Page 44 of Bleeding for the Prince
She had a good point. Gwil found it hard to let go of parts of his upbringing, and even though he knew the deal between Hyax and Metra, he slipped back to his old ways of thinking. “It will be. Hyax’s mum has already said that she’s annoyed at the situation. Although she brokered the original marriage, the Elementa don’t appear to have been playing with a straight bat.”
“Interesting.”
Interesting was a dangerous word to come out of Penelope’s mouth. As much as he welcomed her perspective, he didn’t want her to be too involved in what he was doing. He was happy tobe spending more time with her; it was nice to have a sibling relationship, but that didn’t mean he wanted her prying.
“Nothing for you to be concerned about.”
“Oh, I’m not concerned, I’m happy. I sense there may be a wedding in the near future. Hyax will get rid of Metra, you’ll stop acting like an arse, and I want to be the one who gives you away.”
“Why would you be the one walking me down the aisle? I didn’t give you away.”
“We weren’t even on speaking terms back then, but we are now. Unless Solivatus wants to do it, but I think Hyax would prefer it to be me.”
He didn’t know how the conversation had been allowed to veer in this direction. He’d liked the idea of a wedding, and didn’t know if fae bonding ceremonies had the custom of giving away the bride, but he hadn’t thought of including his sister so much in the proceedings. “I’m not a bride, I don’t need to be given away by you or my sire. Besides, this is all a bit presumptuous.”
“Hardly, I can’t wait to have you married off to your pretty fairy. It’s amazing you’re his Beloved, but imagine how much more important you’ll be as his husband.”
A husband didn’t outrank Prince’s Beloved, and if anything, it might even be considered a downgrade if Hyax were to signal he was vacating a role which hadn’t been the intention. “You might be able to spin it that way in vampire circles, but I’m already top-notch for the fae. I just want rid of Metra.”
“That can be arranged.”
“Without a potential risk to peace between their tribes.”
She pouted. “You never let me have any fun. I could wear this dress… It’s already stained.”
“I’m too busy to let you have fun. I don’t have time to clean up the mess.”
She poured him a glass of blood. “That sounds like it should be your motto. Now, I think you know you need to grovel to your pretty prince, so enough of this oversharing between siblings. I have a potential client if you’re interested. How do you feel about pyromaniac were-shrews?”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
She smirked. “Oh, you’re no fun. But I might have something for you. I’ll keep my ears open; everyone appears to want an excuse to engage Gwilym Hilt. You should put your prices up.”
He laughed, downed his blood and decided she wasn’t that bad; he could have a lot worse sisters, and she seemed to have his back. As long as he didn’t do something to slight her, otherwise, she’d have his head as well.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hyax read the message on his phone.
Gwil: I’m sorry. I was a wanker. Please come home.
He’d been about to send something similar about him overreacting. His parents had taught him that it took two to argue, and if both parties didn’t accept their role in a disagreement, then it was doomed to repeat.
Hyax: On my way. I’m sorry for not staying to talk this out.
He arrived back in their living room. Gwil was on the sofa, playing with Midnight, using one of her favourite dangly feather toys.
Gwil looked up at him and stood. “Hey. Look, I’m really sorry. I let my own self-doubts get the better of me, and I should never have said what I did.”
“You could have told me you knew about Getil. Then I could have explained the situation and how unbothered I was by nothaving to marry a girl I didn’t know to rule a tribe that wasn’t mine.”
Hyax held his arms open, and Gwil stepped into the embrace. “Just so you hear this directly from me, so there can be no misunderstanding. I love you, and there is nothing about being with you that involves me settling. I asked for you to have the Prince’s Beloved title because that’s how important you are to me.”
Gwil squeezed him tighter. “I’m a bit overwhelmed by everything that’s happening. It’s like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop and it’ll all vanish.”
He stroked Gwil’s hair. He’d not considered this side of things. Gwil was unnerved by the pace of change, and Hyax didn’t blame him. In what had been a relatively short time, so much of Gwil’s afterlife had changed. Ostentatiously, they were still working together, as they’d done for years, but the dynamics of their relationship had shifted and with that came the expectations of dating a royal fae. A couple of cases involving some important people had elevated Gwil’s stocks in the vampire world, too, and it must feel as if he were on a high-velocity ride with no idea when or where it might stop.
“Whatever happens, I’m not going to vanish. You’re my happy ever after, Gwil, and I won’t let anything get in the way of that. We’ve had to navigate a few bumps here and there, but nothing we can’t deal with together.”
