Page 26 of Searching for the Prince
“I’ve been in the sewers, it’s literally shit.”
She mumbled something and a wave of magic raced across him, and he thought he now knew what a frying pan felt like when subjected to a scouring pad, still, he had to admit, he smelt a lot better.
“Right, now you don’t stink like an arsehole, I can talk to you about Sitial.”
“Sitial, Metra’s friend?”
“Yes, which is why I need to talk to you when Hyax’s not around.”
“You do realise I’m going to tell him I saw you. I don’t believe in lying to my partner, it just leads to a load of mistrust and angst, and I’m not into that sort of pain.”
She snorted. “I expect you to tell him, what I don’t want is this getting back to our people that it’s me who’s been talking about this. As far as Hyax’s parents are concerned, his marriage to Metra is the best thing to happen in a long time and no one will be allowed to prevent it.”
While not being able to prevent the wedding was true, Gwil didn’t think it was going ahead because it was the best for all involved. “So, what’s this got to do with Sitial? He was trying to convince Hyax that Metra wasn’t unfaithful.”
“Exactly, to make Hyax less resistant to the wedding. If he stops fighting, then it will be seen that he’s being a good fae.”
This wasn’t adding up. “But Hyax’s parents don’t know about his relationship with Metra.”
“I think we can safely say Metra’s parents now know. They are pushing for this wedding too, and I think they’ve asked Sitial to lie about what happened to try and make nice.”
“Metra and Sitial were fucking?”
“Still are if my source is correct.” She sneered. “But Sitial is a great actor.”
“I have to admit I wasn’t sure. He came across as being sincere.”
“He’s sincere that he doesn’t want to lose the position of Metra’s favourite—that gives him an edge he won’t get elsewhere.”
“But Hyax won’t care, he’s been saying I’m his favourite.”
“Come on, Gwil, use your brain. He won’t want to accept that the fae who his ex cheated with will be in his husband’s harem.”
“Sitial said he was married to a woman and didn’t have any interest in men.”
She scoffed. “You believed him? I went digging. He’s definitely more than friends with Metra.”
“But he has a wife.” His wife was the reason he’d given as to why he was just friends with Metra.
“What of it? Hyax will have a husband, but he’ll still have you. Fae marriages are pretty open, there’s no real lockdown, and it’s not like him and his wife are bonded.”
He’d heard this expression before and knew there was a distinction, not just in the case of the missing prince. “What’s the significance of being bonded? Extra big cake at the wedding?”
She gave him a look that was hard to interpret. He guessed her initial thought was he was an idiot, but then it changed to understanding. “It’s not something vampires have. Usually, it’s a magical bond, and so at least one side of the couple has to have a bit of sparkly oomph about them. Imagine a deeper connection, beyond love and devotion, like you’d die if you never saw them again.”
“Since vampires are technically dead, I’m not sure that analogy works.”
“You get the drift.”
He did, the idea was nice, and he wondered if this was a predetermined fixture. Vampires did have the concept of finding their Eternal. The one person they’d want to spend forever with, might not be a magical link, but it was close enough. “So, are you predestined, born to be bonded to someone?”
“Oh no, I mean it does happen, but that’s extremely rare. A bond can form between a couple at any time. My parents have one, they’d been married sixty years when it manifested and since then, there’s not been anyone else for them.”
“What? They just sort of grew into monogamy?”
“Not quite. And it doesn’t always happen that way.” She seemed annoyed. “I’m getting side-tracked. I came here to warn you about Sitial, not talk about mating ceremonies.”
“I…”
