Page 11

11

M aris was sore from the hours of constant training. Yet, tonight, for the first time in all the seven months she had been in New Agenor, Maris held Poseidon’s trident to Eyphah’s neck as she pinned her to the ground. Her boot slammed over the older woman’s chest as she looked down at her, holding the weapon as if it weighed nothing. Her serious and focused expression dissolved into a boastful one-sided smirk before she lifted Eyphah’s chin with the middle and longest tip.

Eyphah released a nervous breath. She released her spear to grab hold of the weapon before her cobalt eyes turned up to Maris’s pleased gaze. “I yield.”

Maris chuckled, pulling the trident away and stepping back. She reached down, grabbing Eyphah’s tunic to haul her to her feet. With a quick motion, she patted the sand from Eyphah’s shoulders. “How was that?” Maris asked, her grin widening.

Still shaken, Eyphah stood nervously before tilting her head. “I think you’ve made a bit of progress.”

“A bit?” Maris scoffed.

“A lot…” Eyphah smiled and picked up her spear. “You took me down, that’s saying something.”

Maris raised one eyebrow before flexing her right arm. The past months had been brutal on her body and mind, but she noticed a slight improvement. Of course, she couldn’t compare herself to Eyphah or Valda, but she saw some firmness in her arms and thighs, which hadn’t been there when she started. Carrying the trident around had done wonders for her, not to mention Eyphah’s regimen, which consisted of way too many hours of exercise and protein.

Eyphah rolled her eyes at Maris’s showing off, but laughed. “Well! You made me yield! I think this calls for a celebration, don’t you think?”

“Of course! I’ve been wanting to beat you down for quite some time.”

“Well, you did slap me once.”

“Yes, yes, but to pin you down and have you looking up at me with a scared look on your face is pretty exhilarating.”

Eyphah raised her eyebrow. “Oh?”

Maris clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Want a celebratory drink? Meidaila?” Maris mentioned the Sealian drink and noticed a unique spark of excitement flash in Eyphah’s eyes.

The older woman nodded and quietly followed Maris back to House of Arago. Maris wasn’t big on drinking. Even when she used to work in the tavern, she always noticed how alcohol changed people’s personalities, so she tried to stray from it, but the Sealian drink was different. It was refreshing, with the perfect balance of both sweet and tangy.

On their way there, Maris took in the changes within the settlement. New Agenor had grown since her arrival. Although they continued the ruse of keeping her hidden, her people were becoming bolder. The houses were stronger, as were the Sealians. The communal garden had a surplus of food, while more youngsters were moving towards combat training. Melvian had even taken it upon herself to give basic medical training to whoever wished to learn.

Her friend’s stomach was large, and instead of walking, she waddled from cabin to cabin. Isen was long gone, promising her he would come back every other week to be with her. He had kept his word after his first visit. He had left two nights ago, against Melvian’s wishes. Unsurprisingly, the closer she was to giving birth, the clingier she became. Maris understood the need to have her mate close at such an important moment as the birth of their children.

As she neared House of Arago, Maris waved her hand at Melvian, who was at the square, sitting by the fire and talking to a couple of children. They were all very curious about the birth of twins, and although Melvian was incredibly nervous, she tried to answer all their questions.

Once at the cabin deck, Eyphah offered to walk in and bring the meidaila. Maris often forgot the house she was inhabiting belonged to Eyphah back when she was in charge. With a tired sigh, Maris sat down on the stairs and watched quietly as her people walked about their evening.

Eyphah settled two glasses between them while holding a large pitcher of bubbly alcohol in her hand. “Skylian beer is shit.” Eyphah commented as she filled one cup for Maris and the other for herself. “Believe me.”

“I have to agree with you there.” Maris chuckled, taking the proffered cup and clinking it with Eyphah’s.

She took short sips, while Eyphah took mouthfuls. Maris knew the sweetness of the drink could play tricks on her. Melvian had once taught her how to relieve someone’s intoxication. She also said that the sweeter the drink, the more dangerous it was. But Maris loved it, and today was a good day to celebrate the fact she made the arrogant Eyphah yield.

