Page 15 of Pawns of Salistya

Eliasson didn’t reply, merely rolling his eyes and placing more cream on the scone. He scooted closer, crossing his legs. He reached out, placed his hands on my outstretched legs and pulled me closer. My backside brushed his feet, legs wide and settled on the tops of his thighs.

‘Open wide,’ he commanded as he lifted the scone to my mouth, a shimmer of aroused anticipation in his eyes.

I held his gaze and obeyed his command, enjoying the burst of flavour in my mouth. He pulled back lifting his free hand to my mouth, a finger scooping up residual cream lingering there. My tongue expertly licked his finger, taking what he offered. His eyes turned a darker shade, showing he was becoming increasingly aroused. I had him right where I wanted him.

‘So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company for a whole day, husband?’ I repeated.

Eliasson shook his head and cleared his throat to gain control of himself. He placed his hands on either side of my hips, fingers lightly stroking.

‘I know the next two weeks will be very intense in the lead up to the Royal Forum. There is much to plan, living quarters to be arranged, menus to be decided, venues for conversations, the list goes on. I wanted us to have some time together, knowing we wouldn’t have a proper opportunity for at least another month. I’m hoping this Royal Forum doesn’t go over the two-week mark, like the last one did,’ he said.

Ah, yes. The Royal Forum is planned over two weeks. But the last Forum in the Nyarelle Queendom was a lengthy one, spilling over to be almost a month. Trade agreements were negotiated for days on end as tensions grew between the rulers, mainly due to Salistya and Marlyst. Salistya had the army, but Marlyst created the weapons, so it was a tense relationship. Here’s hoping there wasn’t a repeat of that.

‘Plus,’ Eliasson cut off my thoughts, ‘We also need to consider the new royal at the table. It would be inappropriate for us not to spend time showing him Amarald and providing an in-depth understanding of our Kingdom as a whole.’

With luck the new King of Marlyst will be less of a dick than his father. Then again if he is worse, perhaps I should consider giving him a medal as that would be a tough act to beat.

‘What do we know of the new king?’ I asked.

‘His name.’

I paused. My eyes flicked over to connect with Amire’s, confirming with her heighted sense of hearing she knew what was being discussed. ‘Okay, you’re on first name basis. That’s always a good start, but what else?’ I couldn’t help the snarky tone that entered my voice.

‘Well, I’m not on first name basis with him just yet. I found out through the messenger announcing that His Royal Highness Xylan Marlyst was crowned the new King of Marlyst. That’s it, Valare, that is literally all I know,’ Eliasson admitted sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

Oh shit. ‘Well, that is …’ I stuttered, trying to find the right word.

‘A problem?’ He supplied.

‘I was thinking more along the lines of undesirable. But yes, it’s a problem. A big fucking problem. How do we, as royals, not know anything apart from the name of one of our counterparts?’ I was completely baffled.

‘The late Marlyst King, as you probably can recall from the last Forum, was a difficult character.’

‘Understatement of the year,’ I scoffed.

His lips twitched, his only sign of agreement. ‘Xylan was never brought to any of the Royal Forums, which is unusual as it is quitenormal for an heir to attend. It seemed his father didn’t place any such importance on transferring his knowledge to his son so he would always attend the forums alone. His children and their mother were nowhere to be seen. It was like that for as long as I can recall, even when my father brought me to the forums as a child. No one dared to make any outright comment for fear of it significantly impacting their negotiations and ability to trade in the future.’

Well, that made sense. Who would want to be in the bad graces of the king who supplies the entire continent with weaponry and, in the Arlom’s case, the machinery and tools to farm and provide a living for their people?

‘Of course, the Queen of Nyarelle was in favour with the late King and the only person he showed a fondness towards. I remember watching the queen making all sorts of teasing comments as to why her favourite heir wasn’t at the table. Her jabs always came across as holding a double meaning no one else other than the Marlyst King seemed to understand. Again, your father and mine never dared to question anything, often pretending they never heard the comments in the first place.’ He shrugged.

I remained quiet for a moment, taking in all the information. ‘So, this Xylan … we need to build rapport with him, fast.’

Eliasson nodded. ‘Yes, which is what I wanted to talk to you about.’

‘Ah yes, the reason for the scones,’ I muttered.

Eliasson let out a laugh before he could stop himself. ‘Always so sceptical, Valare. Does it ever occur to you that I may just want to make you happy?’

‘No.’

Rolling his eyes, he returned to the previous conversation. ‘I need you to get close to Xylan and his people, find out what motivates them, what it is they want. His father was easy to read; he wantedmoney and a lot of it. Which was fine, I could work with that. But without knowing who this new king is, I don’t know where to begin on playing the game with him. We know Nyarelle is still in his back pocket, and I am hoping, as you are a born Salistyan and married to an Arloman, that he may reveal more of his cards to you as you have sway over not one but two Doms.’

Having sway over Salistya was a bit of a stretch. No one had sway over Slaviya. But here we were again, me being just another political pawn in the game. I understand where he’s coming from, and I’ll do it. But only because this will help my alliances once Eliasson is no longer in the game.

‘How do you see me getting close to this Xylan?’ I asked, intrigued to hear his response.

‘In any way you see fit in order to get to the end result,’ he replied instantaneously.

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