Page 69 of Pining for the Prince
Hyax snorted. “No, he stole this from the royal family. He will be under our jurisdiction.”
Goya smirked. “I don’t think so. You have your pretty rock back, but the fairy’s mine.”
“I don’t think you appreciate the gravity of his crimes.”
“Look, Your Highness, I get it, I really do, but the help we have provided to the fae was always done so under the strict proviso that if the stone was recovered in the human realm then it would be under our jurisdiction You can take it up with your mother.”
“She would not have done that.”
Goya crossed his arms over his chest. “I know you lot think the rest of us are stupid, but you wouldn’t have gone to all this bother for any old sparkly lump of glass. That there stone is from the coronet, so when I agreed to use my valuable resources to help, I did so knowing the importance.”
Hyax had underestimated Goya, probably swayed by Gwil’s opinion of him. “We can discuss it once you catch him. But I can’t imagine we agreed to this realm’s punishment.”
“Now, I didn’t say that. But I want to interview Chase for a number of crimes. The Stone of Ljin is just one on the list for him.”
“What else? He didn’t seem that bad to me.”
Hyax scowled and Goya laughed. “Going by your boyfriend’s snippy comments, you know him better than you should, so please excuse me if I don’t take one of Chase’s shags as a reliable character witness.”
“I did not have any sort of sexual relations with him, I stopped a couple of orcs beating the shit out of him and I took him home to clean up and send him on his way. He was the one who told me the stone was missing.”
“Don’t you find that all a bit convenient? You happen to come to the rescue of someone who knows the royals and he tells you his secrets because you tended his bruises.”
Goya had a point. “But why would he tell Gwil if he knew it would get back to me? He didn’t look happy to see me.”
“The QCs are renowned for their skills, and to be that impressive you have to be able to act. If acting surprised to see you was part of the plan, then I’ve no doubt he’d have delivered an Oscar-winning performance.”
Gwil’s face was a picture of thunder and Hyax guessed he thought Goya was right and that he’d been played. “Looking back, those orcs didn’t put up that much of a fight. They should’ve been able to inflict a bit of damage but they didn’t even land a punch.”
“So we can all agree that Chase might have done it deliberately but it still doesn’t explain why, because it led me to force my mother’s hand and her having to tell me what was going on, and then get involved in the stone’s recovery.”
“It’s my best guess that he’d got himself in too deep with the elves,” Goya said. “You fae aren’t exactly the fluffy brigade, but he’s one of yours and you’re not as nasty as the elves.”
Hyax wasn’t sure Chase had played the odds well on that gamble. “I think he will realise he’s made a mistake. Once I catch him I’m going to pull his wings off.”
“We’ve got to catch him first.”
“Give me a couple of hours. I have an idea.”
Goya’s phone rang. “I have to take this. I expect to hear back from you soon, if you don’t, and you go off on your own, then remember I can make things difficult for you and Bitey there to do business.”
Hyax had to grab Gwil by the arm to stop him from reacting and only once Goya was out of earshot did he say anything.“Don’t let him get to you. He’s after a reason to shut you down—don’t give him one.”
“You’re right. And to be honest, I wouldn’t fancy going after a bunch of elves without backup, even if it is Goya and his flatfooted monkeys.” Gwil smiled. “So you’ve got your pretty glass pebble back, what’s next?”
“I don’t know. I can’t feel anything more off it.”
“But I thought you told Goya you had an idea.”
“I wasn’t going to tell him I didn’t. He’s a smug enough bastard as is.” He kissed Gwil on the tip of his nose. “Besides, we do have another option.”
“We do?”
“Tobias Flume.”
Gwil’s shoulders sagged. “Ah, him.”
“You go and arrange us an appointment with Big Chief Fangy Bollocks and I’ll take the stone home.”
