Page 68 of Pining for the Prince
“Yep,” he said, a little strangulated. “Felt… nice. Gonna take me a minute to stand up without embarrassing myself.”
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t thrilled by Gwil’s reaction to his magic. It boded well for their future. There was no way they could hope for anything long-lasting if his magic didn’t play well with his chosen partner.
Hyax got to his feet. Goya pushed off the wall he was leaning against. “If you’ve finished your nice sit-down, perhaps you’d like to get on with what you’ve come for.”
“My mother seems to think you’re not a combative prick with something stuck up his arse, tell me how did you manage such an act?” Hyax was in no mood to play nice, and Goya hadn’t been as helpful in the human realm as he’d claimed to be when visiting the fae royal family.
“I’m a different man when talking to someone who matters.”
Gwil huffed as he got to his feet. “Where do you want to start?” he said, ignoring Goya.
“The original gallery—the Sloane collection. I’m often drawn there so, for once, I’m going to listen.”
Hyax knew the gallery was one of Gwil’s favourite parts of the museum because it reminded him of the time before he was turned. A vague and unwarranted flash of jealousy hit him as he remembered the stories of Gwil taking the long-dead Matilda here. Its walls were lined with wooden glass-fronted cabinets and shelves filled with books that gave the air of an extravagant gentlemen’s club, and busts of long-dead men who watched the world through sightless marble eyes.
There were plenty of artefacts in here that would set off his magic and usually he blocked out the chatter their echoes made, but today he needed to listen, let the waves of one carry him to the next as if his goal was being paraded around on the crest of a Mexican wave.
At first his mind was pulled in several directions by the signature from a variety of odd sources, some were loud to the point of being obnoxious, until he realised they were trying to obfuscate matters and he shut them out. Hyax moved towards a cabinet halfway down the room, drawn by a spicy scent and once there he saw a pattern of lights dancing around a statue of a Buddha that was no more human than he was. The glow intensified and then shot off and erupted, showering green sparks over another cabinet.
He looked around to gauge Gwil’s reaction but it was clear to Hyax that he was the sole member of the audience watching. Even Goya, who he thought had some fae blood in him, was oblivious.
The game continued, leading from cabinet to shelf to tables and, as it did, a specific thread began to reveal itself. It had started as an undertone and was now part of the main refrain, made up of something he recognised, not a pure fae signature, but something distorted by another flavour. He found himself staring at a collection of Chinese jade, figures and carvings only an inch or two high. One was the head of a laughing devil. As he concentrated he saw it was moving, its jaw working.
He thrust his hand forwards, the glass melting out of his way and snatched up the taunting demon, clutching it tightly. The jade was warm to the touch, too warm, and it began to vibrate. He uncurled his fingers and, as expected, the cheeky devil was no more and instead there was the smooth green Stone of Ljin.
Hyax held it up. “Hidden in plain sight. Clever, and really annoying.”
Gwil came to stand at his side. “Can you get anything off it?”
He concentrated, letting his magic coat the stone. It was a powerful object, and Hyax got the sense that it was not happy at its treatment, that it wanted to be back in the coronet. There was another taste and he realised where he’d encountered it before.
“Chase. But his magic isn’t the only thing here.”
“Chase, as in the flower fairy?”
“The one who crawled into your bed.” He didn’t know where that had come from. He believed Gwil now when he said he hadn’t. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
Gwil stroked the back of his hand. “Something getting to you?”
“Yeah, there’s a taint to Chase’s fae magic, I think it might be affecting me in an indirect way. I felt another bolt of jealousy earlier but it didn’t last long.”
Gwil stared at the stone and clicked his tongue. “I thought Chase had his magic limited. He had a brand on his wrist.”
“Then he must have somehow got past it, but I’m a hundred percent sure it’s his magic.”
He would need to preserve the signature if they wanted to use it to track Chase, it was weak but he was able to encapsulate it in a light particle which he held out to Gwil. “Look after this, I’ve captured what I can.”
Gwil slipped it into his pocket as Goya came to join him. “Did you say his magic felt different though? Like it had been corrupted somehow?”
He hadn’t used those exact words but they were a good approximation. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“You mentioned you thought the elves were involved,” Goya said. “If they wanted the stone so badly then they could have given up a few drops of blood, there are a number of highly illegal potions that might do the trick.”
“And they would have needed someone who had imprinted on a member of the fae royal family to trick the security,” Gwil said. “Given he was a QC, I would say he was perfectly positioned.”
“All sounds feasible, but we need to find Chase and bring him in for questioning,” Hyax said.
“His crimes were committed in this realm,” Goya said. “He would be questioned and detained here.”
