Page 47 of Searching for the Prince
Hyax grimaced at the thought. “I wouldn’t like to be the one to tell Sebastian.”
“No, if things go south, take Gwil to the fae realm and stay there a while. Sebastian can be a bit indiscriminate in his handing out of punishments and while I don’t think he’d do anything to a fae prince, your Gwil is a vampire and fair game.”
“I’d remove Hewel’s head before he could lay a finger on Gwil.” His protective instincts were already heightened, even Sebastian Hewel would pay if Gwil was hurt.
“As much as I’d love to see you try, I’m not sure how successful you’d be so let’s not let it get to that.” Jack glanced over. “I’ll do my best to keep Gwil safe, of all the people dragged into this, he’s been the one with the least choice. He’s a goodbloke and the way vampires work means he’s collateral to the likes of Sebastian, but I’m one to root for the underdog.”
“Thank you. I will be grateful.”
“I’m not looking to be in your debt, just making sure that if there’s any kickback over this, then it’s not the one who deserves it the least.”
The fae had dealings with the warlocks—fellow magic-users tended to stick together—but he’d not heard a warlock be as forthright as Jack. He was powerful enough not to be cowed and several hundred years old so had seen more things than most, and that gave Jack a different perspective. Hyax decided he would be someone to keep closer ties with in the future.
Jack pulled the car up in a layby, this was as close as Hyax would get. “Good luck,” he said, getting out of the car.
“You too. I’ll be in touch.”
The car pulled away and Hyax found himself alone in the middle of nowhere with only the moon for illumination. His night vision wasn’t great, nothing like Gwil’s but he conjured a light orb and masked the signature as best he could. He squeezed through a gap in a gate and into a field, his magic tingling, ready to react. Copperpipe had spoken of a forgetmist and he was on the edge of a strong incantation. He would need to be careful so as not to get disorientated and end up sleeping in a ditch.
The land underfoot was uneven so he chose to manifest his wings despite them not usually being visible in this realm and a drain on his magic he hadn’t accounted for. From what he could tell, there were no buildings in range, there was a copse of trees and rolling fields but no large manor house, the spellcraft to create an illusion on that level was superb. Hyax knew within half an hour of trying to track a perimeter that he couldn’t pin down he was on a hiding to nothing without exposing himself by casting invasive spells, which would defeat the purpose.
He flew back towards the road, keeping behind the hedgerow as he put more distance between himself and where the edges of the forgetmist started, and when he was satisfied he was far enough away, he landed, hid his wings and opened a portal.
Stepping back into the living room of his and Gwil’s house made him feel empty on two counts. First, his little adventure into the English countryside had been for nought, and second, the lack of Gwil’s presence hit him like a brick. Knowing Gwil wouldn’t be back here tonight, or for several days, sent a pang deep into Hyax’s core.
He checked his phone—nothing so far—and made himself some green tea and raided the biscuit tin. If his fae friends were to see him now, sitting alone on a sofa in a nice but hardly palatial house, they’d have questioned his sanity. He could be surrounded by servants being waited on hand and foot, lavish food and the finest wines, but he was content to be sipping tea and mainlining custard creams. Gwil had fucking ruined him in all the best ways.
Determined not to brood, he worked his way through some case files.—Gwil made meticulous notes—and he set out his to-do list for the next few days to avoid himself going crazy worrying about Gwil wearing someone else’s face. His phone pinged and he saw the message.
Will:Am at a hotel with R. Let me know when good to talk, he’s having a bath.
He would have trouble reconciling Gwil with his persona of cheating fuckboi, but it was better than him playing himself and having to drape across Robin Flint. He replied with his fake credentials.
Mal:Ready when you are. I’ve eaten all the good biscuits.
He answered as soon as it rang.
“You better have left me the Jaffa Cakes.”
Hyax laughed. “Where are you hiding them? They weren’t in the tin.”
“I’m not telling you, you can go through a whole packet in minutes.”
“What can I say? If humans do one thing right, it’s the baked goods.”
Gwil snorted. “It’s good to hear your voice. How did seeing Jack off go?”
“Pretty uneventful.” He decided not to tell Gwil about Jack’s comments about how things could go wrong. “Once he’d dropped me off, I had a stomp around, but I couldn’t get anything. How’s the hotel?”
“Well, there’s only one bed. So obviously me and Robin are going to succumb to our base desires.”
Hyax laughed. “Are you now?”
“Yeah, so since we’re British, I’ve made us both a cup of tea. He’s having his in the bath.”
“You fucker. I miss you already.”
“I’m sure Midnight will keep you company. Robin says he doesn’t snore so he’s got one up on you.”
