Chapter 16

Itried my best to hold it in, but when Qynthia groaned for the fifth time and placed her head on the table, an evil laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

‘Why didn’t you cut me off?’ Qynthia groaned.

Who she was talking to, I had no idea. But Xylan apparently believed she was talking to him. He laughed softly, running his hands through her hair in comfort. ‘We tried, Qynth. Multiple times. What were the words you used? Oh yes, “Xylan are you worried I’m going to drink you under the table? Is that what this is about? Your male pride can’t handle being taken down a few notches?’’ ’ he recalled in a high pitch, trying and failing to impersonate Qynthia.

An amused snort left my mouth as Qynthia cringed in embarrassment. She slowly turned her head to look at me. ‘You were keeping up with me. How the hell are you as sprightly as you are this morning?’

‘I don’t get hangovers,’ I shrugged nonchalantly. One of the many perks of my unique magic. It had won me a lot of gold from disbelieving Solistans back in the day, much to Varqel’s chagrin.

I changed the subject, unwilling to answer further questions on the matter. ‘So, what’s the plan for today?’ I asked the table of royals and their Seconds. Glancing at the weary eyes of our hungover guests, I noticed Slaviya was the only one not feeling sorry for herself. Pretty standard really as she isn’t much of a drinker. Can’t have that control slipping away.

‘Matters of trade agreements and negotiations don’t start until tomorrow,’ Eliasson mused. ‘Valare, since it’s King Xylan’s first time in Amarald, I thought you could show him around? The markets, perhaps? I would offer to tag along but I have palace matters I must attend to.’

‘It’s up to you, Xylan. I’d be happy to show you around. However, I understand –’ I started but Xylan jumped in.

‘That would be lovely. Orlandia, would you be interested in joining?’ he asked his sister, before hastily adding, ‘If that’s okay with you, Valare?’

‘Of course! The more the merrier.’

If I was being honest, spending one-on-one time with Xylan was dangerous. I found myself grateful that Orlandia would act as a buffer between us. Plus, I also didn’t want to turn down the opportunity to probe Orlandia a little more. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I had met her before. Her knowing gaze rattled me.

‘That would be great. Qynthia, would you like to join us? Perhaps it would be good to walk out the hangover,’ Orlandia teased.

The Queen rubbed her temples, wincing in pain. ‘I think it’s best for all of us if I spend the rest of the day in my quarters.’

Qynthia was a warm and vivacious character. She brought a spark of fun and joy to the Forum. However, I’d never seen or heard of her throwing caution to the wind like this. There was something about her relationship with Xylan that made her feel comfortable enough to do so. There really must be more to their relationship than meets the eye.

‘Do you need anything before we leave?’ Xylan asked her.

Not normally one to talk, I was surprised to hear her Second jumped in. ‘It’s all taken care of, Xy. Go and enjoy yourself.’ Ramone shot a reassuring nod to the King.

Xy. So that’s what they call him. Good to know.

‘In that case, meet you out the front of the palace in fifteen?’ I directed my question to the Marlyst’s.

‘It’s a date,’ Xylan replied with a wolfish grin that absolutely did not make my heart flutter.

Denial was my new best friend.

I shrieked with laughter as Xylan sped past me on his horse. Hanging out with the royal siblings was a lot easier than I’d expected. They were easy-going and clearly up for an adventure. I felt like I’d known them forever, like we were old friends who had reunited after a long time apart from one another, instead of only meeting them yesterday.

Wanting to capitalise on a day without guards, we bypassed the markets completely and headed straight into the hills beyond the palace. We zipped in and out of the streets surrounding the civilians’ houses, a mixture of startled glances and awe at the sight of me and royals from another Dom casually riding through the villages following us. It wasn’t long before we’d reached the edge of town, and could finally let the horses stretch their legs to sprint through the woods.

My hair blew in every direction as I smiled in joy, feeling the wind wrap around me. I could let my guard down here in the woods, surrounded by nature. I took a moment to really acknowledge that this is what it felt like to be alive. To be free of reality that crushed and suffocated me. Out here I could breathe.

We reined our horses into a trot when we eventually cleared the forest, coming out on top of a hill. From this vantage point, we could see farmers working fields that spanned out into the distance. One poor farmer was having a hard time rounding up their cattle, a few strays deciding the grass wasn’t greener on the other side of the field. What would it be like to lead such a life, away from the palace? No royal obligations or schemes to become an unwilling participant in? I imagined the hardest part of my day being a few stubborn cattle refusing to move. Honestly it sounded lovely.

