Page 17 of Searching for the Prince
“How did you know that?” The Calanti tribe were supposed to be ostracised by the rest of the fae realm, and he wouldn’t have thought the details like his parents’ view of his marriage would be readily available to James.
James laughed. “I make it my business to know things. I might be a fae king, but I have connections with the vampires, meaning I heard about your betrothal to Gwil. Why do you think he was your plus-one for the wedding? Gwil’s sister is a dark countess and she’s ever so proud of her big brother banging you.”
Gwil hadn’t mentioned Penelope was in favour of their relationship. He thought she was more likely to hit him over the head with a shovel and bury the body if he were to hurt Gwil.
“That doesn’t explain how you know my parents aren’t happy.”
“I have people throughout the fae realm who keep their pointy ears open, for the right compensation. And even if I didn’t, there’s no way Queen Talia would be willing to marry off one of her bairns to a nobody. You’ll be important for political liaisons, which Gwil is not.”
He shouldn’t have been surprised about James’s connections or his astuteness, and there was no point denying the truth. “She would prefer me to marry Metra from the Elementa tribe. I don’t want to, but I’m not going to have much choice in the matter.”
“You can marry anyone, it doesn’t matter as it’s just a bit of paper and some words,” James said wryly. “But you can’t bond to someone unless there is a true connection, remember that… I don’t think this is a conversation your mother would be happy to know we’ve had.”
“I’m not going to tell her.” James was right, his mother wouldn’t be happy on many levels, but there was more behind James’s words. “Are you suggesting I marry Metra but bond to Gwil?”
“I’m not here to give you relationship advice or put ideas in your head, I’m here about my son,” James said, but his eyes danced with humour.
Hyax sensed that he wouldn’t get more out of James on this topic, and he didn’t need to. James’s suggestion was clear and Hyax was a bit annoyed he hadn’t thought of it himself. “So what do we do next? Should I practise the spell with Gwil beforehand? Maybe painting the sigils?”
“I wouldn’t recommend using harpy blood, it’s foul stuff and repeated applications aren’t a good idea. When you do the spell, your magic will siphon through Gwil into Robin in a way that prevents the nasty properties from damaging anyone.”
Hyax hadn’t thought of that, but it made sense, although he was a bit concerned about going in blind. “I could at least practise drawing the sigils with something else.”
“Aye, you could. Chocolate body paints are good for that sort of thing, but I don’t particularly want a peek behind your bedroom door.”
He laughed as James waggled his eyebrows. “I was thinking more sketching them out on paper.”
James shrugged. “Each to their own I suppose.”
He still had another problem with doing this, and it wasn’t just the mechanics of the spell. “If I were to help, I’m not sure how I would explain my involvement to my parents.” He had to be realistic that if he could be seen as being disloyal due to his relationship with Gwil, then speaking to the king of an exiled faction would be much worse.
“If you think it will help, I’ll write to Queen Talia, appeal to her as a mother, one who loves her son very much.”
Hyax snorted. “Maybe my brothers.”
James scoffed. “You might think she’s trying to ruin your life, but this shite with Metra is there to protect you, dating Gwil isn’t the smartest political move you could’ve made.”
“I didn’t get with him for political gain. I’m not going to stop seeing him.”
James stood. “And so you shouldn’t. But a word to the wise, I would strongly recommend trying to avoid consummating your marriage with Metra if you don’t want to fuck up your bond with Gwil. Your magic won’t like it now it’s had a taste of what it can do with Gwil.”
“That’s a whole different problem.”
“But one you’ll need to solve. I’m telling you, what you have with Gwil is special. Not in the cute hearts-in-your-eyes bullshit way, which I’m sure is lovely, but yours is a once in a half millennia opportunity to play with that branch of magic. Don’t fuck it up.”
“I don’t intend to.”
James opened a portal. “I’ll have you called to Crofton Hall. The Dark Earl of Crofton is supporting Robin, I’m sure you’ll know what to do. Hyax, I won’t forget this, I am truly grateful for any help you can give.”
The portal closed, leaving Hyax intrigued and confused. James knew about the magic he’d used with Gwil, and James had got the details out of Tobias Flume, not caring how he confirmed the information. He didn’t think Flume could be intimidated but James was something different. His vampire connections were one thing but combined with his fae side, he was a scary mother-fucker and Hyax hadn’t even seen him angry.
He wasn’t sure how he would explain it to his mother. James writing to her would help, but it wouldn’t be an easy conversation, although he knew she wouldn’t stop Hyax. Hisinvolvement would potentially be a useful political means to an end. However, if he had gauged this wrong, it could backfire.
Another thing—James had said he could appeal to Talia as a mother to help. For all her bullshit over Metra, Hyax did think she loved him and she wouldn’t wish to see another parent suffer if she could do something to prevent it. Hyax was sure he could use this to his and Gwil’s benefit, delaying having to announce his marriage, and anything that gave him extra time would be most welcome.
He sat cross-legged on the sofa and settled down to read. It was going to take some time to get his head around the spell and learn the sigils, but his magic hummed, happy at the prospect of getting to play with Gwil again. Something he coulddefinitelyget behind.
CHAPTER SEVEN
