Page 8 of Searching for the Prince
“She gave you a spark?” Hyax said.
Gwil was pretty sure that was the fae equivalent of a voice message and seemed like a big deal to Hyax that she’d send one to him.
“Yes. This is a terrible situation. She has no idea where her only child has gone—taken the night after his wedding by unknown assailants who are thought to be elves.”
Gwil cleared his throat. “If you’ve no trace, I assume you don’t know who has him. So where do the elves come into this?”
“They are suspected to be a group known as the Red Stars, elite mercenaries for hire,” Flume explained. “We were able to ascertain their species by their magic signature and the rest by their modus operandi.”
Gwil didn’t know enough about the elves to recognise the group in question, as far as he was concerned, all elves were evil shitbags.
“They would have delivered him to order,” Hyax said with a sneer. “But to who?”
“We don’t know,” Solivatus said. “Look, Prince Simon and his husband have a special bond, not some lovey-dovey made-up shit, but an honest-to-goodness magical bond that for some reason his parents can’t track. They thought you might be able to do so because you’re not related to Prince Simon, so you’d not be blocked, and as you are a fae could sense the magic.”
Gwil thought there had to be more to this, if it were just a fae link, they could have asked someone from the Calanti tribe and not one of their rivals but, as this was fae business, he would follow Hyax’s lead.
“I’m not convinced I could do something Queen Hylei couldn’t, but I would be willing to liaise with her to hear her reasoning for why I might be able to help.”
“It all goes back to the bond between Robin and Prince Simon, and I was allowed to share with you that Prince Simon was meant to have fed from Robin to fully embrace his vampire side, but he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to do so.”
Gwil gnawed his bottom lip, in these matters, the most obvious answer was usually the correct one. “Does that mean Prince Simon is a vampire-fae?”
“Well deducted, Gwil. Yes, Prince Simon is, or he will be. He hadn’t fed before he was abducted, so he’s trapped at a crucial point in his metamorphosis,” Flume said, his smile fake.
Gwil guessed there was a lot of pressure to bring Prince Simon home.
“Why can’t Hylei or James trace the bond?” Hyax asked.
“All I know is they can’t.” Solivatus scowled. Hyax and Solivatus had as much patience as the other. “Look, we don’t know any more than we’ve said, but as you can imagine, it would mean a great deal to both the Calanti tribe and the Vampire Council if you were to help.”
Gwil didn’t think Hyax would care but he did. This was a huge deal, and if he were to say no, then he might as well forget about being able to work again. He’d be blacklisted in minutes, decades of dedication gone. He turned to Hyax, hoping he understood. “I think it would be only right for us to help.”
“While you’re not the star attraction, Gwil,” Solivatus said, “I’ve heard excellent feedback about your detective skills and that you’ve a network to call on that we’d also like to explore.”
Gwil assumed Solivatus meant the sewer dwellers who he had a special deal with, mostly because his contact, Copperpipe, liked him and the ample quantities of sugar-based confectionery he sent him. “I’d be happy to assist in any way.”
“And you?” Solivatus said to Hyax.
“I said I would liaise with Hylei, and I will,” Hyax snapped. “I can’t promise something until I get the full picture.”
“Thank you.” Flume handed over a glowing orb. “The spark is password-protected.”
Hyax took it. “So, what’s the password?”
“Your birthday, which we don’t know.”
Hyax pocketed the spark. “I will open this when I’m home, she didn’t intend you to hear it, so I won’t do so in your presence.”
Solivatus stood, grinned and then sat in the space next to Gwil on the sofa. His hand landed on Gwil’s thigh. “How’s things, Gwil? It’s been a while since we’ve caught up.”
He felt the ripple of Hyax’s magic, his displeasure unmistakable.
“Doing well,” Gwil croaked and took hold of Hyax’s hand. “We’re doing well.”
Solivatus slapped his thigh. “That’s what I like to hear, and I hope it remains that way. I’d hate for you to get hurt.”
“I don’t like your tone,” Hyax snarled.