“I used to do this all the time when I lived here. I would sit down right here and just watch everyone go about their day.”

“It is calming,” Maris said.

“It is! Even more now that you can see how we are growing.” Eyphah smiled and refilled her cup. “Back when we came here, this place was a shit hole. Everyone was depressed, they didn’t know how to start over, now look at us.” Eyphah stretched her arm and pointed at the square where musicians gathered with their drums. “We are still alive; our culture is still alive.”

“They look hopeful,” Maris whispered.

“Of course! We have our queen back. We’re just—” Eyphah paused, exhaling deeply. “Steps away from going back to how things were. People here still remember the salt of our waters, how the wind blew through our hair on warm summer days. We want to go back to the Sea Kingdom. And I know we will.”

“Do you remember your days back there?” Maris asked, swirling the last drops of her second glass before finishing it.

Eyphah’s expression softened as she leaned back, her gaze distant. “I remember the sun burning my skin. My mother coming home after a long shift and cooking chicken for Isen and me. My dad walking in with a basket full of fish, sitting me down to clean them up.”

Maris scrunched her nose in clear disgust, earning a burst of laughter from Eyphah.

“It was disgusting,” Eyphah admitted, her grin widening. “Gutting a fish? Scraping off its scales?” She shuddered theatrically and gagged. “I don’t miss that.”

Maris chuckled, shaking her head as Eyphah took one last gulp from her glass before reaching for the pitcher to refill it.

It was empty already, and both women wanted more.

“I will be right back.”

“All right.” Maris nodded while Eyphah gathered the pitcher and headed inside.

In the center of the square, Melvian waved her hand at the children, dismissing the questions for the day, but the children didn’t leave. Some played with the instruments laid out. Moments later, Maris noticed young Cai walking into the square and sitting next to Kimmi. The young girl talked to Coljar when the young guard patted her arm.

Maris tilted her head to the side as she watched from the comfort of the deck. She was enthralled and slightly light-headed from the drink, that she didn’t notice Eyphah sitting next to her and filling up both their cups. Maris welcomed her with a smile before tilting her chin towards the square.

“Look over there.”

“Hmmm?” Eyphah lifted her gaze from her drink to Cai and Kimmi. “Oh! Will you look at that!”

Both women watched in silence as Cai tried to get Kimmi’s attention. Sadly, when Kimmi turned to look at him, she rolled her eyes, stood up, grabbed Coljar’s hand, and walked away towards the men with the drums.

“Ooh!” Eyphah scoffed a laugh. “Oh boy! He reminds me of someone!”

Maris’s curiosity peaked as she leaned and rested her arms on her knees. “Who? You?”

“What? Me? Please! He reminds me of Isen when he was younger. Gods know that boy was horrible with girls. He would go around acting like a lost puppy whenever a girl smiled at him. He was painfully awkward.”

“Really? Your brother is a very handsome man. I wouldn’t doubt he had people running after him.”

“Yes, of course. Puberty was kind to him, but when he was a kid, he was—“ She scrunched her nose. “Not so easy on the eyes?”

Maris threw her head and laughed. “Ugly? Isen?”

“And clumsy as fuck!” she added, looking down at her forearm and rubbing the tattoo there.

Maris noticed Eyphah touching the tattoo. She knew that at some point she and Isen were close enough to get matching tattoos.

“When did you get that?” Maris asked, pointing at Eyphah’s arms.

“A long time ago, back when this place was a bigger dump that it is,” Eyphah said, looking at the designs of waves hitting rocks in her tattoo. “Isen was about to leave to find help, or so he said. I… I didn’t want him to leave, but he insisted. I told him we should get something to always remind us of where we came from.” She extended her arm for Maris to see. “We got this done days before he left, and I remember how fucking whiny he was. He wouldn’t stop crying, saying that it was painful.”

Maris touched Eyphah’s arm, taking the time to notice the colorful blue lines of the waves and the darker ones for the rocks. Her fingers drifted over the other woman’s skin until she noticed the goosebumps and quickly pulled away.

