Page 19 of Bleeding for the Prince
Hyax chuckled. “Yia is a perfectionist, Gwil. You’ll be thankful once he’s done, but for now, relax and let him deploy his methods.”
He’d had a few bespoke pieces, and one suit that he kept for best occasions, which was still nice but had seen better days. “I’m grateful, just not sure they’ll get the appropriate use.”
Yia glanced to Hyax. “What are we dressing Mr Hilt for, Your Highness? General court, or full regalia?”
“Both, and I would like you to add a selection of human suits, including evening wear and smart casual. Gwil has a collection of designer clothes, but there’s nothing better on a man than bespoke tailoring.”
“Very well, Your Highness.”
Yia nodded and muttered something under his breath. A mist formed around him. “What’s this?”
“My method of measuring. Please hold out your arms and stand with your feet a little more apart.”
The mist wasn’t unpleasant and far less intrusive than the usual way to measure his inside leg. He noticed a stream of numbers flying out from him and into a golden ball in Yia’s hand.
“Do you have a preference for materials?” Yia asked.
“I can’t say much about the fae side of things, but I’ve always loved a wool suit,” Gwil said. “I had a lavender-grey one in the 1960s and must say I mourned its passing.”
“I’m sure I can find something that would work.”
Hyax smirked. “Trousers in a similar blend and choice of colours. And a high-quality cotton for shirts… cufflink button holes.”
Gwil’s cufflink collection was one of his joys. “I prefer a single-breasted jacket.”
“Naturally, with your build,” Yia said. “For the fae side, if you are happy to trust my judgement, I can develop a range to cover the various engagements. Is the intent that Mr Hilt will wear fae garments for informal fae situations?”
“No,” Hyax answered. “Let’s keep it to palace garden party level and above.”
The fae tended to float about in longer robes and tunics adapted to their wings. The few times he’d been here with Hyax, he’d mainly been on official duties, and Hyax tended to wear fae clothes. Gwil wasn’t overly short or wide, but compared to the average fae, he resembled a chubby rectangle, so he was relieved Hyax wouldn’t want him to dress in something that’d make him look a bit shit. Although he might’ve wanted a say in the matter.
Hyax gave another series of instructions about his own clothes and dismissed Yia with a timeline of a few days to see the initial pieces.
“Y’know, I might begin to think you’re trying to change me into something I’m not. Etiquette lessons, fancy robes… What next, you gonna want me to have a nose job?”
Hyax grabbed him by a belt loop and pulled him close. “You know I think you’re perfect. The only job I’m interested in for you is a blow job, and I’m free for a while, and we could spend some time in my rooms here before we go back?”
He ran his fingers down the rim of Hyax’s wing, eliciting a growl of pure lust. “Come on then, you can show me why this is all worthwhile.”
CHAPTER NINE
Contacting Copperpipe wasn’t always the easiest thing to do. Unless Gwil had a tight deadline, he tended to send a message by shouting into the nearest manhole, waiting a day or so, and then head into the sewers to find him. This time Copperpipe came to him. “I want to go to Dante’s,” he demanded, having appeared in the middle of Gwil’s consulting rooms unannounced and only hours after he’d tried to make initial contact.
Copperpipe was dressed in his normal grubby sack and patches of dirt and looked even smaller than usual outside the dankness of the sewer. He barely came up to the top of Gwil’s desk as he peered over the surface with large eyes and his bulbous nose dripping snot onto a stack of unfinished paperwork.
“Hello to you, too, Copperpipe,” Gwil said, rescuing a set of his notes on a possession caused by ghost mice haunting a nearby cinema.
Copperpipe bounced on the balls of his feet. “Will you take me? I want to go to their food hall. I’ve heard they have ice sculptures and dancing oysters.”
“Can’t say I noticed either of those. They do some nice cakes, though.”
“Take me. Then I will be able to understand what it is you are looking for. Guaranteed.”
Gwil was confused by the request. Copperpipe didn’t need a babysitter. “Why can’t you go on your own? Slip in through the sewers and have a poke around. There must be a way to access the property from below.”
Copperpipe sneered. “They have a no-goblin policy, and while I’m not technically a goblin, those types of wards won’t let me in. I can’t sneak past them from underneath.”
He would have thought Hyax would have mentioned something if there were blocking spells in place, but he supposed some things were common enough that they wouldn’t have registered, and Hyax would probably only notice if it was directly impacting him or out of the ordinary. “I didn’t realise they didn’t let goblins in.”
