Page 101 of The Stolen Kingdom

Dread pierced through Maris. She was not sure if she could face this woman and survive, not when she looked like she was the direct descendant of Ares himself. Maris could feel herself shrinking under the weight of her gaze, and yet, she did not yield. Pulling on the trident from the holster, she pointed the tips in Kenna’s direction. She knew she shouldn’t fight her. Her original plan was for the Vulcanians to join them. If she fought Kenna, that would make them enemies, but right now, what the other woman was doing to the city was exactly what an enemy would do. Maris needed to act now, even if it meant she could get hurt or worse.

“Queen Kenna Hagan. I command you to stop this senseless destruction right now!”

The woman slanted her head to the side. “I have no war to fight with the Sealians. Leave and you will not get hurt,” Kenna said, pointing at Maris with her ax. “Unless you know where the coward Valda is. Then I will have to kill you for keeping her from me.”

“My mate is not responsible for your pain, Queen Kenna.”

Kenna’s eyes widened with realization as the grip on her ax tightened once more. Holding her weapon with both hands, Kenna positioned herself lower, ready to strike. “Maris Era, heiress of the Sealian Kingdom, Survivor of Storms.”

Maris tilted her head. “Not going to lie, ‘Survivor of Storms’ sounds kind of nice.”

“The mate of my enemy is my enemy. I never wanted to hurt the Sealians. They have done nothing wrong,” Kenna said. “Tell me where Valda is and I will not lay a hand on your people.”

“You want to kill her for something she didn’t do. Valda is not your enemy.” It was hard to maintain a stoic façade when Kenna’s demeanor slowly crumbled into an angry beast.

“Queen Valda came to my kingdom, accused my father of murdering Queen Rionach. Then she grabbed him by the neck and cut his head off.” Kenna paused, swallowed hard, and continued. “Right in front of me…”

“She did not kill your father!”

“His blood splattered all over my face, Heiress!” she snarled. “Wouldn’t you want vengeance if someone harms your family? Wouldn’t you want to burn everything to the ground?”

Maris’s hold on the trident faltered. Her gaze averted to the ground for a second before going back to Kenna. “Yes of course, but you are not listening!” She wet her lips and took a step forward. “It wasn’t Valda! She was with me in New Agenor. The one you want is the goddess Eris. She knew what she was doing. Starting a war with you, when the Sky Kingdom was plunging into a civil war, was the last nail in the coffin of Valda’s monarchy.”

Kenna blinked; the only sign she was taken aback was her grip on the ax relaxed.

Maris wasted no second. If she didn’t say everything now, she might not get a second chance. “Eris shapeshifts. She is also claiming she is the real heiress tomythrone. Why wouldn’t she shapeshift into Valda and kill your father?”

Kenna shook her head. “I will not believe this.”

“You have to trust me!”

“Trust you? How am I to trust that you are not doing this for your own gain? You’re lucky I even allowed you to stand before me and talk.”

“I speak the truth.”

“Your words have no weight here!”

“Queen Kenna—”

A deafening scream surged from the Vulcanian queen. Raising the ax over her head, Kenna threw the weapon, barely missing Maris as it embedded itself through a wooden wall. Maris gasped, looking at the axe next to her head.

The ax trembled behind Maris before it tugged away and flew back to Kenna’s hands. As fiery debris fell around them, Kenna thrust forward, holding the ax over her head and bringing it down with force. Maris blocked her attack with the trident, pushing the other woman off her before thrusting the blunt end to Kenna’s stomach. Maris didn’t want to hurt her, but she wasn’t about to let the other woman kill her.

Kenna stumbled back, holding her stomach and gritting her teeth. She opened her mouth to scream again, this time a thick lick of fire surged from it.

Maris moved quickly, avoiding the flames, her eyes never leaving Kenna. She opened the waterskin by her waist, pulled the water from the container with her powers and threw it at Kenna’s face, choking her and keeping her at a safe distance.

Hacking, Kenna glared at Maris before throwing the ax again. As Maris blocked the weapon, she threw it to the side.

“If you would just listen to—” Maris’s words were cut by Kenna’s shoulder, slamming into Maris’s stomach and bashing her to the ground.

“No! No more talking. Where is Valda!?”

With the air knocked out of her, Maris struggled to form a coherent sentence. The whooshing sound of the flying ax pulled her back enough to dodge another strike. Kenna’s weapon barely missed her face as Maris got up, grabbed her trident, and ran to the square, followed closely by a fire-engulfed Kenna.

As she moved into the city square, Maris spotted carriages filled with water barrels along with other provisions. With a flick of her wrist, Maris sent a wave of water cascading towards Kenna, seeking to douse the flames that surrounded her. Maris underestimated Kenna’s ability with fire. The queen wrapped her arms around herself, fire emanating from her skin, evaporating the water before it could reach her.

Using the mist, Maris waved the trident, gathering as much as she could before conjuring a wall of water just as Kenna formed a ball of fire from her chest and threw it at Maris. The wall and the fire ball dissolved into nothing, allowing Maris to see Kenna steadily heading her way.

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