Epilogue: Xylan

Two Weeks Earlier

Nervous anticipation. That’s what I was feeling loud and clear as I closed my mental shields to everyone but her.

Her emotions were so strong that it was hard to discern my own. She was sending out waves of emotion that were slamming into my very being. Was she nervous to meet me? Or did she simply hate these Royal Forums as much as I did?

Well. Hate may be a strong word for it. There was no avoiding them; especially the previous one, which was made even more interesting with Valare in attendance with Eliasson. Her husband. I forced down the usual nauseous feeling that arose at the thought of my True Infinite being married to someone else. Being in someone else’s bed. I shuddered.

Her marrying Eliasson was a necessary evil. It had gotten her out from under the thumb of the Salistyan Queendom and set her on her true path. But it still sucks from where I’m standing.

‘Woah, Xy. Are you okay? There’s a lot of passion coming off you right now.’ Qynthia shivered with the influx of my emotions.

Oops. ‘Sorry Qynth. Why don’t you have your shields up?’ I asked.

‘You know as well as I do that your power is too great to shut it down completely. Plus, I wanted to gauge a certain someone’s reactions as we approached. Can you do me a favour and lock yourself up a bit tighter? And, why the foul mood suddenly? You’re meeting her. Finally. Is this not supposed to be the best day of your life?’ she asked. Those last words left her mouth on a dreamy sigh. She always was a hopeless romantic, and the idea of True Infinites was the pinnacle for her.

As the most powerful psychic mage of the age, my magic trumped any other mage’s shields. If I wanted my emotions to be felt, I could simply break down the shields of the other person and make them feel it. My power was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to be the most skilled and strongest psychic mage? But when my emotions became turbulent like this, it was a curse as my control tended to slip and I accidentally broke through mental shields. It didn’t happen often. But I had a feeling it would become more common while I was acquainting myself with Valare.

I cleared my throat as I tightened my shields. ‘I’ll try. But these next couple of weeks may be testing. I apologise in advance now. One has their first meeting with their True Infinite only once. And I’ve no idea how this is going to go down.’ I didn’t count the last Forum, where I had to cast illusionary spells to remain invisible while unable to do anything as my father shamed the Marlyst Kingdom and put a target on our backs, as meeting her. Nor did I count seeing her corporeal form in the Lull as a first meeting.

I nudged the horse into a faster pace as we rode along the last bit of the winding path before it straightened out. The Amarald Palace was straight ahead, and I could see three figures in the distance.

‘We’ve got your back, bro,’ Orlandia said from her horse, keeping pace with us. ‘I, for one, can’t wait to meet my future sister-in-law. Well, officially that is.’ She threw me a rueful grin as I shook my head. She was a busy body who couldn’t keep her nose out of my business. Though she always had the right intentions, her delivery was often questionable.

My arms wound around Qynthia, taking comfort in the familiarity of having my best friend next to me through this.

‘Do you think it’s a good look to be so close to me right now? I’m not sure it is a good first impression,’ she murmured, turning her head to give me a knowing look.

My mouth twitched, fighting a smile. ‘I want to see her reaction.’

‘Evoking jealousy so early on, Your Highness?’ Ramone teased.

‘Some may say evoking jealousy, I say testing the waters. If what I’ve read about the True Infinite is correct, she should feel a pull almost instantly. Let’s see how the pull fares when she sees me holding your Queen,’ I said.

I wasn’t sorry. I needed to gauge her power. She may be a physical mage, but her psychic magic would be brimming under the surface by now, waiting to escape, just like I could feel my physical magic searching for its key, eagerly anticipating its unlocking.

As we approached the palace, I shifted my eyes to reflect those of a regular Marlyst. Only those in Marlyst and Nyarelle knew of my fuchsia eyes. I would keep it that way. For now.

‘Ramone, are we clear on what needs to happen?’ I asked.

As he nodded, a sense of foreboding fell on our group. ‘I’m aware, Xy. Qynthia has briefed me on her vision. I’ll do my part, as discussed.’

‘Thank you,’ I said. I couldn’t manage more than that. The weight he had to carry in this was too much to ask of him. Yet he would do it with a smile on his face. He was a loyal man, always willing to fight in a cause bigger than himself.

‘No need, Xy. It’s a pleasure to serve Fyriane,’ he said warmly. The sincerity in his voice brought a tear to my eye that I quickly pushed away. There would be time to cry. Today was not the day.

We approached the steps. Ramone and Orlandia dismounted their horses before handing them off to the stable hands.

I kept my face hidden behind Qynthia until, wanting Valare’s first look at me to be by myself, not sitting behind a woman who wasn’t mine. I may be prodding the bear holding Qynthia, but I wasn’t selfish enough to take away the moment from her.

Sliding down the horse, I reached back offering my hand to Qynthia as I felt a wave of emotions coming from Valare. Desire. Intrigue. A flash of jealousy.

Qynthia’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she murmured quietly, ‘Want to bet five gold on her giving in to the attraction in the first seventy-two hours?’ I burst out laughing. I kind of hoped it would be only seventy-two hours. She grinned as she took my hand, landing beside me.

As we started walking up the stairs, I allowed myself a quick glance at her as my eyes swept past the other royals. Good God she was beautiful. I groaned, leaning into Qynthia’s side as I whispered into her ear, ‘I bet ten gold that I’ll give in to the attraction within the first twenty-four hours.’ This brought a giggle out of Qynthia.

I felt jealousy and had to smother a delighted smile. Oh my, she didn’t like that. Not one bit.

