Page 64 of Searching for the Prince
“Hyax.”
“What? Metra, back off. I will do my best to tolerate you, but you can’t seriously believe I would want to be friends?”
“There’s more to this?—”
A cry went up as a toast was proposed and they got swept into a series of congratulations Hyax wasn’t able to deflect.
He hated the pretence and there was only so much more he would be able to put up with. His patience was wearing thin and Metra’s admission of guilt hadn’t brought him the closure he thought it would. If anything, because Metra had sent his little friend along to try to convince him he’d been mistaken, hewas more annoyed. They must think he was stupid or easy to manipulate.
Metra was called over to speak to his parents. There were a few people Hyax had yet to talk to, but once they were done, he should be able to escape. His mother glided up to him, she’d been playing the role of delighted mother-of-the-groom.
“You’ve tolerated this evening much better than I thought you would. I do appreciateyouractions.”
“I won’t be here much longer.”
She laughed. “You’ve done your duty. No need to extend your frustration any longer. I’ve a couple of my council members probing a few things, so we may have more news soon.”
“I think Metra wanted to tell me something, but he was interrupted before he could.”Hyaxsuspected the speed at which things had moved had taken Metra by surprise, and while he was happy to do as his parents asked, he didn’t think he’d expected to have to marry so soon.
“Are you sure he wasn’t looking for another way to manipulate the narrative?”
His mother was probably right, if he tried to reach out to Metra before the ceremony, that would only give the wrong idea he was interested in being more civil. “The ceremony is only a week away, if he tries to contact me, then I’ll see what he has to say.”
He’d accepted the wedding would go ahead, and the timeline was being driven by the Elementa. Somehow, he didn’t think he’d hear from Metra and he had other things to deal with before then. Like Gwil.
With Metra still talking to his parents, Hyax slipped back to his rooms through a portal. He was dressed in his finery, although his wedding garb would be even more splendid, and he didn’t want to upset Gwil anymore than he had to, so he decided he would change. He’d find a way to make this up to Gwil. Gwilhadn’t chosen to leave him, but Hyax hadn’t asked if he would attend the ceremony, perhaps that would be a step too far, but he really needed him there.
He changed back into jeans and a shirt and was about to leave when the surface of his cheval mirror flickered. He blinked, wondering if he was seeing things, but then the face of Prince Simon materialised.
“Hyax, I do hope I’m not intruding, and this is a convenient time to talk.”
“I’m in the fae realm. How are you in my mirror?” He flicked a spell in the direction of the door, locking it and casting a silencing charm.
“It’s a variant of the mirroricom you used to help find me.”
Hyax didn’t know how that was possible. “You can’t just turn up in my mirror, the spell doesn’t work that way.”
“True I’m not reaching out to you due to a specific bond, but the mirror and reflection are the same.” He opened his mouth, his fangs descending before he retracted them and grinned. “My magic is a bit different nowadays. I think you’d understand a flavour of it because of working through Gwil but it’s not normal fae magic anymore.”
He would love to learn more about Simon’s vampire-fae magic. Technically they were peers from rival tribes so he should be keeping Simon at arm’s length, but there was no way he’d do that.
“I admit I am fascinated by what you can do.”
“Me too. I have so much to learn, but then I have the time to do so.”
“So, what brings you to my mirror?” Hyax asked with a smirk.
“I thought I owed you an update on what happened with the lich. I wanted to give you my assurance that he has been dealt with.”
He hadn’t expected anything less, Simon was never going to let the lich escape justice. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
“I am not being completely altruistic, I am probably as intrigued with your connection with Gwil as you are about my new skills.”
Such direct speaking wasn’t a typical fae trait, and Hyax sensed King James’s influence at play. “Nevertheless, I am happy to hear about how you dealt with Mettle.”
“I was able to track him, a spell I would not have been able to do before I transitioned. So, with a few members of my House and the House of Hewel, plus our two favourite warlocks, I paid him a visit. Once I’d destroyed his phylactery, I handed over the pleasure of terminating his mortal existence to Sebastian. He’s gone and he will not be able to return.”
Hyax knew that liches had the capability to regenerate as long as their soul fragment in their phylactery was maintained, and he knew Simon wouldn’t take any chances. “We are all safer for that. I’m curious to know how he knew what you were. Your tribe is not one to advertise themselves or you and your father’s ways.”