‘He’s such a show off,’ Orlandia muttered as her horse came up beside mine. She was wearing an all-black outfit which looked out of place in our current setting. Not to mention, she had to be sweltering under the Arloman sun.

‘To be fair, if I’d taken the faster horse, I would’ve done the exact same thing,’ I replied distractedly. My earth magic yearned to be let out. To create beautiful, coloured flowers in all different varieties to add to the browns and greens surrounding us.

‘Well, yeah, that too. But that’s not what I was referring to.’

I had a feeling that if I were to look, I’d see a smirk on her face. ‘Oh? What were you ref –’

My words stuck in my mouth, earth magic forgotten as I caught sight of Xylan and understood what she was talking about. He had taken his shirt off and was using it to wipe the sweat that had built up on his face and torso. I watched as he slung it over one shoulder. My mouth watered as I took in the sight. For all the built bodies I’d seen on the Isles, his put every one of them to shame.

Orlandia chuckled as she watched the play of emotions crossing my face. ‘The man can’t help himself. He’s just a big old flirt. Word of advice? Try not to play into it or it’ll only get worse.’

‘I’m a kept woman. It would be highly inappropriate for me to entertain anything of that nature,’ I sniffed, willing myself to believe my words and stick by them.

‘Good thing we aren’t offended by inappropriate behaviour,’ she called teasingly over her shoulder, making her way towards her brother. She was almost there before I could shake my stunned self into following her.

You are a married woman. You are still sleeping with your lover. You do not need a third man. I reminded myself. I think this will be my mantra for the next fortnight.

‘God it’s hot out here. How are you wearing that outfit, Orla?’ Xylan whined in discomfort as I met up with them.

‘Because one of us doesn’t feel the need to show off our figure every chance we get,’ she said.

Well, she’s not wrong.

‘Hmm,’ he tutted, ‘Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, sister.’

‘What’s there to be jealous of? That obnoxiously big head of yours? I think not, brother,’ she retorted.

I watched in amusement as the siblings continued their exchange, both unwilling to give in. If anyone were around to see this, they wouldn’t believe they were royals. Their comments were that of any two siblings bickering and riling each other up. It was a little odd they were showing this part of their relationship in front of me, a person who was essentially a stranger. Maybe they felt comfortable around me as I did them?

In the meantime, I’d hopped down to place a picnic blanket on the ground and spread out the lunch we’d packed. Neither sibling had stood down from their argument and, from the look of their crossed arms, I had a feeling they adopted an agree-to-disagree mentality a lot.

‘Lunch is ready!’ I announced.

We ate our sandwiches in comfortable silence, but it took all my self-control to keep my eyes fixed on the landscape ahead rather than on Xylan’s dripping body. Credit to myself, I was doing well until I reached for the raspberries sitting next to him. Xylan beat me to it, grabbing the punnet and holding it an arms distance away from me, drawing my eyes to his chest. A bead of sweat trickled down his abs. Orlandia was right. He is a flirt.

You are a married woman. You are still sleeping with your lover. You do not need a third man. I breathed deeply, leaned over to snatch the raspberries from him and scurried back to my side of the blanket, all without meeting his gaze, which was burning into me. I didn’t want to see what was written on his face.

‘You two aren’t what I expected,’ I said, determined to distract myself.

‘What were you expecting, exactly?’ Xylan asked.

‘Well, for starters, I thought you’d come by yourself, Xylan. Secondly, you’re both so … normal.’

‘Normal,’ Orlandia chortled. ‘I think that’s the first time we’ve been called that, Xy’.

‘For the record, it was intended as a compliment,’ I said, sheepishly.

Xylan’s mouth twitched upwards. ‘I think what she meant to say is that we’re nothing like our father. And why wouldn’t I bring my twin sister with me?’

Twin sister? That was news.

‘Ah yes, Daddy Dearest,’ Orlandia drawled. ‘Well, I guess that’s a compliment. Although it’s not hard to think we’re normal in comparison to him. He was an oddball.’

Oddball was an understatement I thought. ‘You’re twins?’ I asked.

‘Don’t get Xylan started,’ Orlandia groaned. ‘I’ve lived my whole life listening to him rub it in that I was one minute too slow to be crowned Queen. No matter how much I insist I don’t want the job, big boss over here doesn’t believe me. I think he’s just in denial. He’s the jealous type. Just an FYI.’

Xylan scoffed, dismissing most of her statement. ‘What is there to be jealous over?’

