Page 50 of Pawns of Salistya

I didn’t bother changing out of my clothes, instead opting to land straight on the palace roof above Qynthia’s room. After last night’s successful (or not so successful depending on how you want to look at it) snooping, I decided it wasn’t ideal to test my patience with another round of the Marlyst twins.

Varqel had told me off earlier in the evening for the storm I’d created throughout the Isles. Afterwards, the ground was so muddy the trainees weren’t able to get outside for their usual classes, despite having multiple earth and water mages working on the mess. I didn’t bother pretending that it wasn’t me. Sometimes a girl’s got to let off some steam, and I sure as hell couldn’t bring myself to use Eliasson as the usual outlet. Not after everything that went down with Xylan. The guilt was still gnawing at me.

‘Well, this is definitely a look I haven’t seen. Not going to lie, I’m surprisingly into it.’

Xylan’s voice broke through my thoughts.

Where the hell had he come from? I hadn’t sensed him at all.

‘Just kicking back,’ I quipped, sitting down, refusing to look at him and be distracted by his beauty.

‘On top of the palace? In fighting leathers? Interesting place for that. Interesting time of hour, too,’ said Xylan. He sat down next to me but kept an appropriate distance, so we weren’t touching.

I didn’t answer. I did not owe this guy any explanation.

‘You have blood running down your neck.’ I sensed his hand reach towards me, only for him to retract it quickly when he realised what he was about to do.

‘I do?’ I ran a finger down my neck, wincing at the bruise that must be forming, pulling away my finger. ‘Huh,’ I said, seeing the blood.

‘Shall I get you a healer?’

I swung my head to look at him finally, accusation in my voice. ‘Why do you care?’

‘Probably not a good look strolling into the meeting room tomorrow all banged up,’ he smirked. I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Maybe I should’ve stayed longer at the arena.

‘Well, I can always add a couple of battle scars to your face and we can stand in solidarity with one another, hmm?’ I replied.

Somehow the snort he let out was attractive. ‘You wouldn’t be able to go through with it.’

Clearly, he didn’t know me very well and I could still use a punching bag to let out my frustrations. The sparring with my Sol had barely satisfied it. ‘You want to test that theory? Because I easily have another ten rounds in me.’

I moved my neck from side to side, cracking it as I went, preparing for him to call my bluff.

‘You’re a bit wilder than I was expecting,’ he mused. His appraising glances gave nothing away as to whether my being wild was a good or bad thing. I wasn’t offended. It wasn’t the first time I’d been called that, nor did I expect it would be the last.

‘Is that meant to be a compliment?’ I asked, my words spilling out a little too quickly.

I waited for the blow to come, the one where he admonished me like most other men I’d known. Aside from a select few, a lot of the men I knew felt it was their right to put a woman in her place. They were too scared we would be uncontrollable, wild, emotionally erratic.

I was surprised when my question was instead met with a feral grin.

‘Absolutely,’ he responded.

His primitive look made me pause. Xylan portrayed himself as jovial and carefree, flinging jokes around, giving as good as he got. But beneath that mask I could now sense a thrumming, tightly restrained power. There was a ruthless, unforgiving edge to Xylan I was beginning to notice. It screamed ‘fuck with me or mine and I will obliterate you’. Of course, he wouldn’t be deterred by my ‘wildness’. His look showed me all I needed to know. He wouldn’t control me or my power. He’d match it. I longed to experience the beauty of that. To have an equal.

The noise of a door opening followed by the sense of two presences in Qynthia’s room ripped my attention away from his captivating gaze.

I could tell clothes were being taken off at a rapid pace, lips mashing together in a heated embrace. I sensed a person on their knees beside the bed, while another was lying down in front of them on the bed, legs wide open. Heavy moans soon sounded. A lot of ‘Oh yes, right there. Oh, God right there. Oh, that’s good. That’s very good darling,’ following.

I felt my face heating. Looks like Qynthia has found herself a buddy in Arlom. And it wasn’t Xylan. Not tonight, anyway.

‘Well,’ I quipped, breaking the awkward silence forming as we listened in on the fun. ‘At least someone’s getting a happy ending.’

His deep chuckle stirred desire in me.

No, it wasn’t him. It was Qynthia and her friend stirring it.

‘What’s your favourite food?’ Random question from him, but okay.

---