Page 22 of Searching for the Prince
If Hyax had thought otherwise he’d have opened a portal and shoved Robin through it, not caring if his constitution could stand the effects or not.
Gwil tutted and now dressed in just his underpants, sank to sit cross-legged on the mattress. “Let’s get this over with before I stake myself to avoid the embarrassment.”
Hyax could see Gwil was already uncomfortable at being so exposed, and if he still had a working circulatory system, he’d be a delightful shade of pink, instead he was his usual lovely pale self and had nothing to be ashamed about. Hyax stroked the curls at the back of Gwil’s neck in silent apology.
“I’m going to paint matching sigils on your chests and a different pair on Gwil’s back. I’ll link through those into Robin and hook onto the bond.” He didn’t know if either of them had understood a word he’d said but he wasn’t about to start a lecture series on magical theorem and the undead.
Robin sat next to Gwil. “I have to ask, but if Gwil’s role in this is because he’s a vampire, isn’t it a bit redundant as I’m one too?”
“He’s a vampire I’m intimate with but it’s beyond a sexual connection, it will only work if there’s a true attachment and trust.”
“Do your parents know how this works?” Robin asked.
Hyax selected a bottle of harpy blood and knelt in front of Gwil and Robin, the book open at a page from where he could copy the sigils. “My mother would claim blissful ignorance because if she were to admit it, then she’d also have to admit that Gwil is perfect for me.”
Gwilwasperfect for him, but if his mother agreed, she wouldn’t be insisting he marry Metra. She didn’t seem about to go back on her decision though, not with the additional rumblings at play.
Hyax had often thought of himself as a frustrated artist, but if he’d had a canvas like Gwil’s skin to work on, he might havebeen more dedicated to learning the skills. He carefully copied the intricate designs from the book onto Gwil’s back, grateful he’d spent the time to practise. Taking special care with the series of interconnected circles and overlapping swirls so as not to smudge the deep blue and sticky harpy blood, he tried to be as quick as he dared. As the blood began to dry the terrible smell became more evident. At least it looked pretty, it reminded him of an unfortunate situation years back with a fae who had a coke habit so bad it made the guy’s cum taste weird.
“That stuff’s revolting,” Gwil said.
“Don’t moan, it’s not like you’ve got to drink it. This time.”
Gwil shuddered. “I used to go to a bar in the East End of London that catered for those that liked exotic blood types… harpy was the one all the young idiots would drink as shots. Fucking muppets.”
“I’d have thought it poisonous,” Hyax said, moving behind Gwil and running a finger over his shoulder blade before painting an additional sigil on his back.
“The aftermath wasn’t pleasant from what I saw, but I didn’t touch it myself,” Gwil said with a grimace.
“Does it give a high?” Robin asked, who Hyax suspected was no stranger to the Hollywood drug scene.
“No high is worth projectile vomit that can strip the dye out of a carpet,” Gwil replied.
Hyax tutted. “And on that lovely note, I’m done.”
He stood and moved the mirror to the end of the mattress. “I know this looks like a kinky game for three, but I would appreciate it if we all keep our minds focused on the endpoint. Robin, you need to face the mirror, once he’s in place you need to kneel up behind Gwil and place a hand on each of the symbols on his back. Gwil will be sitting astride me and I will have one hand on his chest, and I’ll reach around him and place my other hand over your heart.”
Gwil grumbled about Hyax’s exhibitionist streak as he sat astride his lap. There were definite perks to this sort of magic and his cock was hard, Gwil gave him a withering stare, which just made him harder.
Robin followed Hyax’s instructions and knelt up behind Gwil. “Thank you both for this.”
Once Hyax had heard what was going on there wasn’t a question in his mind of not helping. “It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t help when we could. I know mine and Simon’s tribe are not considered friendly, but this could be the start to changing that.”
Robin placed his hand on Gwil’s back and Hyax reached around him to place his hand over Robin’s heart. “I’m going to cast. The spell itself is wordless, and you need to stare into the mirror if all goes to plan you should be able to speak to Simon. If he’s somewhere near a reflection you should appear in it and he can see you.”
“What if he’s not conscious, or not on his own?” Robin asked. “We’ve been working on the assumption that someone had been stopping him from escaping or contacting home.”
From what he’d read, while this was called a mirroricom spell, the reflection could be symbolic if there was a shiny surface to hand. “He should only hear you in his head. If he’s asleep then most likely you’ll be a very vivid dream. But it is a risk, but it’s the best way I can think of finding him. He’s been well-hidden, without somewhere to start looking we don’t have another option.”
Robin straightened his shoulders. “I’m ready.”
Hyax started chanting in his head—the words were a strange combination of ancient fae and Latin, and he had to concentrate on the patterns, or he’d mess it up. The spell manifested as a fizzing sensation, radiating from his fingers into Gwil. The magic developed a different feel as it filtered through Gwil and backinto him before he directed the stream into Robin. The taste was part Gwil—delicious and dark—and he would need to be careful he didn’t come to crave the thrill that came with this sort of magic.
A tendril wormed through Robin, it was searching out the root of his and Simon’s bond. As it attached, his magic began knitting the strands together, nowhere near as thick as it should be but it showed Hyax the bond hadn’t been fully severed and should give them a way to allow Robin and Simon to talk. He needed to concentrate on the magic, but he could see what Robin could. The face of a man with long red hair and pale blue eyes swam into view, it was Prince Simon, but his hair should have been black. He seemed confused, didn’t know his own name or who Robin was.
Hyax tried to get a look at the surroundings, there was a lake, and he thought Simon, who referred to himself as Nomis, was on a jetty, but he couldn’t tell where.
He could sense Robin’s initial high of pleasure as they talked but then came ebbs of sadness. Robin’s emotions were all over the place, but Hyax couldn’t afford to get distracted. He caught snippets of the conversation, enough to get an appreciation of Robin’s relief they’d found his husband. The spell was taking a lot of his energy, and although he received support through Gwil, there would be a limit to how long he could continue. Then the spell was broken, the connection closed, but the thread was still attached. Hyax removed his hand and Gwil pulled him close.
