Page 38 of Searching for the Prince
Gwil had once been driven by money, not so much after he’d been turned, but the 1920s had been a glut of overindulgence and decadence and he’d been frustrated by his inability to accrue the wealth it had been hinted he’d be able to amass. It had led to some bad decisions, which was why he thought his alter ego could be considered as willing to put up with a subpar partner for the right financial persuasion.
“Is Robin’s character as rich as the real Robin?”
“No, we need a little verisimilitude.” Solivatus grinned. “Robin is beyond wealthy, and him no longer shagging about hascaused some serious grumblings already from folks who thought they’d have had a chance at him, and it’s only been a few weeks.”
Gwil had heard the stories about Robin. “I wouldn’t have believed he was so devoted to Prince Simon if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Anyone can feign a wedding and lovey-dovey nonsense for a few hours, but not the concerted effort being this upset over Simon would take.”
“The fact he’s willing to change his face and pretend he’s the put-upon boyfriend of a fuckboi talks volumes. That level of devotion is rare.”
Hyax had said they had a bond and had explained as best as he could to Gwil, but it went well beyond his understanding. Unfortunately, Hyax hadn’t been the most patient of late so Gwil decided he could cope with knowing the basics.
“Then he’ll be playing a rich kid with a hankering for a bad boy? I’ve seen that plenty of times.”
“Yeah, half the wannabe vamps want to be turned because of that premise.”
It wasn’t just humans with a craving for immortality. Too often, there was something about having rich parents and no sense of the value of money that turned people into gullible idiots. “It’s not exactly my usual modus operandi.”
“But you’re good at what you do, Gwil. You’ll cope. Read through the briefing docs, get a measure of who William Carpenter is meant to be.”
At least he could go by Will, which was close enough to his real name that he shouldn’t get caught out. “I daresay I’ll cope, Hyax won’t be too happy with the scenario, though.”
“I have factored that in, a bit. You’re cheating on Robin still, with a bloke called Mal and he just happens to have the same contact details as a certain blond bombshell, so you being in touch with him while you’re away should unwrinkle his wings.”
Gwil hadn’t seen that coming and he was surprised at Solivatus’s insight. “I’m sure that’ll go a long way. I’ll still need to discuss it all with him and make sure he doesn’t worry over nothing.”
Solivatus tutted. “I did want to talk to you about your pretty fairy. He seems to have a bug up his arse, and I want to check what was going on.”
Hyax was a bit touchy about Solivatus. The conversation they’d had about Gwil and his sire had cleared the air to some degree, but the Metra problem just compounded the issue and Hyax was trying to deal with the situation as best he could. Then there was the whole matter of it not being announced yet.
“He is a royal fae, the bug up the arse could be considered the default setting. Although, he did have a couple of moments recently. Daft to think he’d feel insecure over me.”
“He obviously loves you, and you him. Must be nice. Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure, or that I’d want it, but you do.”
“I’ve liked him for a while. Now I don’t want to think about not being at his side.” It was strange to make that admission to Solivatus, a man who, for the majority of their interactions, had been high on the carnal spectrum.
“He’s been calling you the Prince’s Beloved, so it begs the question why the fuck he’s marrying someone else.”
He hadn’t expected Solivatus to know. He would need to play this down. “Since when did that become common knowledge?”
“It isn’t, but I keep an ear out for my favourites, and if I hear a whisper, then I’ll follow it through and find out as much as I can.”
Gwil wouldn’t have thought himself a favourite. He didn’t want to talk about their Metra problem, but he also knew Solivatus wouldn’t let it lie. “He doesn’t have a choice, and it’s not like I’m a dark earl and it would be some major slight that would put the fae at odds with the Vampire Council.”
Solivatus sneered. “You’re one of mine, and your sister is the Dark Duchess of Linden.”
The issue was he had great connections, but he wasn’t from the top drawer himself. “You’re great, and so’s Penelope, but I’m a hanger-on.”
“I get what you mean, but leave it with me, I’m sure I can exert some influence. Might not be enough to stop a wedding, but I daresay you being the right sort in the future might help facilitate a divorce.”
He didn’t know what Solivatus had in mind, but he wasn’t about to say no, as he had limited options to improve his own social standing in the vampire world. “We both hope Hyax’s association with the Elementa will be temporary, I think there’s something fucking dodgy going on.”
“Your instincts are top-notch, Gwil. Trust them, and I’ll do a bit of discreet digging myself.”
Another offer of help he wouldn’t refuse, but he didn’t think he’d be revealing that titbit to Hyax just yet. Solivatus was helping Gwil, not the fae, and depending on what he discovered, Gwil would need to coach the narrative so Hyax didn’t cause his balls to tingle in an unpleasant way, as vampire interference in fae business would be a problem, even if it hadn’t been Solivatus.
“It might be nothing. Fae politics are worse than vampires’.” He didn’t believe it, he was pretty convinced Metra was a skeevy bastard up to no good, but he decided not to reveal Hyax’s past with Metra or the games being played by Sitial—that fucker was on his hit list too.
“Leave it with me.” He patted Gwil’s thigh and stood. “I like Hyax, he’s good for you, but he needs to respect that we’ll always have our own connection. Not that we’ll act on anything, he needs to show you he trusts you. Just like how you’ve done over this Metra bollocks.”
