Page 71 of Pawns of Salistya

‘I’ve sedated her to relax the body and extracted the poison from her. Whatever you were fighting has something in its poison that nullifies magic. Your sister would’ve been in a lot of pain,’ she grimaced. ‘I trust you got out of the mess unscathed?’

I nodded in confirmation. ‘Did you manage to get avial of the poison?’

She nodded towards several vials lying on the sand. ‘I’ll get to testing it as soon as I can. Probably after a couple of hours of sleep.’ Lyzia shook her head sheepishly as she looked down at her nightgown.

I softened at her attire, realising she must’ve been in a deep sleep when she was rushed here. ‘Thank you for coming.’

She shrugged nonchalantly. ‘It’s what I’m here for, not to mention it’s my pleasure,’ she replied. ‘The creature must have bypassed the Isles otherwise Varqel and I would’ve dealt with it. It’s very strange it came to these shores,’ she said, her eyes watched for my reaction closely, assessing whether I had any information on it. I had plenty of theories as to why they are lured to Arlom. But I wasn’t about to share them.

‘Very strange, indeed.’ I kept my face blank, determined to keep my promise to Xylan.

Lyz tilted her head, a knowing look on her face, lips thinning as she deliberated on whether to push me. She chose against it, merely calling Rynelle over to escort her back to the Isles.

‘She should wake up in a few hours. There are no signs of poison still left in her body. Expect her to wake up a bit groggy and she’ll require observation over the next twenty-four hours. If there are any signs that she’s not recovering as she should, call for me. Otherwise, if everything goes well, I’ll see you soon?’ Lyzia asked as she grabbed Rynelle’s hand.

I nodded to Lyz, watching them teleport away, taking a moment. I wasn’t looking forward to what was coming.

I sighed as I stood up, turning to face the group. My eyes landed on Xylan’s. His illusionary pale pink eyes were back. I opened my mouth to thank him for his help but was cut off by Eliasson’s arms reaching out to grab onto my shoulders.

‘Are you hurt?’ he demanded, patting all over my body, looking for any injuries.

‘Um,’ I cleared my throat in confusion. I had expected him to be angry.

‘You don’t look hurt, but it’s hard to see in this light. Maybe we should get you a healer, have you checked over.’ His worried voice rose as he fussed over me.

‘I’m okay Eliasson. No injuries,’ I placated, placing my hands over his to stop his frantic movements.

‘Alright. Okay.’ A rush of breath left his mouth as he tried to collect himself. ‘In that case, I think you and I need to have a serious discussion.’ Anger replaced the concern that had been in his tone.

I winced and nodded in agreement as I stepped to the side to look at the others. ‘Mer, Mazyr, Amire, I trust you can assist in taking people back to their respective rooms?’

My Sol nodded in unison.

‘Please work out between yourselves rotating watches for Slaviya. Any signs of discomfort or something out of sorts, please report to me immediately,’ I directed.

‘I can look after her,’ Qynthia said out, stepping next to Slaviya’s sleeping form.

‘Are you sure?’ I asked sceptically, exchanging wary glances with Mer.

‘Yes, it’s fine. Our quarters are next to one another, it’ll be easy for me to move into hers for the night. I suspect your colleagues will require sleep after their efforts tonight.’ She smiled, and flashed them sympathetic looks.

‘As long as you’re okay with that,’ I shrugged, not having it in me to question let alone understand her motive behind taking care of Slaviya. ‘In that case, ensure everyone gets back to their quarters and you’re dismissed for the night. Good job, you did Fyriane proud.’ I nodded at them, letting my gratitude show on my face.

‘Always honoured to serve you, Queen,’ Amire replied.

‘Get some rest if you can, Val. This was a big one,’ Mer said gently, sympathy shining in her eyes.

I shot Mer a warning look, earning me a confused one in return. I sighed, dropping my barriers, hoping this would work.

Keep Fyrel distracted, please, I told her.

Mer’s eyes bulged. She quickly composed herself, giving me a look that said both ‘what the hell bitch, you’ve been holding out on me’ and ‘we’ll talk about this later’, and nodded.

I kissed my three middle fingers and placed them on my chest, bowing my head in gratitude to my Sol before whisking Eliasson and I back to our quarters.

Chapter 31

Dropping down onto Eliasson’s bed, I let out a sigh in preparation for the onslaught of questions coming my way.

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