Page 13 of Bleeding for the Prince
“We pride ourselves on finding the right dress for everyone.” She cocked her head to one side. “I don’t think you’d suit a full skirt, but a straight empire line might work a treat.”
She probably wasn’t fae as he thought she’d have recognised him due to his connection to Hyax, so she was an elf, and he wasn’t used to them being so pleasant. “Thanks, but I’m following up on something for a friend. She’s thinking about booking an appointment with your department for her wedding party but got wind of a problem. And since I was coming here to check out the jewellery section to find a gift for my fella, she wanted me to pop in and see what vibe I picked up.”
He saw the points of her ears turn red, and she glanced around. “Sir, I can assure you, we have fitted anti-charm and potion-repellent systems. But also, that sort of magic doesn’t work unless there’s an underlying desire, so if your friend is completely happy with her intended, there shouldn’t be an issue.”
“No one got hurt, though?”
“I imagine the bride’s fiancé wasn’t too pleased with the outcome, but if you mean those who were present, then no, quite the opposite.”
It sounded to Gwil that she’d been there, which was a stroke of luck. “You were here? Not, to be indelicate, did you sense anything strange, y’know, magically?”
“I was here. I told my boss afterwards that the oddest thing is those sorts of spells and potions have a certain signature that tends to linger, and by the time I had separated the ladies and got everyone calmed down, there was nothing.”
Gwil guessed that might have taken more than a few minutes, but based on what he’d heard, something should have stuck around. “That does sound a bit odd.”
She leant in closer. “I thought there might have been something wrong with me, so I went to my healer to check that there was no problem on my side.”
“Did anyone else sense something?”
She shook her head. “No, my colleague on the day was a vampire, so they wouldn’t have been able to tell. Management did a sweep as a precaution, and the whole department came up clear.”
“My friend’s head over wings for her chap, so it sounds like there’s no danger.” He smiled and thought he might have a gander at the jewellery, to at least get some ideas for Hyax’s gift. “Thanks for being willing to share. It’ll calm her nerves, and she’s had enough wedding jitters.”
She beamed, and Gwil headed to the escalator, taking it to the third floor. He didn’t linger to look at the latest collection from Pred-a-tor, one of the most expensive labels in the paranormal world, and of whom Hyax waxed lyrical about their sunglasses, and went straight to the rear of the store where glass cabinets were filled with a range of jewellery from rings to tiaras, plain to ornate and every precious stone he couldimagine. If he’d thought the wedding dresses were expensive, the cost of these trinkets made him almost swallow his tongue. He reminded himself his intent was just to search for ideas.
There was a centrepiece of a large jade carving of a stylised dragon, but it had a sign saying not for sale, and while Gwil thought it pretty enough, it wasn’t something for the average person’s living room.
A gold bangle with sapphires caught his eye and he thought it would be something Hyax would like, although he had a bracelet from Metra, so maybe not. He didn’t notice he was no longer alone until someone spoke.
“Mr Hilt, I wasn’t aware you were visiting today.”
Gwil startled, then recognised who had disturbed him. “Mr Moreton, you surprised me. Please, call me Gwil. I was getting some inspiration for a gift for Prince Hyax.”
“Then likewise call me Daniel.” He tapped the glass of the cabinets. “They are lovely, but I would have thought His Highness would prefer something more in the line of a custom design.”
“Yeah, but I have to start somewhere. As you can imagine, he’s got very exacting tastes, so he can be difficult to buy for.”
“Are you looking to mark an important event or a general gift?”
He didn’t think Daniel was part of the store’s management team but had been brought in for the investigation, so Gwil thought it a bit odd he was playing salesman. “Something special.”
“Then, as much as I adore Dante’s range of exquisite offerings, you probably want to find a designer. I can recommend a couple, but you’re best off deciding a few things up front.”
“I should do my homework first, then.”
Daniel laughed. “Speaking of which, I hope everything is proceeding in the right direction with our little experiment.”
Here wasn’t the place for a public conversation, and he would be better off having Hyax with him to discuss the results once he was ready. “We’re evaluating the first wave of data. We’ll be in touch in a day or two.”
“You have my number, call me at any time. I’m sure I’ll see you out and about. I’m a regular at many of the better places like Bled—we’re bound to run into each other.”
He wouldn’t be averse to getting to know Daniel. He had friends, but few of them could be considered influential, and none were of Daniel’s calibre. He had to admit it was nice to feel included where he’d have once been unwelcome. “I’m sure we will.”
Daniel left him to it. An emerald tiara caught his attention. The stones were stunning, and he thought emeralds would be the way to go for Hyax, but not a tiara. He wondered if Hyax had a crown, with him being a prince, but he’d not seen him wear one, and he didn’t think he’d attended anything he would have had cause to. He was getting distracted, and after another examination of the earrings, he decided to head home and see if Hyax had an update from his monitoring spells.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hyax had pored over the data he’d collected several times, and there was nothing that suggested anything strange was going on. Over the last two days, he’d filtered out the energy patterns from any legitimate magical activity that might be part of the day-to-day running of the store, expecting to find something that would point them in the right direction, but instead all he had was a large case of frustration.
