Page 75 of Bleeding for the Prince
Horatio had a card reader, which surprised Gwil more than his accepting plastic to begin with. The supernatural species weren’t always as technologically advanced as the humans. Magic meant that the laborious things in life were dealt with unthinkingly, whereas humans had to innovate. He’d had a spectacularly drunken debate with Hyax about that once; they’dnot spoken for three weeks after Hyax accused him of referring to the fae as sparkling backwards hillbillies.
“Let me wrap those for you,” Horatio said, once Gwil had paid. “The fae love a bit of bling so handing over even a pretty gift in a bit of old cloth would take the edge off.”
Gwil had to admit Horatio’s wrapping skills were a lot better than his; the package now wrapped in fine silk and gold ribbons. He thanked him again as he crawled out of the workshop. There were a few people around on his way home, but carrying jewellery that cost more than a high-end BMW made him walk faster than before, and he managed to get back sharpish. He’d not been gone an hour and he managed to wriggle out of his clothes and slide back into bed, having hidden the earrings away.
Hyax muttered in his sleep, turned over and limpeted, treating Gwil like a giant teddy bear. As much as he loved the passionate and sexy side of their relationship, this type of intimacy brought him a sense of joy he’d never thought he’d get to experience. No one would believe an elegant fae prince like Hyax would be a cuddle bug, and he had no intention of telling anyone either.
Gwil woke to an empty bed, which wasn’t unusual given their different schedules and Hyax’s royal commitments. He stretched and remembered he’d not spoken to Hyax about Solivatus’s intel on Hoffman or the proposal to use the vampires as an external pressure. Now might not be the best time to mention the idea, seeing as they had a dragon to deal with, but he could try to sound Hyax out.
He went in search of Hyax and found him looking like a bulldog chewing a wasp. “Hey, you okay?”
Hyax held up a spark. He must’ve listened to the message as its glow was quite dim. “Metra’s been in touch. Fucker wants me to go to some bullshit party tonight, and I have no desire to attend.”
“What’s the party for?” They had an agreement that Hyax and Metra would be seen together for special situations, but they usually were better planned.
“A friend’s surprise engagement.”
“That doesn’t sound like the sort of event you’re forced to go to.”
“He’s asking as a favour,” Hyax sneered. “He’s being reasonable and asking politely. Wanker.”
Gwil pulled out a seat and sat next to Hyax at the kitchen table. “Do you think he’s trying to milk the most out of your arrangement as he can because he knows his time is limited?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him. He should know what’s happening with the golashe mining.”
“I haven’t had the chance to talk to you about this, but Solivatus told me Hoffman has filed the patent for the synthetic version of the chemical he’s been extracting from the golashe, so he doesn’t need the Elementa any longer.”
Hyax sat back. “Then I can petition for my divorce without having to worry about Metra pointing to having to appease Hoffman. I’ve been busy with the bloody dragon, but once we’re finished, I’ll dedicate my time to the rituals and protocols to get this done.”
“I might have a way forward, but it might not be something you’d want to consider.”
“Stop teasing, Gwil,” Hyax said. “I’m willing to listen to anything if it gets me unshackled from Metra.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Solivatus suggested the vampires could start exerting a particular social pressure since you’re what we’d call my Eternal, and therefore we should be together. There’s not a lot of wriggle room in vampire thinking over Eternals, so you being with Metra could be thought of as an insult.”
Hyax placed the spark on the table, and for a moment, Gwil thought he was going to get a dismissive response. “You’ve told me about Eternals, said I was yours, but I guess I’ve missed the significance—again.”
“You may have noticed I’m not like many of my kind, I’ve never been into shagging about, whereas most vampires think monogamy is a dirty word.”
“Right, but they also get married, and as I understand, the spouse is considered important if not the sole proprietor.”
Gwil laughed at the description. “Well, that all stops if a vampire meets their Eternal. A lot of us never do, and some vamps don’t believe they exist, but I know you’re my forever.”
Hyax huffed. “So not only did I fuck up with the marriage side of things, I’ve also shat on the vampire one true love romantic fantasy.”
“I knew you had to do your duty, and I just had to wait it out. To be honest, it’s kinda romantic that you’ll leave Metra for me, and I am your Beloved.” He’d come to the conclusion that having Hyax in his bed every night was more important than any ceremony, but there was a way he could influence the divorce he’d like to take it. “Do you think a vampire intervention might work?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to call.” Hyax shifted and pulled his knees up to his chest. “There is already talk about us and my tribe being closer to the vampires because of our relationship. But I would say that closeness is not always considered negative.The shift in opinion has been more pronounced in recent weeks.”
“Is there a reason for it?” Gwil didn’t think for one moment it was him; there had to be more behind this.
“I think it’s the Calanti. I’ve not heard any dissent about a potential truce between the tribes. If anything, the whispers of a reunification would be a blessing, returning the fae to their full strength.”
“I wouldn’t have considered the fae as being of limited strength to begin with.”
“Neither would we, but then we wouldn’t have admitted to it even if it were the case. The argument is that the Calanti have always had a darker hue to their magic, way before a vampire-fae became their king.”
Gwil thought they could use this to their advantage. “You cosying up to Simon won’t have hurt.”
