Marissa Holsteins's Arc

Chapter 3 of 10

Marissa knelt by her broken machine. The witch was gone, but so was her way to prove her milk to the king. Angelica sheathed her sword and crouched beside her. "You saved my life," Marissa said. "I owe you." She lifted the split hose and turned it in her hands. The cut was clean. "I can fix this. And you should taste what she wanted to steal." Angelica watched her work. "You don't owe me anything. It was my duty." But she did not leave. She stayed close as Marissa twisted the hose back onto the machine's cup. The red-haired knight had saved her once already at the gate. Now she stood guard again, though no enemy remained. Marissa found the switch and flipped it. The machine hummed. She fitted the cup and let it work. Cream poured into the glass jar, thick and golden, richer than before. The dungeon smelled sweet. Angelica leaned in. "By the king," she whispered. "I've never seen milk like that." "Try it," Marissa said. She lifted the jar. "You earned the first taste, not him." Angelica took the jar. Her fingers brushed Marissa's and stayed there. She drank. Her eyes closed. When she lowered the jar, a line of cream sat on her lip. Marissa reached up without thinking. She wiped the cream away with her thumb. Angelica caught her wrist, gentle this time, not like the chains. "Careful," Angelica said, but she did not let go. Her breath came faster. The two women knelt close in the roses at the foot of the dark bed. "You cut me loose," Marissa said. "Nobody else did." "I would do it again," Angelica said. She pulled Marissa closer by the wrist. Their mouths met. The kiss was slow, then hard. Marissa's hands found the knight's red hair. Angelica's armor pressed cold against her. Neither pulled back. The machine hummed on beside them, forgotten. When they broke apart, both breathed heavy. Angelica pressed her forehead to Marissa's. "This changes things," she said. "I guard the king. He wants your milk for his harem. If he learns of this—" She stopped. Marissa's chest went tight. She had come to serve the king. Now she wanted this instead. "Then he can't know," she said. "Not yet." Angelica stood and helped her up. "He waits above. He expects a dairy maid, not—" She looked at Marissa. "Not whatever you are to me now." She picked up the mended machine. "I'll take you to him. But we hide this. One wrong word and he takes you as a wife. Then I lose you." Marissa gathered the jar. Her hands shook. She had a working machine again and a knight at her side. She also had a secret that could ruin them both. "Then we lie to a king," she said. Angelica nodded and led her toward the stair.