Page 28 of Searching for the Prince
He’d already helped, but he wanted to do more, and having spoken to Karl and Alex, he thought his involvement would make a huge difference.
“Or you could be painted as a traitor,” snapped Vaness. “What have you done?”
“I have agreed to help King James, the rest of the information is confidential, and I am unable to say more. But I give you my word, there is nothing nefarious.”
“That remains to be seen.”
He shrugged. “The truth is, I cannot, and will not, step back at this time. It’ll be a few weeks at most—and I don’t see a need to rush into this marriage.”
“I would say that now, even more than ever, you need to prove your loyalty,” Vaness said. “Supporting the vampires and a rival faction is not princely behaviour.”
“Well, I’m a prince, and I’m behaving in this way, so I would say by the very definition it’s princely behaviour.” He would not back down on this. “Let me finish and I will be cooperative on the wedding planning and even comply with an expedited timeline for the ceremony. If not, I will fight you on every single point, from the time of the service to the colour of the ribbons on the gifting tray. I could drag things out for years if I wanted to.”
His mother’s look told him he would be receiving a stern talking-to, but her reaction could have been a lot worse. “You can play petty well.”
“I learnt from the best.” He smiled nastily. “I do not want this marriage. I will go through with the motions because I have been told it is my duty to do so, but I make this clear, I will not have a relationship or a romantic involvement with Metra. I will tolerate him and that is the best I will offer.”
“How dare you,” Vaness snarled. “You are not so important.”
“Then if I am not suitable for your son, I would understand if you wished to call off the marriage. You can blame it all on my loose morals and misguided ways.”
Talia had claimed there was a risk of war, but that didn’t appear to be the case. Vaness wanted to push for a marriage to his tribe, and she had no intention of backing out.
Hyax couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was more going on here, and he noticed his mother stiffening slightly, which made him think she had also come to a similar conclusion.
“Our tribes will be joined, Prince Hyax, your theatrics will not stop that, and we will ensure a peaceful environment for both our people,” Vaness said, but Hyax thought she’d have liked to have used a few more choice words.
“I think this is enough for today. No doubt Metra and Hyax will want to arrange a time to meet separately to foster a civil situation, but for now we have other business to conduct,” Talia said, her tone even more clipped than before. “I propose we reconvene officially in three weeks, to allow Hyax to finish his business with the Vampire Council, and we can work on the wording of the official announcement in the interim.”
Hyax was pleased with the turn of events, they’d not gone as expected but he considered the outcome the best available given the situation, and he’d also come out with some additional time and his mother’s support.
Vaness stood, Metra doing the same. She was not happy but not in any position to argue. “Very well. If his business is concluded sooner we should meet earlier, and in the interim I will send draft wording for your consideration.”
Vaness opened a portal, and they were gone.
He huffed. “Mother, what just happened there? From what you told me, they were the ones threatening war and knew about the coronet.”
“I don’t know. I was expecting the same sort of bravado as the last time I spoke to her, but the narrative has shifted. The change can only lead me to believe they have reasons for wanting this marriage they haven’t revealed yet.”
“I picked up an undercurrent. I think we should investigate further,” he insisted.
“Agreed.” She walked over to a cabinet, and from a locked drawer removed a golden box. “In there’s a tenement stone, it’s not traceable or trackable and I suggest in all your dealings with Metra and his mother, you keep it on you.”
Tenement stones were used to gather evidence for some of the more salacious trials. They could record vital signs, or the use of magic, alongside words and actions and were generally only ever used under royal decree. His mother’s blessing to do so set his teeth on edge. “If you are so worried, why are you allowing this marriage to go ahead?”
“Because you can look after yourself, Hyax, and you have a vampire boyfriend who can help as well, since he is far better connected than I realised. Originally, I had thought it a good match to join the tribes of Elementa and Tasharick together, now I may ask you to go through with it in order to prove or find evidence as to why we should never join forces with the Elementa. We were at war for a long time and then we made peace, that does not mean we need to be close allies.”
He decided now might be a good time to mention the potential warming of the relationship with the Calanti tribe. “You do realise that my support of the Vampire Council and the Dark Earl of MacLove, could help us to mend fences with the Calanti?”
“Is that your intent?”
“Gwil was asked by his sire to help, but if there is a possibility that further good can come of it then I think it is something that we should consider, or at least not dismiss out of hand.”
“I am far from convinced closer ties with the Calanti would be the right approach for now. But I will not stop you from helping.”
He knew she would take some time to convince, but he also had the chance to speak about Gwil and the way she had defended him in her own way, “I will keep you informed on any interactions I have with King James; he said he might write to you. But I feel I must also mention, I was surprised by your support of Gwil.”
“I told you I do not have an issue with him being your partner, and I would not ask you to give him up, but I cannot be as supportive of your involvement in public. Marriage is different.”