Valda didn’t have tattoos, but so many freckles adorned her skin. Maris missed them. She missed trailing her hands over them, then using her lips to follow that same path. She missed the way they moved when Valda scrunched her nose when she smiled…

With a sigh, Maris tucked her hand on her lap and turned back to the plaza. “I bet the tattoo was painful,” Maris said, trying to ignore the heavy breath that escaped Eyphah.

“Not really.”

“Stop acting like you are the toughest of them all, Eyphah. You are not and neither is your brother. You two are two big softies.”

“Oh, please. My brother is super dramatic. I am surprised he even snatched himself a mate.” Eyphah shook her head, rubbing her lower lip with the edge of her half-full glass. “I guess some people are lucky.”

Maris frowned, placing her empty glass on the floor. “Weren’t you married? I remember Isen told me you were married when I first met him.”

“You guys were talking about me?”

“He was talking to me about his family…” Maris wiped the sweat off her brow.

Eyphah sighed and rubbed her temple before casually filling Maris’s cup again. “I was. She left.”

“Oh.” Maris didn’t want to prod, but she was curious. “Why?”

Eyphah shrugged and took a large gulp as she thought her answer over. “Sometimes you marry your heart mate, but then they find their soulmate and they are torn between staying or leaving. There was nothing I could do, so I let her go.”

“Does she still live here?”

“She gave birth not too long ago,” Eyphah said, raising her left brow.

Maris tilted her head and opened her eyes wide. “Coral? She was your wife? ”

Eyphah just nodded, her gaze lost in front of her. “She wanted kids. Probably a nice cock.”

“Eyphah!”

Eyphah waved her hand dismissively and kept going. “I couldn’t give her that and then she saw him, and she just knew. I let her go. I wasn’t going to keep her next to me if it meant she would suffer.”

“You loved her then.”

Eyphah snorted. “It wasn’t love…”

“How would you know? How do we know? What’s love, what is infatuation?” Maris sighed and looked down at her cup.

Eyphah shrugged and mumbled, her words slightly slurred. “I don’t know, but poor Cai just experienced his first of many heartbreaks.”

Maris looked back at the square, and just as Eyphah said, Cai was sitting down by the fire, alone and miserable. “He needs company.”

“He needs to train. Get his mind off pussy and he will be an excellent soldier, but then again, I don’t blame him. Most men think with their cocks rather than their heads.”

Maris chuckled and faced Eyphah. “You have such a dirty mouth, you know?”

“Are you going to clean it with soap?”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Maris snorted and drank the last drops of meidaila. “You remind me of someone who also has a horrible dirty mouth.”

Eyphah’s eyebrow arched. “Who?”

Maris’s upper lip twitched at the question, but instead of answering, she ignored it entirely.

“Good night, Eyphah,” she said, pushing herself off the ground.

The instant she straightened her back, regret hit her like a brick. The world tilted violently, and her vision blurred. If it hadn’t been for Eyphah’s quick reflexes, grabbing her elbow, she would’ve likely ended up flat on her face.

Maris clutched Eyphah’s forearm and steadied herself against the wooden column by the short stairs, her breath uneven as she waited for the dizziness to pass.

When the world finally slowed, she caught sight of Eyphah’s teasing grin as the older woman helped her ease back down.

“Don’t.”

“I haven’t said anything,” Eyphah chuckled .

With an annoyed pout, Maris turned back to the gathering crowd at the plaza. The drummers tested the leather skin, tapping on the drums in an asynchronous rhythm.

Suddenly, a melodic cry stole Maris’s attention away from the musicians. Her eyes focused on Kimmi, who stood before the drummers, her voice breaking louder than the drums. She sang a song Maris hadn’t heard before, a song of bad news of destruction and desolation. It was a prayer to Poseidon, begging him for protection for what would soon come to be.

War.

The drummers slammed their hands against the leather skins, the rhythmic strums rippled through the settlement’s plaza. Kimmi sang again, this time a group of women repeated her words, as the song came in full, filling the night with the sound of drums.

Maris smiled, her grip on Eyphah faltering.

“An impromptu gathering. Do you want to go?” Eyphah asked, squeezing Maris’s hand.

