Page 77 of Pawns of Salistya

I could say the same to you. Are you trying to make this night more difficult than it already is?I couldn’t resist falling into the flirty nature of our relationship – if you could even call it a relationship at this point.

I felt his chuckle all through my body.I’ll always be here for you. I’m sorry for the way I’ve conducted myself. I hope in time you will forgive me. But tonight isn’t the night for this conversation. I want you to know that you’re a strong and capable woman, Valare, and an excellent queen. Whatever happens tonight, always remember that.

I subtly nodded in his direction, breaking his stare as I closed my mental shield. I didn’t trust myself to not crumple in a heap after those tender words.

‘Shall we have our first dance, darling?’ I asked Eliasson. He nodded and directed us towards the dance floor.

We fell into a graceful dance, matching our steps with the beautiful music of the string quartet. Eliasson twirled me around like a professional, working every corner of the room.

Are we clear on what you need to do?I said to him through our mind link. I didn’t dare say the words out loud to Eliasson from fear a physical mage may hear. I’d theorised my telepathic abilities had something to do with Xylan and I being True Infinites, but had yet to confirm it. Nonetheless, I was going to use every tool at my disposal.

I’ll accidentally run into an attendant holding drinks and need to excuse myself to go to the bathroom.He thought and nodded, as he pulled me into a dip as the song ended.

‘Thank you. For everything.’ I swallowed deeply, chastely kissing his cheek.

As he pulled me back to a standing position, he merely nodded as an Arloman noble asked for my hand in the next dance. Eliasson graciously stepped aside and was whisked into a dance with a woman I didn’t know.

The rest of the night went much the same way. I danced until my feet hurt, graciously accepting the hands of various Arloman nobles as I was pulled into one dance after another. All the while I kept a keen eye on Eliasson, waiting for the signal. But the signal never came. Despite seeing him leave the room multiple times, he never made his way to the bathroom. It was strange, and I couldn’t help my growing sense of dread.

I decided to take a break. I slowly made my way off the dance floor, only to be stopped by a familiar presence behind me.

‘Surely you’re not leaving the dance floor before I’ve had my turn with you?’ Xylan said. I could hear the smile in his voice. He knew it would be impolite for me to refuse.

I spun on my heels taking his outstretched hand as he pulled me close. There was no space between our torsos. I could feel his muscles moving as he spun me around the room, swaying our hips in a sensual dance. The pulse under my right ear grew strong the longer we held each other.

‘Do you feel it, too? Your mark pulsing? It feels like it’s calling to me. Every time we touch,’ I whispered quietly.

‘Hmm,’ he hummed, and nodded in confirmation. ‘It’s beckoning me to follow this feeling. The urge is becoming stronger. The urge to return home.’ He squeezed my hand, as he tightened his grip around me to pull me impossibly closer.

‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ I whispered sadly. I was still so angry with him, the sense of betrayal running too deep. I didn’t know if I could forgive him, or what a path to forgiveness would even look like.

‘Do what?’

‘This. Us. Whatever this is. I’m angry with you and I feel too guilty. With Eliasson and my ex –’ I couldn’t finish the sentence.

‘You don’t have to do anything. I’m not forcing you, Valare. I’ll never do that. Let’s just get through tonight and go from there. At the very least I want to see you again. We have a deal for you to deliver goods to the south of Marlyst remember. Can you do that? For me? Please?’ He stumbled through his words, trying to discern what the right thing was to say in this moment.

Could I still find time to see Xylan? Deep down I knew I wanted to. Goddess, I wanted to. But the guiltand the pain I felt. All the expectations placed on me right now were just too much.

You can’t let people like that have power over you.Meredith’s words rang in my mind.

I opened my mouth to answer when a crash behind us made me spin around so fast I nearly hit Xylan. He grabbed my hips to hold me steady.

Eliasson had finally done it, a mess of red wine spilled down his front as he’d executed the first part of our plan. He’d taken a single step towards the door before he was paralysed, frozen in place. A figure teleported behind him, grabbing him in a headlock and pointing a knife at his throat.

‘NO!’ I screamed. My mind scrambled to understand what was happening.

Moss green eyes under a dark fringe stared at me as silence and shock fell around the room. The guests slowly moved away from the man holding a knife to the King of Arlom’s throat.

‘No, Rynelle! Don’t do this. Please, don’t do this,’ I cried out in anguish. I called forth my magic to push him away from Eliasson. But I felt nothing. I tried again with the same result. My eyes widened, heart rate picking up as I stole a glance at Xylan. His brows were furrowed and I realised he was having the same problem. Something had stopped us from using our magic.

‘The wine,’ I gasped, recalling the fruity aftertaste. I realised it shouldn’t have been there. Whatever it was, it was stopping our powers. I made to step forward, but my body didn’t move, paralysed in place. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was all wrong.

‘What happened to calling me, Sir?’ he mocked, pushing the blade towards Eliasson’s throat. ‘You should have known better, sweetheart. You picked your side, I’ve picked mine, and clearly only one of us chose correctly.’

His voice was cold. So cold. For all the love we’d shared, the ups and downs of our relationship, I’d never heard him talk quite like this. He had finally revealed the side everyone had warned me about, and I didn’t recognise him.

‘Why? Why do this?’ Tears streamed down my face, betrayal taking over my body. Xylan’s hands tightened on me.

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