Page 34 of Pawns of Salistya

‘Based on the character in your book, we thought insufferable women were just your type,’ Orlandia scoffed into her wine.

‘What was the book?’ I interrupted.

Before Xylan could shut the conversation down, Qynthia placed a placating hand on his chest before staring at me. ‘I’ll make a dealwith you, Valare. I’ll tell you the name of the book if – Nuh-uh-uh,’ Qynthia placed her hand over Xylan’s mouth as it opened, ‘ifyou get us some more wine.’

‘Done.’

‘Valare,’ Eliasson cautioned.

I turned to face him rubbing my hand up and down his thigh just the way he liked. I fluttered my eyelashes at him. ‘Husband,would you really deny your wife a good time?’ I crooned, seeing his eyes flare with desire as he noted the double meaning. I could sense another set of eyes boring into the side of my head.

‘I’ll get more wine.’ His words came out rougher than usual as he tried his best to subtly rearrange his pants before heading towards the kitchens, Rynelle in tow.

I could feel the satisfaction settle on my face as I met Xylan’s stare only to see what could only be described as jealousy. I furrowed my brow in question, before my eyes caught Qynthia slowly running her fingers up and down his forearm. Why that elicited the same jealous feeling in me was something I didn’t want to dwell on. Catching my expression, the bastard threw me an inquisitive look in return, his jaw clenched. Well, we weren’t starting off on the right foot.

‘As promised, wine for the Queen,’ Eliasson announced as he strolled back into the room, pouring into Qynthia’s glass. Mazyr, donning his chefs uniform, walked in with a plate of food. Why the hell was he here?

I watched as his eyes landed on Orlandia, curiosity piquing in those mossy green depths.

Noting his attentions, Orlandia pursed her lips and raised a challenging brow, earning a smirk from Mazyr in return. He placed the plate down right in front of her. Mazyr turned away, throwed me a playful wink, in response to my warning glare, and sauntered out of the room. I didn’t miss Orlandia’s eyes zoning in on his toned backside.

‘Judging by your hesitance to talk about this alleged book stealing accident, I presume you are needing some of this?’ Eliasson asked, not waiting for confirmation before filling up Xylan’s empty glass. Moving around the room, Eliasson played host, filling up all the glasses, including his own, but leaving none for me.

‘Hey –’ I started. He pulled me from my own chair and straight onto his lap. His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me up against him while the other reached for his full glass.

‘Drink, wife. I wouldn’t want to deny you a good time,’ he purred, bringing the glass to my lips and tipping the wine into my mouth. I heard chuckles around the room that set my cheeks on fire. Once he’d put the glass down, I slapped his hand in playful admonishment and cleared my throat. I focused on Qynthia and Orlandia, steadfastly refusing to meet Xylan’s eyes.

‘I’ve upheld my part. Your turn.’

Qynthia glanced at Xylan, seeking his approval before continuing. Xylan merely rolled his eyes and shrugged. ‘Well, what are you going to do? Back out of your end of the deal?’ The soft smile and her quick touch of his cheek had my eye twitching.

‘The book I stole wasOnce Upon a Woods.’

My jaw dropped to the floor. His favourite book was a romantic-comedy, and not only was it a romantic-comedy, it wastheromantic-comedy. The one Meredith and I were obsessed with and had constant debates over which character Louisah should be with. Hell, Mer and I stopped talking for a month when we couldn’t see eye to eye on how it had ended. Of course, my guy was the one to end up with her, so I was right in the end.

I attempted to pick my jaw up off the floor to ask Xylan, ‘Runaile or Nalu?’

His mouth moved upwards. It was the tiniest of movements, but it was there, nonetheless. ‘Runaile, of course. Was there really anyother option? Whoever is team Nalu needs to go re-read the scene in the woods and then look me in the eye and tell me he was really going to give her what she needed.’

‘Right!And don’t even get me started on that bedroom scene –’

‘The absolute worst!’ Xylan scoffed, shaking his head in disgust.

‘Exactly! How anyone could have any sort of sympathy for Nalu after that is beyond me,’ I said, shaking my head.

‘The ones that do need to reassess their life choices,’ he agreed.

‘Goddess, this is so refreshing. I need you to come and talk to Meredith with me. She’s still team Nalu despite the debates we’ve had. Can you believe she just stopped talking about it all together after the end? Only a Nalu fan would do that. Team Runaile won’t let it rest until every non-believer is converted.’

‘Is your friend here in Amarald?’ he queried.

‘Yes, she’s my maid.’

‘Then we’ll see her first thing tomorrow morning. This can’t wait.’

I nodded in agreement, resolute.

Silence filled the room when we finished and I took in the eyes of the others I’d completely forgotten about in my excitement. They were glancing between Xylan and I, clearly having no idea what we were talking about. I caught Orlandia and Qynthia’s amused stares, which seemed to imply they were sharing an inside joke.

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