Page 49 of Pining for the Prince
He was surprised to find no one waiting for them. “We’re on our own for breakfast?”
“I may have been quite choice with some of my words,” Hyax admitted as he bade Gwil to sit. “I hope it’ll give us some space to work without being overburdened by family members who arecurious about the vampire I’ve chosen over some of the most eligible fae in the realm.”
“Are they curious about me, or why you chose me?”
“I don’t think you need me to answer that.”
Hyax spoke to a servant in his native tongue and Gwil found it impossibly hot. The fae language reminded him a bit of Celtic with its lilting dialect. But while he could speak and understand the Celtic language, a gift from his sire, he had no clue what Hyax had ordered. The matter was resolved moments later when a tray with a selection of food was placed in from of them. “I thought you might like to try a few things. Did you eat much last night?”
“A bit of fruit, but the rat’s blood kinda did it for my appetite.”
“The what?”
He hadn’t mentioned it, and he probably shouldn’t have said anything now. “The blood substitute that was provided was a little further down the food chain than what I’m used to.”
Hyax gritted his teeth. “Another slur. I will take this up with my mother.”
“I’m not sure if it was from the kitchens or placed there by my visitor.”
“But she would not have done that unprompted. You’re a guest, the partner of a prince. Any guest, even a vampire, should be shown respect when they have been invited.”
Gwil didn’t want to make a fuss over it. They’d only be here a couple of days, he had blood stocks with him, which meant he didn’t need to rely on the fae’s hospitality. “It’s not worth bothering over if it’s an isolated incident. For now, as long as no one tries to kill me in my sleep or tries to impede our investigation, we need to keep as many people on our side as possible.”
“I will leave it for now, but they should be respectful.” Hyax grasped his knife a little too hard for Gwil’s liking. “But I meant what I said. Even if you weren’t my betrothed, you are my business partner and friend, and that should have been enough for you to receive better treatment than you have.”
A servant returned with a tray of interesting-looking food that turned out to be fruit in the main, apart from a selection of sweet pastries that were obscenely good. Gwil thought he was going to have to get Hyax to bring some back every time he visited home. Hyax was in a sullen mood. Gwil knew it wasn’t directed at him but dealing with a pissy fairy on top of everything else was not going to help.
“Are you finished?” Hyax asked.
Gwil eyed the last pastry but thought better of it. “Yeah, I’d like to get a look at the coronet, and see if we can figure out how the stone was taken.”
“I might be able to get a projection from the room, pick up an echo of what happened, although too much time might have passed.”
Hyax pushed away from the table and stood. Gwil followed him out. Part of him had expected the fae not to give him access to the coronet, another way of showing he was an outsider here. “At least they’re letting me near it.”
“Yes, well, my mother did suggest otherwise, but if they want you to do your job then they need to make sure you have access.”
“I can see their point, I’m not fae and it is one of your people’s most precious artefacts.”
“If they hadn’t let someone walk off with part of it they wouldn’t be in this mess and wouldn’t need to ask a vampire for help.”
The castle had a warren of little passageways that should have been a deterrent to an average thief. The twists and turns were disorientating even with his heightened senses although hecould tell they were heading into the lower levels due to the slope of the floor.
“I hope you know the way back.”
“Don’t worry, there’s the equivalent of a breadcrumb trail for those of us of royal blood.” Hyax pressed his hand against a door. “In theory, only those with permission can open this door, and that includes members of the royal family and trusted officials.”
“Which means, unless it was circumvented, it had to be someone on that list. Have all the security officers been interviewed?”
“Yes, nothing came up, but I think this is beyond the capability of the average guard.”
Gwil wasn’t ready to rule anyone out at this point. The door swung open to reveal a pedestal and a golden crown that appeared to be suspended a little above a velvet cushion. “Looks like something out of a fairy tale.”
Hyax scowled. “Are you taking the piss?”
“Sorry, slip of the tongue.”
“Idiot.”
