Page 61 of Pining for the Prince
“I did listen but I didn’t think you were interested. I’ve been pining after you for years, you unthinking git. Every time I made any sort of move you started going about how amazing our friendship was.”
“Pining?”
“Yes, you fucking twat. I’ve been dropping hints for what seems an eternity.”
Gwil thought he was pretty perceptive and he was sure if Hyax was hitting on him he’d have noticed. “Bollocks did you. I’ve wanted you for ages too.”
“Then again you thought I was fucking all those men I was dating so you’re hardly switched on to what I was doing.”
Maybe he wasn’t so perceptive after all. “Least we’ve figured it out now.”
“Let’s go to bed and make sure we’ve both properly got the message.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Hyax flagged down a black cab. His main means of transport were the portals but since he was with Gwil, they weren’t available to him and he’d dismissed Gwil’s suggestion of taking the Tube before he’d finished his sentence. Much to his surprise, they’d received a response granting them access to the Moorgate oracle that morning and even Goya’s patronising tone hadn’t put a dampener on Gwil’s mood. That could be because he and Gwil had been shagging like rabbits for the last twenty-four hours and fucking a fae prince had put his now-boyfriend in the best mood Hyax had seen Gwil in for… well, ever.
The roads across the city weren’t as busy as usual and he then remembered it was Christmas Eve and most of the people working in the Square Mile would have finished for the break. The humans had some strange customs, but Christmas was one of their better holidays and he’d got Gwil a little something for later.
Gwil checked his phone for the location tracker Goya had sent and scowled. He’d known of the oracle’s existence but never had the need to use it, and didn’t know where its entrance was. “According to this, it’s under Finsbury Square.”
He was vaguely aware of the place but hadn’t known it to be significant. “So?”
“Last time I checked it was an underground car park, not the site of eternal wisdom.”
Hyax had no clue about those, he’d never driven a car let alone know where to leave one. They got out of the cab. The street lights illuminated the green area known as Finsbury Square and a sign for the car park instructions. “Seems you were right. Perhaps it moved. Moorgate is a pretty old area of London, maybe there was somewhere else nearby as this area is even better positioned on the same ley line as the Spitalfields house…” The raw energy was making his wings vibrate, which he hadn’t thought possible as they weren’t even present in this realm.
“Or maybe they moved due to the outlandish fees to park here.”
Gwil scanned the parking charges. The details to pay were via an app but Gwil scrunched up his nose as he stared at the details. “There’s something not quite right. Can you look at this? The sign for the app.”
Hyax crouched down next to Gwil and Hyax had to stop thinking about what he’d like to do to his arse once they were back home.
He drummed his fingers across the sign. “You’re right… this is a cover.”
His magic manifested as a slight shimmer and the sign changed and he was now shown instructions to scan a QR code and download the latest oracle app.
“You have to be shitting me,” Gwil said. “An app for an ancient oracle.”
Hyax took out his phone and scanned the code. He’d seen far stranger things in London. “It makes sense. The oracle is meant to be a fount of all knowledge and future looking… why wouldn’t it embrace modern technology?”
“I suppose so. I’ve never actually been to one, so I don’t know what to expect.”
“I’ve not been to a human one, but there’s a number of fae ones I can access if there’s a need.” Not that he’d used one in decades and none of them had been via a mobile phone app, neither had they asked for a code. “Talking of access, we need to provide a four-digit PIN.”
“Oh, I wondered what that was for. Goya sent it along with the tracking details.”
Hyax tutted, Gwil could be blinkered when it came to Goya. “Didn’t you even question why it was there?”
“Well, no, I just thought it was Goya being his usual knobbish self.” Gwil checked his email. “The number’s twenty-twenty.”
Hyax groaned. “They might have tried to future-proof but they need more help with the security encryption.”
“Huh?”
“An all-seeing oracle with twenty-twenty vision.” It was more than predictable and only a step up from using one-two-three-four.
Hyax tapped in the code and a door appeared and slid open to reveal a grotty-looking lift more in keeping with the car park than any oracle he’d visited. He hoped he wouldn’t get his shoes dirty.
