Page 20 of Searching for the Prince
“It might be better if Gwil stays, he can give me some insights on the vampire side that Hyax can’t,” Robin said.
Robin was an astute man, he’d picked up on the tension in the room and come to Hyax’s assistance—wise, given it was him who would be able to help Robin now, not Solivatus.
Solivatus chuckled. “All right then. Gwil can catch me up later. I’m sure he’ll be willing to make some time for his sire.”
Gwil inched closer to Hyax, aiming to reassure him without being too obvious. Solivatus was deliberately trying to rattle Hyax and he wasn’t sure why. He usually didn’t give a shit what Gwil did.
“Have you two known each other long?” Robin asked once Solivatus had gone.
Hyax smiled, and Gwil melted a little inside. “More than fifteen years. First as business partners, and then recently we both realised we wanted more and were parallel-pining like idiots.”
Robin laughed. Gwil didn’t think many people got to see this softer side of Robin Flint.
“I understand your marriage was arranged but the bond has probably added an extra element, and we can use that,” Hyax said.
“It was arranged,” Robin said. “But I feel more for him than I can express. Losing Simon, not being able to reach out and hold him, makes me feel like I’m being pulled apart. I need to get him home.”
There weren’t many times when Gwil would admit to being genuinely surprised. He considered himself far too old and sceptical, but hearing Robin speak about his husband was one of them. He’d assumed the bond might draw Robin and Simon together, most likely in the shagging-like-rabbits way, but as an arranged marriage, it would be more akin to a business deal than a love match, and once the lust passed, they’d skip off into different sunsets. Magic could do strange things to people, though Gwil wouldn’t put it past the bond to be making Robin feel so devoted. If that were the case, he’d have thought them being apart would have made the attraction wane and that didn’t seem to be the case. Hyax would be able to tell and Gwil was becoming more intrigued by the minute. Maybe Robin really was in love with Simon, and Gwil needed to stop being a cynical old bum boil.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hyax had been itching to get his hands on Robin—not in a sexual way because he already had his own sexy vampire. Robin might be a big fang, but he wasn’t a patch on Gwil as far as Hyax was concerned, just another of the overprivileged arseholes ubiquitous in the places he tended to go. What had intrigued Hyax was the bond, which were common for magical creatures, but Robin wasn’t magical and that made Hyax want to know more. From what he’d been told about Robin and Prince Simon, the timing of Simon’s birth, there was at least the potential Robin had been turned into a vampire in order to be still around by the time Simon would be old enough to drink his blood and transition into a vampire-fae. That wasn’t a trifling matter, and it made Hyax’s magic dance with curiosity.
Hyax moved and knelt at Robin’s side. Robin was known in the paranormal world, and he’d married a fae, so he should be used to the concept of being probed by magic. “Can I see what I can get from the bond?”
“Yes, do whatever you need to.”
Hyax took Robin’s hand. He started with a gentle wave of magic, allowing it to meander through Robin. He could sense a sharpness at his core, and he chased the unnatural tang settinghis teeth on edge. There was a glowing strand writhing in the centre of Robin’s chest, it felt as if it were incomplete and that it should have been one of several strands woven together, but the good news was it wasn’t fully severed. There was a chance he could follow it back to Simon, not guaranteed but far better odds than if it had been cut. He coated the strand with his magic, it tasted salty, grumpy even. It was not happy, and it didn’t want to play with him. He tried to push and follow where it was anchored. He’d never felt magic like this before, it was crying out to be reattached properly, but he was the wrong fae. A jolt of negative energy surged at him.
Hyax gasped, let go of Robin’s hand and toppled backwards. Gwil raced to his side, helping Hyax sit up.
“What’s wrong?” Robin asked. “Are you all right?”
He understood now why Simon’s parents had asked for help. Robin and Simon’s marriage might have started as an arrangement and they’d been forced together for political reasons, but the bond had taken root and they were now entwined, they were meant to be a devoted couple. “I found your bond. I’ve never come across anything like it before. You two were destined to be together. That’s not a statement I make lightly.”
Robin nodded and Hyax wondered how Robin had been told, or if he’d found out somehow they were more than just bond-mates-with-benefits. “Apparently, Simon’s parents were waiting for me to be born, and I was watched all through my life and even turned into a vampire so I would be able to be with him.”
“Fucking hell,” Gwil said. “That’s more than playing the long game.”
Hyax had already expected that Robin wasn’t just in the right place at the right time, and Simon’s parents had ensured their son would have whoever he needed to fulfil his potential.
“I didn’t know how to take it at first, but I realise I was given a gift. To be with Simon is a true blessing. We complete each other.”
“I doubt who has him knows that,” Hyax said. He’d felt the anger of the bond as if it believed he’d been disrespectful messing with Robin and its strength—something like that would not be easy to cleave. “They won’t expect the level of connection you have, and we can use that to our advantage.”
The bond would be how they got Simon back. Hyax was sure of it and now he was convinced which of the spells to use.
“So you definitely think he’s still alive. Do you think I can contact him?”
“Oh, he’s alive and your bond is very annoyed, desperate that it’s been limited.” If Simon had been dead, the link would have been severed and he didn’t know how that would have affected Robin, he didn’t think it would have been good. “There’s still a tether but there’s something stopping Simon connecting back. I definitely think we can crack it open… maybe not for long, but it might be enough.”
The mirroricom ritual James had pointed to in the book should work, James had been keen to recommend it and Hyax should have realised that James would not have suggested something without good reason.
“Does this call for more magical blowjobs?” Gwil asked, perking up.
Hyax didn’t blame him, it had been made clear their relationship was key to helping and one of the other spells had called for the drinking of a vital essence. But Gwil wasn’t lucky today.
“I’m afraid this time what I’ve in mind will be more a cuddle and feed my magic through you.”
