Page 29 of Pining for the Prince
“Hyax reckons he might be able to figure out more about who is behind the supply.”
Copperpipe sneered. “Your pretty fairy isn’t going to do something stupid, I hope.”
Hyax would not have liked the description but it wasn’t as if it were wrong. “No, he knows what he’s doing.”
“That I doubt, but I trust you to look after him. You’ll make sure he doesn’t lose himself.”
“Why would you care?”
Copperpipe shook his head and lifted a grating. “Your friend is a royal fae, if something bad happens to him and it gets back that I was involved then they will come and pull off my ears, and other bits I am attached to.”
“Not if it was by his request.”
“If you think that would stop them you are naïve, Fang Child. Nasty tempers the fae have if they think someone is harming one of their own. Not something to meddle with.” He climbed down. “I’ll be in touch.”
The clattering of the metal reverberated around the sewer and Gwil sloshed his way back to the entrance he’d come in by. He’d never thought about the fae in such terms, and he only knew pieces about their punishment system, like the limitation of magic and iron circles for the worst crimes, but never had he heard about them entering the human world for retribution.
He peeled off the waders and shoved them into his bag before venturing back onto the streets, the manhole cover was in a side street and, with it being dark, he was unlikely to be spotted. Deciding not to subject his fellow Londoners to the smell, he trekked back to Spitalfields on foot, hoping the forty-minute walk would mean the worst of the sewer stench would have dissipated.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
When he’d heard the reward for returning the watch to Flume was to be a house in the best bit of paranormal London, Hyax assumed it would have been closer to a shed than the decent-sized property they’d been given. Technically, Gwil had been handed the deeds. He’d not intended to move in, but the idea of having a place of his own in the human realm was too good an opportunity to pass up. He’d thought about buying somewhere, but his parents would not have released the funds without an interrogation, this had been a much better alternative. He’d cope with the unrequited love, somehow, and it was made better by Gwil confirming he wouldn’t be bringing home random shags.
Hyax let himself into the building. An excitement he’d not expected hit him hard. The idea of making this a home for them both seeping through him in all the best ways. He wanted to make this house theirs. He started with the downstairs office space first as it was one of the simplest to put right. The impact of the ley line on his magic brought a deep sense of satisfaction as he began to cast as if his magic was happy to show off and make this the perfect place for Gwil. He replaced the lurid office colour scheme with neutral tones and warm hues. Thefurniture was in a decent state and so required only a minimum of manipulation, and before he knew it the business areas were completed. Using magic came at an energy cost, but so far he’d witnessed a minimal drain that accompanied concentrated use. The ley line kept him topped up, and he powered through removing the stripes of lime-green and purple velvet on the hallway’s walls and the orange carpet. Gwil wasn’t a fan of stark white, and he would probably even bitch and moan about the cream colour which Hyax thought went well with the newly adapted deep red carpet, so Gwil could fuck himself.
His thoughts were to try to get the communal areas and two of the bedrooms into a state they could live in where the décor didn’t induce migraines or nausea. The kitchen was the easiest, and he saw that several new appliances had been delivered and fitted, not a mean feat this close to the winter holiday some of the humans celebrated. A simple spell turned the off-white back to pristine.
There were stubborn patches that wouldn’t let him change, as if his magic rebelled and didn’t want to remove something. He gave up on the avocado suite in the main bathroom, and the fake fireplace in the living room. The previous occupants had left the odd piece of furniture that he transfigured into something better, and he made short work of the two bedrooms, and was happy with the quality of the beds and bedding.
He heard the front door open and close, and he decided to greet Gwil at the door. He raced to the stairs, but slowed up not wanting to look too eager.
“Oh, you’re here. Shouldn’t I be carrying you over the threshold? After all it is our first real place together.”
Gwil huffed but refused to be goaded. “Just try it, sparkle ears, and I’ll break your arms.”
“So romantic.”
Hyax would love to have been able to call this new house their home as a couple and not flatmates, but he needed not to get carried away by a fantasy that would not come to pass, apart from a cruel parody where they faked it in front of his parents. He could’ve suggested he not move in, but he’d already mentioned it to his parents as evidence of them being a devoted couple, and if he were not to go through with it, they’d assume their relationship was doomed and start parading the suitors.
He thought by the time he’d reached this age—several centuries in human years—he’d have figured out his emotions, but then he’d never thought he’d have fallen for a vampire and lied to his parents about planning a fake marriage.
Gwil began to climb the stairs and Hyax gagged as he got closer. “Fil’s scrotum, what is that smell?”
“You know I went to see Copperpipe—he lives in the sewers.”
Hyax waved an arm in his direction and he hit Gwil with a crackle of magic. “That’ll contain the worst of it until you have a shower. You’ll be happy to hear I removed the glitterball and Jackson Pollock-esque artwork from the bathroom. We’re stuck with the green bath, but I did put in a proper shower.”
“Excellent, but since I don’t have anything to change into it’s a bit of a fool’s errand unless I sit around in my boxers.”
“I could pop over to yours via a portal. Bring a few things back and we could make an evening of it here?” He would like to get used to being with Gwil more often.
“You’ll need to feed Midnight.”
“She’s just a normal cat, right? Nothing magical about her?”
Gwil shook his head. “No, why?”
“I could bring her to her new home. I assumed she’d be coming sooner than later.” He was pretty sure the portals wouldn’t hurt her, it was Gwil’s undeadness that he reckoned caused the problems. “I’ve heard you tell her that a house isn’t a home until it’s got four paws and a purr.”
