her as the cat tried to bump her head against her arms. “What’s with you? You’ve never been this clingy.”

Valda chuckled. “She knows you are hurt.”

“I am not.”

“Stop lying...” Valda’s voice lowered, and Maris felt a thrill run down her spine. She snapped her fingers making Cerberus stop her affection to go back to Valda’s side. “Down, Cerberus.”

Cerberus hissed as Valda grabbed her by the scruff and set her down, before patting her bottom hard enough to get her to run off.

“Now, Maris.”

“Yes?”

“Answer my questions.”

Maris was about to do just that, but she noticed the soft curve on the edge of Valda’s lip, a subtle tease that Maris couldn’t quite ignore. She wanted to let her know that although in pain, she was fine. The best way to do that was to tease her back.

“Or else what?” Maris asked, grinning the moment Valda turned enough to face her. Oh, she had flipped a switch in the queen, and she was about to enjoy every single second of it.

“Maris, I do not believe you are in the right state to be saying those things, especially to me.”

“What things?”

The subtle change in Valda’s features sent a surge of desire through Maris, making her thighs clench involuntarily. She longed for the queen’s touch, to have Valda ease her discomfort with pleasure, and to reciprocate in kind. Her body ached with anticipation, and Maris found herself biting her lower lip as she inhaled Valda’s intoxicating scent of clean linen, wood, and spices. Gods. Valda could be covered in sweat and still smell delicious.