Her jealousy rivals yours, Qynthia’s amused voice sounded in my head. Apparently, I’d lost control of my shields. Again.

‘Qynthia, a pleasure as always,’ said Eliasson as he kissed her cheek, stepping back and holding his hand out to me. ‘King Xylan, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Welcome to Arlom, I hope your travels were not too strenuous.’ I had to give it to him, the guy was a good actor.

I took his hand, giving it a nice tight shake. ‘The pleasure is all mine, King Eliasson. Thank you for graciously welcoming us to your Kingdom. Your land is a delight to be seen. I have a newfound appreciation for the delightful food that I enjoy courtesy of your farmers,’ I replied smoothly, knowing that complimenting another ruler on their Dom was always the right move.

Desire reached me. Fuck. Apparently complimenting a Dom that wasn’t her own was also the right move with Valare. Noted.

My eyes shifted to Valare as her sister stepped into view, cutting off Eliasson from introducing her. ‘King Xylan, Queen Slaviya of Salistya. Pleasure to meet you.’ I looked Valare’s sister up and down, rudely shaking her outstretched hand. God, I hated this bitch. I stepped away. No way was she getting my lips on her knuckles, especially not after ruining my first look of her sister.

I turned back to look at the star of the show – in my eyes at least – and she was remarkable. The short teal dress she wore did nothing to hide her hardened nipples. They were begging me to clasp onto them, suck them until I had her quivering in my arms. She clearly wasn’t a fan of underwear. I wasn’t a fan of them on her either. Unless they were lacy. And it was the only thing she was wearing.

God I need to get it together. First impressions count. If I just looked at her face, it would be considered acceptable, right?

Her striking eyes contrasted beautifully with her olive skin. And that cute nose? It was asking for me to nip at it. I was screwed. I didn’t even realise I thought noses were cute.

When those lime-coloured eyes finally met mine directly, a flash of familiarity raced through them. Good. The bond was there.

I stepped forward. ‘You must be Valare?’ I asked. It came out a bit huskier than intended, but it was worth it to see her cheeks redden as she grappled with the waves of longing I could feel.

‘I am. It’s very nice to meet you, King Xylan. Welcome to our home.’

Oh yes, I had expected that. She was fighting the pull alright.

Before I could control myself, I grabbed her hand and pressed it to my lips. The mark under my ear buzzed with delight and sent that feeling straight downstairs. ‘Please, call me Xylan,’ I insisted. No need for this King business. Unless she wanted to roleplay in the bedroom. Then maybe I could make an exception.

Her gasp broke me out of my dirty thoughts as our bodies broke physical contact. Damn. I was hungry for more. Desperate for it. I never wanted to let her go. Apparently Eliasson didn’t either. His hand secured itself more firmly around her.

‘Alright, Xylan.’ She cleared her throat. I enjoyed that I made her nervous. ‘Congratulations on, ah, the recent promotion. Sorry to hear about your father,’ she rushed out. A look of regret and unease came over her immediately.

This made me laugh. So tactfulness wasn’t her strong suite. ‘Thank you, it’s a pleasure to rule my Kingdom. And no need to be sorry, the God Merlot knows you’re probably the only person in Fyriane to have thought his lack of presence a loss.’ If her responding smile was anything to go by, I’d managed to put her at ease.

Bless Qynthia and her interjection as she did the rounds introducing herself and Ramone. I needed a moment to collect myself. As much as I’d planned and prepared myself for meeting her, I realised now that nothing would ever have fully prepared me for this. It was intense.

I appreciated her warmth when she responded to Ramone. She was relatable. No snobby queen here, not like her sister.

‘And this is my sister Orlandia. Orlandia, this is Queen Slaviya, King Eliasson, and his wife Queen Valare,’ I said as I waved my hand across the group in front of us nonchalantly. But really, I wanted to scream to the rooftops this was my True Infinite, and she would always be introduced first and not last. But I couldn’t do that. Not yet anyway.

I didn’t miss the suspicious look she threw at my sister. Nor did I miss the challenging expression Orlandia wore. God Merlot, help me. I didn’t want to regret sending Orlandia to her earlier.

You need to calm down. Breathe. It’ll all be okay, Qynthia said to me. She looped her arms through Valare and Slaviya’s, directing them towards the inside of the palace.

I followed suit as Eliasson stepped into line beside me, walking through the doors. ‘Everything set on your end? Anything I need to be made aware of?’ I asked.

‘All good. Everything has gone to plan as per Qynthia’s vision. I just need to ride it out at this point and put on the show of my life over the coming weeks,’ he replied. He had a good poker face, but I wasn’t buying it. Dropping down my shield, I felt his influx of feelings.

Nervousness. Excitement. Betrayal. Longing. Love.

Well, looks like some of it he wasn’t acting. He loved her. Interesting.

The her in question I found myself staring at. Her body was toned to perfection, the hours training in the Isles showing. And that ass? I suppressed a groan. The way it moved as she took each step nearly did me in. This woman was a gift from the Gods. I was sure of it.

Her head swung around, her eyes pinned on mine. The physical mage in her probably felt me gawking at her like a pubescent teen. Well, I may as well own it. Can’t blame me for appreciating the gorgeous sight in front of my eyes.

I threw her a wink, amused to see her stumble before she regained her composure, turning to face away from me.

Eliasson groaned next to me, rearranging his pants to hide his desire. ‘That woman is going to be the fucking death of me.’

You and me both, buddy.