Page 55 of Pawns of Salistya

Suddenly, I was watching two scenes happening. Wystia returned to the Temple, placing her hands on the statue, and Merlot did the same on the other statue.As if they both knew when to start, they opened their eyes and spoke in unison.

‘For the doers, the defenders, and the dreamers. To the devoted, the divisive, and the divine. For the True Infinite, and the continent of Fyriane. Protect our family.’

They kissed the middle fingers of one hand and pressed them to their third eye, their other hand remaining on the statues. A green light surrounded Wystia, while a pink light surrounded Merlot, and their powers drained into the respective statues. As the flow started to dwindle, their bodies were pulled into their statues. A glowing, lilac shield was propelled out of the statues with so much power it rippled further and further away, out of eyeshot.

My eyes flew open. I stumbled away from Qynthia in shock and braced my hands on my thighs. I took in short, sharp breaths. What in the hell did I just witness?

Isthisthe reason the Solistan’s saw me as their rightful heir? There’s one sentence mentioning lime green. One. And their conclusion is that ithasto be about me, simply because of my eye colour? They’re living on a different planet. Hell, a different universe. This isn’t about me. They’ve lost their damn minds.

I looked up to see both Qynthia and Orlandia with one leg bent, hands over their hearts and head down in reverence. This isn’t happening. This is a bad dream. A bad dream where people have lost their fucking minds. Wait until I wake up and tell Mer about this.

‘My Queen, I pledge you my loyalty. I am at your disposal,’ they said in unison. My eyes bulged at the sight of them. Seeing themkneel for me was too much. Not to mention it was completely misplaced.

I rushed forward, pulling them up to stand in front of me. ‘That isn’t necessary. Truly. I’m just Valare. No need for formalities. We are all equals here,’ I spluttered.

Qynthia gave me a pitiful smile. ‘This may take some time for you to get used to. Take all the time you need, the Dom of Nyarelle will be taken care of for you, until you’re ready.’

Until I’m ready? What was there to be ready for? The prophecy said a True Infinite must unite to rule Fyriane. Hell, I don’t even know what a True Infinite is, let alone have one.

‘I think this is all being blown out of proportion. That thing you just showed me,’ I exclaimed, waving my hands around like a lunatic. ‘Completely open to interpretation. Couldn’t be any more ambiguous if you tried.’

‘But –’ Qynthia started.

‘And my interpretation?’ I cut in, ‘Absolutely nothing to do with me.’

Orlandia shook her head in disbelief, arms crossed. She sighed, side-eyeing Qynthia.

I huffed. ‘I just wanted to know about the tidal beasts,’ I muttered. ‘How did you do that, though? I mean, get into my head like that?’ I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

‘We are psychic mages,’ Qynthia stated simply, like it was common knowledge.

‘Right, of course you are,’ I muttered. ‘And I suspect Mr Fuchsia Eyes is a psychic mage as well?’ I asked.

They probably think I’m ridiculous. You can imagine my surprise when they burst out in hysterics. It took a while for them to recover from their laughter, shock and understanding slowly dawning on their faces.

‘Mr Fuchsia Eyes?’ Orlandia blurted out between cackles.

‘Yeah, the man that does what you just did. Activating a Lull like that.’ I waved my hands in between us in a dismal attempt to demonstrate a Lull. How they understood what I said was beyond me. But apparently, they were picking up what I was trying to put down.

Qynthia’s mouth dropped open. ‘Yes. He is a psychic mage. And that wasn’t the Lull, Valare. I can’t access that. Only the most powerful True Infinite mages can meet in a Lull. I was just pushing a memory onto you. But maybe you should ask him these questions …’

She looked away, suddenly finding the ground very interesting.

‘Ask him? I don’t even know him. So far he has just shown up randomly and walked into my mind whenever the hell he wants!’ Exasperation filled my voice at that suggestion.

‘Right. Yes, you’re right. Hard to ask someone you haven’t met.’ Qynthia scratched her head nervously, still staring at the ground. Orlandia also avoided my eyes.

Judging by their reactions, I’d hazard a guess to say there was a good chance they knew who this man was. And suddenly it clicked.

‘Unless I havemet him,’ I probed, my knowing suddenly kicking in.

I was sure I knew who Mr Fuchsia Eyes was.

My eyes landed on Orlandia, waiting for her to speak on the matter, confirm my suspicions. She met my eyes and merely raised her hands as if to say, ‘I’m not getting involved’.

‘Well technically you have. In the Lull. Maybe you should activate it again and talk to him,’ suggested Qynthia. Her answer was too quick for her ignorance to be believable, and her suggestion was most definitely trying to deter me from probing any further.

My head had started to ache, and I decided to leave aside my suspicion on Fuchsia Eyes as it was clear I wouldn’t get anywhere with them.

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