Page 33 of Pining for the Prince
“Really? Hyax didn’t say anything about that.” The daylight issue was one of the biggest changes when he’d been turned, blood lust was one thing but he’d found a way to deal with that. But there was no getting around the fact that prolonged exposure to the sun would turn him into a pile of ash. The sunscreens and specialist clothing couldn’t protect him for long. Some vampires could stand more but he would resemble crispy bacon relatively quickly and as such he had embraced the world after sunset.
“Not many get to experience the fae realm, but it can’t be that unlike our world or the fae wouldn’t thrive here, and there’s clearly enough of the pointy-eared sods about. Then there’s the Calanti.”
They were the seventh fae tribe, the ones who didn’t play well with others and Hyax rarely mentioned them. “What about them?”
“Their king also sits on the Vampire Council, he’s the Dark Earl of MacLove…”
He knew very little about the MacLoves, nobody did. “Are you insinuating that a Dark Earl is also a fae?”
“James doesn’t attend many of the main Council meetings let alone the receptions or sub-forums so I haven’t met him, and I’ve not had much of a chance to investigate. His wife, Queen Hylei, is described openly as a powerful fae in her own right.”
The Calanti were not well-liked by the other fae tribes, and if there was some vampire and fae love-in going on with their leader then it would be no wonder Hyax’s parents objected to their son bringing home a vampire.
“Doesn’t your husband know? As a Dark Earl he must have dealings with James.”
“As I understand it, the MacLoves tend to limit their interactions in this realm, they socialise with the others of the House of Cartwright but the rest not so much. And I can hardly ask Philip about it when I have no reason to.” She smirked at him. “Although now my big brother is dating a fae prince that might give me an angle to explore.”
Gwil wasn’t sure why Penelope cared, but she did like to know things others didn’t. “I’ll ask Hyax about it. I don’t want to be caught unawares, but he’s not likely to tell me much.”
“He might not know either. The schism between the Calanti and the others goes back a long time. There is a rumour of James being a vampire-fae.”
Gwil scoffed. “Come off it, that’s a fairytale… if you pardon the pun.”
“Such things have a grounding in truth, and James is a fae king and a Dark Earl. The ostracising of Calanti pre-dates James as king but if he is vampire-fae then would explain why the tribes remain apart and some of the hostilities between the tribes and general dislike of vampires.”
“A general dislike of vampires is normal for most species, but doesn’t mean the Dark Earl of MacLove is a sparkly vampire with heightened magical skills.”
She rolled her eyes. “But back to speaking the truth, you need to be careful with what you’re doing with Hyax. I am surprised you’d be meeting his parents so quickly though.”
“They probably want to see who their son’s got himself tangled up with.”
He hoped she wouldn’t press for the other reason, but if he were a betting man, he’d put his money on her already knowing something about the Stone of Ljin.
“It’s still dangerous, and then you’ll be there with his family pretending to be love’s young dream. Which to be fair, you won’t be acting, but I never took you as a masochist.”
“It’s complicated.”
“No—quadratic equations are complicated, this is just a bullshit scheme that you should have known better than getting involved with. At least tell me you know when it’s going to end.”
Tonight, their fake relationship had felt real, and what he wanted was Hyax to take him home and fuck him, not stop things. Hyax feared he’d be married off if they broke up and, despite his misgivings, he hadn’t been able to say no.
“It will depend on what happens with the associated case we’re working.”
“The stone, right?”
So she did know—no surprises there. “I can’t answer that.”
“You don’t appear to have answers for anything tonight. You need to be careful.” She had moments of being protective of him, but this seemed to go further than that. “This is high-level shit you’ve got yourself involved in. The fae don’t ask for outside help often, the Paranormal Branch of Scotland Yard are involved, as are the intelligence branch of the Vampire Council.”
Something from their previous conversation struck him. “If the Vampire Council knows, then surely the Dark Earl of MacLove is aware too? I’m pretty sure Queen Talia would not like that.”
“No, this has not been tabled as general Council business yet, but it will only be a matter of time. I am aware because of my connections, the executive search branch received some intelligence around a rogue fae who was trying to sell some information.”
He wasn’t privy to the details of her dealings with the elite security wing of the Vampire Council, but she must be referring to Chase, and if he didn’t want to end up in deep shit, he thought he’d better inform her what he knew.
“I see. Then I should probably tell you that I heard it from the same source. I stopped a certain ex-Queen’s Concubine from having the shit kicked out of him and he stayed with me overnight.”
She scowled. “This is the sort of thing you should not wait to tell me, Gwil.”
