Keeper of the Lost Cities: War

Chapter Thirty Five

Stina hated feeling helpless.

Yet time and time again, no matter how much stronger she became, no matter how many new tactics she learned- somehow she always managed to get in the way.

For instance, whenever she used her ability to lull people into sleep, and always passed out, she had to count on other people to take care of her otherwise she would die from being vulnerable on the battlefield.

And for this current instance for which Stina was brooding- she couldn't do anything about the poison that had been put into her bloodstream by Fitz Vacker.
Hell, she didn't even remember it happening because he wiped her mind from the memory until it was too late to stop it.

At least, it was too late to stop it without using drastic measures to try to stop it.

That must've been what Fitz had been counting on, to use Stina's illness to get Maruca to do one favor for him in exchange for the antidote.
And Stina knew very well what that favor had been- Maruca had confessed it to her last night before she ran off to god knows where.

Granted Maruca had broken several Lost Cities laws to get the antidote- one of which punishable by death.
That law was- if a member of the royal guard does anything to hinder the Lost Cities from winning the war- then they are to be executed.

Which, luring Sophie Foster into a trap was definitely along the lines of hindering the war effort.

Yet Stina still found herself being conflicted. Yes Maruca had broken the law.
Yes she did it knowingly.
But Stina couldn't bring herself to hate Maruca for her actions.

If anything, it drew Stina towards liking Maruca more- even if that confused her more than anything.

After all, as a part of the royal guard, with what Maruca has done, Stina should theoretically despise Maruca more.
But she couldn't hate someone for saving her life, even if it meant that person broke the law to do said saving.

So now Stina slowly walked around her corridors, grinding her teeth as her achingly sore muscles refused to cooperate with her.
She had never gotten more frustrated with her own body more than anything else she had ever been annoyed at before.

Her muscles tensed in all the wrong places, and everything felt like it was bolted down to a iron door that weighed fifty pounds.

But that's what happened to someone's body after they nearly died Stina figured.

Out of everyone in the group, she had probably the least experiences with near death brushes, though that was due to her sticking around Maruca most of the time and Maruca tended to be really good at the protecting her teammate part.

Stina finally made it to her vanity, sitting down on the small stool in front of it, she didn't even attempt to brush out her curly disaster of a hair, and merely pulled it into a simple ballet bun at the top of her head.

Her indigo violet eyes blinked once, then twice, in the opalescent mirror before she pulled herself up short.

Was that really the reason she chose to stick around Maruca?
Had Stina just been using her this entire time to keep herself safe because she knew Maruca would protect her over her own life?

Had Stina put Maruca in this position, running from both the Neverseen and the Lost Cities, by manipulating her into being her friend?

Was Maruca really not more than an ally to Stina?

After all, Stina had numerous times said she didn't have any friends. And if Maruca wasn't a friend- then why did Stina always insist on being apart of Maruca's quadrant?