‘Well, for one, I don’t have to worry about courtiers throwing themselves at me in the hopes they become royal,’ Orlandia started, before looking at me. ‘I guess I partly owe you thanks for my not being married. The King of Arlom was on my parent’s radar for a while there, but you took the grenade for both of us. And now Xy is King, so I’m free to pick who I wish to wed.’

‘You’re welcome, I guess?’ I mumbled, part of me wishing Orlandia and Eliasson’s union had come to fruition. What a luxury it would be to choose who you marry. ‘So, if you don’t want anything to do with being a royal, why are you here?’

‘Xy claims I need to be across everything in case something happens to him. You know, assassination attempts, angry ex-lovers, all that fun stuff.’ She must have seen my mortified expression before she added, ‘It’s completely dark and unlikely to happen. Well, maybe not the angry ex-lover thing. That Ophelie was a bit of a doozy.’

‘Ah yes, good old Ophelie. Those were the days,’ Xylan reminisced, his lips quirking in response to what was likely some nostalgic thoughts. Oddly enough, I felt like I’d been stabbed through the heart at that comment. Maybe his alleged jealous tendencies were rubbing off on me.

‘Those were not the days, Xy. The girl was completely out of control.’ Orlandia scowled in disgust.

‘And who was the reason that I ended up in the situation, hmm? Don’t fault me for being a good wingman and getting with the wild one to help your ass with the one you wanted,’ he said.

Orlandia’s cheeks turned bright red. Maybe the girl was spicier than I thought.

‘Please tell me you at least got a little something-something out of it with the guy?’ I grinned at her while Xylan burst into laughter.

‘We don’t need to continue this conversation. And for the record Ophelie had a twin sister, not a brother,’ she said, looking away shyly.

‘Oh,’ I said. I didn’t expect that. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t presume.’

She waved off my apology. ‘No need, I like men and women equally. I just happened to become overly … infatuated with this woman and Xylan decided to help, ah, speed it along.’

‘Well, I’d say you’ve got a rather supportive brother then,’ I smiled, going with the glass-half-full approach.

‘Did you hear that, Orla? I’m a supportive brother,’ he teased with glee.

‘Please, you wanted to fuck the wildness out of that girl.’

Again, the jealously stirred within me, which is probably not healthy.

Xylan merely shrugged, not disagreeing with her. ‘Every pubescent boy goes through it. I’m sure Valare knows all about that,’ he threw me a wink.

I kept my face straight as possible, replying, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Please, a woman with your looks? You were probably fending them off every day.’

He has the hots for you. Mer’s voice rang in my head.

My face turned the same shade of red as Orlandia’s had been. It was time to change the subject. I launched into the spiel about Arlom.

‘So, this is the start of rural Arlom. As you know, it’s about a day’s ride north to the Pass. The surroundings throughout the rest of the Kingdom are as luscious as this. Bar the villages you stumble into along the way, our landscape remains much the same make up as this. Once you’re within a kilometre or so of the coastline, there’s naturally a lot more sand and less vegetation. My favourite time to be by the coast is when the humid winds blow in from the Isles.’

My change of subject wasn’t my smoothest move and when I shot a look at the twins they were both staring at me, lips quivering as they held back laughter. ‘What?’

‘You really don’t know how to take a compliment, do you?’ Orlandia commented.

‘Well, I don’t think there was a correct response to that. I’m a married woman. Letting him flirt like that is inappropriate. Plus, I was told to take you on a tour. Explaining the Kingdom’s surroundings is a part of the tour,’ I replied, flustered.

‘I’d like to point out that I was merely stating a fact. If you took it as flirting, that’s on you,’ Xylan said. My face flushed again at his reply.

Orlandia glared at Xylan. ‘You don’t have to pretend with us, Valare.’ Her voice had turned gentle when she spoke to me.

‘Pretend what?’ What are these two talking about?

‘We know it wasn’t your choice to marry Eliasson. Pretending to be loyal to him isn’t necessary in our presence.’

Wow, that was a bold statement, even if it was true. I noticed Xylan had remained silent, his eyes intent on watching my every move.

‘No, it wasn’t my choice. However, he’s a good man and an excellent ruler. He cares about his people and his people care about him.’ Why did I feel like I was being overly defensive of myself? Of Eliasson?

‘He’s a good man, sure, but that doesn’t mean you need to pretend that it’s anything more than a good friendship,’ she probed.

I wasn’t sure what she was playing at, but I wasn’t going to bite. Not when I’d known them for less than twenty-four hours. Maybe taking them on this tour was a bad idea.

