Page 52 of Pawns of Salistya

‘Well yes, I am. Very comfortable, that is. But that whole pink is a girl’s colour thing is bullshit. You get over it pretty fast and stop subscribing to that ridiculous notion when you havepink eyes.’

Those pink eyes were staring into my soul.

‘Fair enough.’ I winced at my less than great response.

‘Pink reminds me of the sunrise over the Hudrielle Desert. As kids, Orlandia and I would often wake up early to catch the splashes of light pink. It complements the blue sky as the sun rises over the sand. The sight is … it’s hard to explain how beautiful it is. It’s one of those things you need to see to appreciate its beauty. My words will never do it justice.’

He’d relaxed as he started opening up to me, allowing me to see another side to him. It was … nice.

‘Are you able to see the sunrise from your palace? Or do you have to venture into the desert to see it?’ I hoped he didn’t feel I was probing. After all, I’d never been to the Kingdom and I had heard the Marlyst Royal Forums were held in the blacksmith villages rather than their palace. I didn’t know why, but no one knew where the palace was located. I know I should’ve been gathering information to use, but I found myself simply wanting to know. I wanted to understand where he came from. And maybe … maybe it would help me better understand him.

‘We see glimpses of the sunrise depending on where we are in the palace. The dunes on the outskirts of the city are quite tall though, so it cuts off the view a fair bit. It’s best to be in the desert itself to see the full effect.’

‘I imagine you’d have outposts in the desert then? If you have to get up so early to be able to see it. Or do you go camping?’ I couldn’t think of anything worse than camping surrounded by sand and in that kind of heat. At least in the Isles there’s plenty of cool water to dive into to cut through the humidity.

‘I’ve done my fair share of camping, yes. But these days I tend to stay in one of the … outposts when I can get away from royal duties. I’ve spent too many hours in the cool climate of the Kingdom to favour the heat of the desert anymore.’

Interesting. I’d taken a guess mentioning outposts, as in truth, I had no idea if there was any infrastructure out there. I wondered why they would need buildings in the desert. There was nothing there.

‘So, what I’m hearing is that you’ve become soft,’ I teased. He raised an offended eyebrow at me. I held up my hands in an innocent gesture, ‘Just reading between the lines.’

He chuckled. ‘I suppose that’s how your kind would view it. I tend to see it as favouring comfort over hardship.’ He flashed a rueful smile. ‘Sand in your clothes? Sticking to you as you sweat from the blistering heat? At least in the Isles you’re surrounded by water to wash off. But in the desert? Waterholes are few and far between. It leaves us craving water, driven by this insatiable need to quench our thirst,’ he said. His voice had dropped sensually. He leaned towards me.

Warmth spread through me, heating up my body despite the cool nip of the night air. My eyes lowered to his lips, remembering the feel of them on mine. The flick of his tongue, the bite of his teeth, his groans as he had tilted my head and pulled me deeper into him.

I cleared my throat, mentally shaking myself. ‘I guess you make a valid point. Water is important,’ I responded lamely. Here I was worrying that my analogy had taken it too far. But Xylan? Give the man an inch and he’ll run a mile.

‘It’s as vital as our next breath,’ he breathed into my ear, sending a warm buzz through my body. If I moved my head a fraction, I knew his lips would brush my cheek. I craved the contact like my body craved its next breath.

What I needed, though, was to get out of here before a repeat of our kiss happened. ‘Well, sleep is also vital. So, on that note, I best be off,’ I said, not particularly smoothly.

I felt Xylan cock his head to the side, gifting me a sliver more space as he listened to the activities in Qynthia’s room. ‘Are you sure? You’re about to miss orgasm number four.’

‘Consider my thirst quenched,’ I paused, turning to look, my eyes lingering on his perfect form. ‘For now.’ I shouldn’t have said that last bit. I knew he would hold onto that.

‘Suit yourself,’ he grinned. ‘Until the next rooftop hangout, my Minx.’

I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply as I left. I was too busy reeling over his last words. Oddly, the possessive my didn’t feel suffocating when it came from his mouth.

Chapter 22

Our legs were tangled, our breathing working to fall back into its natural rhythm as we lay together in post-coital bliss. Curiosity sparked and my hand inched towards the mark below his ear that looked like an upturned mouth. He sighed as I caressed it. I waited for the warm, throbbing feeling to work through my body. But there was nothing. I may as well have touched his arm for the lack of reaction I felt.

‘Does that feel nice?’ I questioned. He responded with ‘mmm’, his head leaning into my touch.

‘Can you describe it for me?’ I probed. Maybe there was something wrong with me.

‘It feels like … home? You know that tingle of anticipation you have when you’ve been away from home for so long and the knowledge that you’re close. So close. But the more it lingers, the more it’s– there’s something not quite right about it. It has a coldness to it. Almost like I want to go home, to taste the warmth of the sun, but the coldness is leading me away from it. But I don’t want to be away from it. I want to go home –’

He gasped suddenly, pulling away from my hand and looked at me with confusion. Like I was the one keeping him away, and he wanted to get as far away from me as possible.

‘Eliasson? Are you okay?’ I asked, shocked. He’d never looked at me like that before. Like I was an imposter. Like I was anything other than his wife. But if the markings were what I was beginning to think they were, his reaction would make sense. Because what he was describing wasn’t the hum or warmth I’d become accustomed to. And if I wasn’t his true home, it would explain his reaction.

His mark was rejecting me.

‘Valare?’ Qynthia’s voice shook me from my thoughts of this morning with Eliasson.

I swept my eyes around the markets, taking in the carts and pop-up shops strewn along the side of the path I was mindlessly walking down. There were significantly less people in the markets than last time, with many of the farming community vacating Amarald to head back to their homes and ready themselves for the planting season.

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