If she stood, she knew she was going to make a fool of herself again. She shook her head, but Eyphah pulled her to her feet, steadied her and led her to the plaza. The vibration of the drums seeped through her skin, reaching through her stomach and to her chest, squeezing it. Yet, instead of feeling breathless, the exhilaration came forth as goosebumps all over her arms and shoulders.

Closing her eyes, she let the music wash over her. She squeezed Eyphah’s hand as the other woman spun her, then released her into a joyful crowd of Sealians. The music pulsed through her lungs and mind until only the rhythm of the drums remained.

Opening her eyes, she found Kimmi looking at the drummers, hunched and dancing in front of them. Her movements marking the rhythm created by the harsh slaps to the leather. Her sweet voice penetrated Maris’s head fog, dissipating the alcohol enough to hear the lyrics the young girl sang.

The song shifted to all the reasons to go back to the Sea Kingdom. Kimmi begged to be under a gentler sun, to play on white sand and crystal-clear waters of the Sea Kingdom’s beaches, she begged to go back to cool nights instead of freezing in the Sky kingdom. She wished to play on the magical bridges, to run on green grass, to eat food from their own land.

As if spellbound, Maris body moved with the beat of the music, her shoulders and hips giving way to the sharp slaps against the leather drums. Kimmi gave way, allowing Maris to stand before the musicians. With her hand on her hips, she dipped her head, saluting them before creating a song with every sway of her hips and shoulders.

Kimmi’s voice pierced through her again, the song pouring out of her. She prayed to Poseidon for protection for the upcoming war, to keep them all safe, and showed them the way to go back to the Sea Kingdom.

They were at war, and the only thing they wanted was to go back to their homeland. And what was Maris doing? Dancing as if they had nothing to worry about.

What kind of leader was she?

Suddenly, rough hands grabbed Maris’s, pulling her away from the drummers and spinning her into the throng of dancing Sealians. The abrupt motion made her head spin, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the chilly night air cooled her flushed, damp skin, easing the heat of the alcohol rising to her cheeks and head.

The rhythm of the drums pounded behind her as Maris opened her eyes to find a pair of tired features gazing down at her with a sweetness she hadn’t seen in months.

Warm arms enveloped her, pulling her into a softness she wasn’t accustomed to. Tilting her head, she let those eyes bore into hers. The darkness of the night blurred their color, but she found an unexpected tenderness there.

Amid the mist of music, the heat of alcohol, and the humid air of the night, Maris surrendered to the comforting embrace.

Valda?

Her trembling hands reached out, brushing the sides of a face she thought she’d never touch again. A damp forehead pressed gently to hers, and she sighed, closing her eyes.

Valda… She’s here.

“Darling…” Maris whispered, her voice trembling as her hands traced the back of a powerful neck. “You’re here, darling?”

Then, hot, moist lips captured hers.

Maris groaned at the sudden contact. The touch was familiar yet strange, tender yet filled with heat. Her hands slid to rest on taut shoulders, her fingers curling instinctively. She had missed this—missed the feel of firm muscles beneath soft skin. She had missed the way her body reacted to this connection, a longing far beyond what her dreams could ever satisfy.

Her pulse throbbed between her thighs as she parted her lips, swallowing a hesitant gasp.

Hesitant? Since when was Valda hesitant ?

“I am here, love.”

Maris frowned, her mind faltering. Love?

“Valda?” she asked, her voice cracking.

The body she held tense instantly.

“Valda? Really? Are you fucking kidding me?”

The voice that cut through her thoughts wasn’t Valda’s but Eyphah’s, sharp and trembling.

Maris gasped, her breath catching painfully. The realization hit her like a blow to the chest. Valda didn’t have cobalt eyes—Valda’s were honey-bright, not this.

The pounding of the drums returned, accompanied by a sobering clarity as the alcohol’s haze evaporated. Maris stepped back, her chest tightening.

Before her, Eyphah stood frozen, her lower lip quivering and her fists clenched at her sides. “I thought you…”

“No,” Maris barked, shaking her head as her hand shot into her hair. “I can’t.”

Her stomach turned violently at the thought of what might’ve happened if Eyphah hadn’t spoken. Without another word, Maris turned and bolted, the drums echoing in her ears as she raced toward the House of Arago.