‘I tell you what. There’s a waterfall with a swimming hole nearby that I can show you to cool off. If both of you can agree to drop this discussion, I’ll lead you there. Deal?’ I levelled them with a stare that told them to back off.

Xylan cocked his head to the side as he continued his intense assessment of me. He read my message loud and clear and agreed, ‘Deal’.

With that, I hurriedly packed up the picnic blanket, thankful for the distraction.

When we arrived at the pool, Orlandia said – rather pointedly, I might add – that she wanted to explore the landscape, while Xylan stripped off. She hurried away before I could insist on her staying. As much as it was fantastic to see Xylan in only his briefs, I didn’t trust myself without a third party nearby.

‘What’s taking you so long?’ he shouted, having already submerged himself in the water.

I paused before I could start to strip. He picked up on my hesitation.

‘Would you prefer I looked away?’ he said. His tone may have been gentle, but his face told a different story. He was challenging me. And what was I going to do? Look weak in front of him? No way.

I held my head high as I took off my pants, folding them neatly on the ground next to his clothes before my top quickly joined the pile. I told myself that a bra and underwear was no different to wearing a bikini at the beach. Women wear nude-coloured bikinis to the beach all the time in front of guys they shouldn’t find attractive and aren’t their husband.

I dove into the water, welcoming the cool feeling on my skin while avoiding eye contact as I came up. I stood up, water cascading down my face and flowing onto my chest. The water came up to my hip and I was very aware of my hardening nipples showing through my now translucent bra. I reached my hands behind my head, combing my fingers through my hair, allowing the strands to cascade down my back.

I smirked coyly as I met Xylan’s desire-filled eyes, before diving into the water and swimming past him. By the time I surfaced, I was halfway between him and the waterfall. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw he was still staring at me.

‘What’s taking you so long?’ I taunted him with his own words before swimming quickly towards the waterfall, intent on winning the race I just instigated.

I could hear the splash of water as he closed the gap between us. I pushed a bit harder, determined to win. With one last push I dove under the waterfall, breaking the surface on the other side. There was a little cave under the waterfall with enough space for us to sit on rocks and catch our breath.

Pulling myself up, I hugged my knees to my chest.

‘May I point out,’ he huffed, coming up from under the waterfall and pulling himself up out of the water, ‘that you had a generous head start and I would’ve been the clear winner if we’d been on equal footing.’ He slid further up onto the rock beside me, our legs touching in the confined space.

I had used a quarter of my strength, so as not to give away my powers, so there was no way he ever would’ve beaten me. ‘Yeah, right. I went easy on you.’

He let out a disgruntled sigh. The man clearly was a sore loser.

We sat in silence, our breaths falling back into their normal rhythm. I was much too aware of our bare legs touching as the mark behind my ear began thrumming with heat. At the same time, from the corner of my eye I saw him scratching the arc behind his ear.

‘Do you manage to come here often?’

‘Not as often as I’d like,’ I admitted. ‘Usually, I have a handful of guards nearby. I don’t think Eliasson would be particularly happy with me flaunting my body in front of them.’

‘Is that what you’re doing?’ he asked.

‘What?’

‘Flaunting your body?’ he teased as his eyes took me in appreciatively.

In the safety of this cave, without any other eyes on me, I decided to give in to my desires. ‘Well, you showed me yours. It was only right I showed you mine,’ I threw back.

‘How generous of you,’ he said dryly.

‘You’d prefer it if I didn’t return the favour?’

‘Never said that,’ he chuckled, earning him a wry smile from me.

I twirled a strand of my hair around my finger as I mused, ‘Hmm, for a king you are awfully improper.’

‘And you’re not?’

I gave him a blank look, earning an amused smirk in return.

He seemed to mull over the rest of my words, debating his response. ‘There’s a time and a place to be King. And there’s a time and a place to simply be a man enjoying a woman’s company. The latter is relevant in this instance.’

‘Will I have the pleasure of seeing you be King?’

He laughed darkly. ‘You’ll see plenty of that over the next few weeks, Valare. I don’t hesitate to stand up and fight for my Kingdom when need be.’

Maybe the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree after all. His father had always been ruthless in his dealings.

‘I’ll wait in anticipation then,’ I said honestly.

‘And you? Will you fight for your Dom when the time comes?’ His tone grew serious, his eyes imploring.

‘I’ll do what is right to ensure my people are safe,’ I replied, my tone matching his. I meant every word.

Xylan nodded in approval. ‘Good. Fyriane needs that.’

‘Fyriane?’ I questioned.

