Finding Stardust 117 Meeting Therius And Xion

Haoran looked very reluctant to let Emma go into the elevator to get to the top floor alone, but he knew that Emma needed to talk to the Akkadian people without him. The girl must be able to determine what decisions she must make without his influence. Then, once she knew what she wanted, they both could talk about it between the two of them.

Haoran already heard from Therius that his presence was not wanted and they did not want to take him along with Emma to Akkadia. Emma did not know that Therius had spoken to Haoran and how her husband understood the tough situation she was in.

Haoran, on the other hand, knew Emma was deliberately hiding that information from him because she wanted to spare him the bad news.

However, he would not discuss it at all and called out on her lies. He would let Emma think and decide whether she would share everything with Haoran or not. He believed she eventually would do so.

Inwardly, Haoran also wanted to talk directly to Therius, after Emma met the prince. He would find time to do it on his own. He could guess that Therius could understand him even though Therius did not speak English, and that led Haoran to conclude that Therius was also a telemancer like Emma.

"Be careful there. You can call me right away if there is anything ..." said Haoran. He let go of his grip from Emma's hand and let the girl into the elevator.

Emma nodded and waved to him before she disappeared behind the elevator door.

Haoran sighed and then walked into the lounge located in the lobby. He ordered a cup of tea and then sat on the sofa while thinking. He could not speculate how the meeting would go on up there. He didn't have enough knowledge of the two men to make assumptions. He didn't like the feeling of not knowing what would happen.

The journey to the 100th floor felt so slow for Emma, who couldn't wait to see Therius and Xion. There were so many things she wanted to ask the men about Akkadia, about her father and mother ... and about themselves.

She never met other people like her before, and so, their presence piqued her interest. Xion seemed like a multiple-element mage, like herself. So, what about Therius?

If Therius was the crown prince, who is Xion to him? Why did they come here to get Emma?

Also, she did not understand why a young and powerful man like Therius would marry without love to ascend the throne since he was already the crown prince.

There were so many questions!

DING

"We've arrived, miss," said the hotel staff who took her up to the 100th floor. The elevator door opened to a big wooden door, the only one on that floor, and she let Emma out.

"Thank you. I'll knock on the door myself," Emma said. The staff nodded and then pressed the elevator button to go back down.

KNOCK

KNOCK

Therius waved his hand and told Xion to open the door. His friend was engrossed in playing with the teacup shards that Therius broke earlier. He used his aeromancy to lift the pieces one by one and assembled them carefully as if they were pieces of a teacup-puzzle.

"Just open it yourself. I'm not your servant," Xion said without turning his attention from the half-assembled cup.

"You are closer to the door," said Therius.

"Am I?" Xion asked, as he suddenly hovered to the terrace beside the pool with his half-assembled cup and the remaining shards. "I think you're the one closer to the door."

Therius lifted his eyes from his documents in an annoyed expression and quickly realized what Xion just did.

"Jeez..." Therius could only roll his eyes at Xion's behavior, which he sometimes thought was too childish. Reluctantly, he put down some of the documents he was reading and walked toward the penthouse door.

He opened the door, ready to scold the hotel staff who had bothered him during his working hours.

"What do you want--" His words stopped in the air when he saw an amazingly beautiful girl standing at the doorway.

Emma was wearing jeans and a simple pink top and sneakers. Her appearance looked very casual and simple, quite the opposite of Therius, who wore his regal princely getup with intricate details and was made of very beautiful materials with black and purple accents.

For a moment, both of them were stunned and stared at each other in surprise.

"Hey ... you came," Therius nodded. Even though his face looked flat, he was actually very surprised. He didn't expect Emma would come this early.

"We need to talk," Emma said, staring at Therius with a stern look. "Can I come in?"

"Of course. Please." Therius opened the door wider and invited Emma inside. His chest was pounding, but he tried to keep his expression flat. He pointed to one of the nice sofas in the living room and invited the girl to sit. "Please sit down."

"Thank you." Emma glanced around and immediately realized that Xion was on the terrace playing with a stack of broken porcelain and arranging it to form a cup again. Emma frowned and looked at Therius. "What's your friend doing? Is he making a cup? That looks nice."

"He's just feeling bored," Therius said, glancing at Xion.

He then swung his hand and suddenly a gust of wind blew hard and hit the porcelain pieces that almost fully formed a perfect cup, and the shards were scattered again all over the floor.

He didn't like seeing Emma admire the ugly cup. So what if Xion can assemble all those little pieces back into a cup? It's nothing special.

"Hey, jerk! What did you just do?" Xion exclaimed, glaring at Therius. However, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of Emma and his annoyed expression immediately disappeared, replaced by a broad smile. Xion rose from the floor and walked over to Emma. "Hey, Princess Emma Stardust. You came so fast. Have you thought about my words?"

Therius didn't care about Xion and his cup. He asked Emma if she wanted something to drink. "Can I make you tea or coffee, or maybe you would like some wine?"

Emma was about to refuse. If she was offered a drink at this time, of course, she would choose something strong to ease the turmoil in her heart. But she didn't want to drink alcohol in front of people she didn't know well.

"I'm fine. I won't take long."

"Hmm ... please allow me to treat you properly. I brought a special wine from Akkadia. I don't think you have ever tried it?" Therius asked suddenly.

He did not wait for an answer from Emma and immediately entered his room to get the wine bottle he referred to.

Therius was not really a drinker. He only drank a little on important occasions because his tolerance for alcohol is low. But he brought the best wine from Akkadia to Singapore specifically for the purposes of entertaining Emma at their first meeting.

"Just accept it," Xion said, winking. "It's the best wine in the whole universe."

Emma finally sighed and nodded. So far, Therius and Xion have been kind and polite to her. She did not want to repay their hospitality with rudeness.

Therius came out shortly afterward with a small wine bottle in his hand. He hurried into the kitchen to get three wine glasses and put them on the table.

"I don't drink much, but I like the taste of this wine. It will make you feel happy," he commented, pouring a little wine into each glass. He handed Emma a glass and then raised his own glass. "Nice to meet you."

Chapter end