‘I mean –’ He caught himself, clearly choosing to say something different ‘The continent needs individual rulers who stand by their people. That’s the only way as a whole we can run smoothly,’ he said, scratching his head and looking away.

With his eyes focussed on the rock formation, I was able to study him a bit closer. I drank in his bared skin which had a natural tan. Every muscle in his body was lean, veins pulsing on his forearms, and he clearly worked out to maintain this kind of physique. My eyes glanced at the snail trail running between his belly button and down to the top of his briefs. At a leisurely pace, I took in his chest before slowly lifting my gaze to admire his face once more, only to find him staring back at me in open admiration.

‘You can feel it. Can’t you?’ he whispered, as if afraid someone would hear him.

I swallowed deeply, licking my lips, which drew his attention before his eyes fluttered shut. Based on his reaction, I was happy I didn’t answer his question. Everything becomes too real when you start acknowledging the attraction for what it is. And clearly he isn’t holding back.

‘It?’ Did that come out of me? I shouldn’t be goading him. My body was not working in conjunction with my brain. The longer we were alone together, the more the palpable chemistry between us heightened.

Rolling his eyes, he said incredulously, ‘You’re going to make me say it? Fine. The attraction between us. The pull, the need to be close to each other, wanting to –’

Before I knew what I was doing, I closed the small distance between us, placing my lips on his. He responded immediately, his hand gently settling on the back of my head. The kiss was soft and sweet. He barely moved, perhaps afraid that if he took it further, I would pull away.

The warmth under my ear lobe grew increasingly hotter the longer we kissed, and I jolted away from him with a gasp. I couldn’t look at him, knowing the desire he would be showing would be a dangerous trap I wanted to fall into. Instead, we sat in silence for a minute or two, staring at the rocks. The crash of water from the falls broke the silence. It wasn’t awkward. In fact it was far from it. It felt comfortable, too comfortable. And comfort was a deadly place to be.

After a while, he sighed. ‘Should we go back?’

‘Was that inappropriate?’ I blurted, looking at him for the first time since the kiss.

‘Inappropriate?’

The damn asshole was making me explain myself like I’d done with him before. ‘The kiss,’ I stated, in a deadpan voice.

He shrugged. The guy shrugged nonchalantly like it was nothing. What a way to knock a girl’s ego down a few notches. ‘It was barely a kiss.’

Barely a kiss? Was he challenging me? ‘Should we do it again, then?’ I countered, taking the bait.

‘It would be rude not to,’ he said casually, before grabbing my head and bringing our mouths back together. He didn’t hold back this time and took control of the kiss. His tongue swept over my lips, demanding an entrance that I willingly gave. Our tongues explored one another. My hands came up to caress the sides of his neck, paying extra attention to the area under his earlobe. Every time I ran my finger over his Royal Mark, his moans deepened, turned guttural.

I used this knowledge to my advantage, keeping my fingers there to continuously elicit noises from him as I nibbled on his bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth. I pulled away from him to catch my breath before diving back in to claim his lips once more. I gasped when his hand ran over the warm spot under my own ear, a ricochet of desire spiralling down my body and straight to my core. My nails ran down his arms, the intensity of my grip increasing with his encouraging groans.

I panted as his lips left mine to travel down my neck, planting kisses along the way that caused shivers to run up and down my spine. Oh Goddess. I don’t know if I would ever get enough of him.

I grabbed his head to bring it back towards my mouth. Our lips had barely touched again before we heard, ‘Where are you two? I didn’t get the hide and seek memo or else I would’ve tried a bit harder.’ Orlandia’s teasing voice echoed around the cave as I pulled away from Xylan.

Our hands remained where they were, mine on his neck, his behind my head. We panted, trying to catch our breath while we stared at each other in shocked wonder. This wasn’t good. This shouldn’t have happened.

‘Fuck,’ he muttered, taking his hands away from me to rearrange his hard bulge.

I giggled despite the situation, exceptionally satisfied that I had caused this reaction.

Deciding there was no point in giving him a lecture about the fact that no one could know about this, I slid off the rock slowly wading towards the entrance to the cave. As I was about to dive under it, I heard him mutter, ‘Damn physical mages don’t play fair.’

Physical mage?

My body went rigid. How did he know?

In a moment of impulsive stupidity, I threw caution to the wind and launched a torrent of water straight into his face, refusing to turn around despite the many curses leaving his mouth.

‘That should help with the party in your pants,’ I threw snidely over my shoulder, before diving under the water and away from the temptation I left behind.

A temptation, I was quickly learning, that was proving impossible to resist.