Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
H yax 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 not having 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.”
“I suppose it’s not like we can’t wait things out.”
Hyax chuckled. “True, but more than that, we shouldn’t have to.
I want to divorce Metra as soon as I can.
I didn’t take into account how marriage is perceived differently by vampires than fae, nor was I sympathetic to the pace of change.
I didn’t even explain why the Prince’s Beloved was such a big deal, so why would you know? ”
“It wasn’t just that.” Gwil pulled back a little.
“I felt that it was something I’ve learnt by accident because it was now deemed necessary not to bollocks up a conversation.
Learning about your original betrothal rattled me because I would have thought you’d have mentioned something like that before. ”
Gwil had a right to be upset, and even though Hyax didn’t think he’d done anything deliberately, it didn’t negate the way Gwil felt.
“It was so long ago, and not ever discussed. As I said, she died when I was eighteen, which is very young still for a fae, and I barely remember anything about it. Only when I was a bit older did my parents explain the full repercussions to me and the political agreements were dissolved along with the tradition of matching up babies when they’re born. ”
“We’ve a lot of history before we got together. I should have told you what I discussed with Opali.”
“We were a bit distracted. Once I saw you in your new suit, nothing was going to stop me from getting my hands on you.” He stroked Gwil’s curls.
“Like I said, I’ve had lovers over the years, some stuck around longer than others, but none of them ever meant what you did.
One or two got close, some were friends with benefits, but the majority meant nothing. ”
“I get that, and I’m not threatened by them. I have my own past.”
“You dated Hoffman. Who I’m not jealous of, but I would like to punch him for all the shit he stirred up.” He paused but decided they’d got this far so he should continue. “But I was, for a while, hung up on Matilda. You planned to marry her and live the life of a Victorian gentleman.”
Gwil shook his head. He looked amused. “She was who I should’ve loved. I was very fond of her, but if I had loved her, I wouldn’t have ended up in a laudanum den or have gotten turned by Solivatus.”
“I know that now. Your sire is also a sore point, but one we’ve worked through, and I know he’s no threat to what we have.”
Gwil chuckled. “He thinks I’ve done well for myself. You should know he’s already asked Daniel Moreton to help me out.”
Gwil had told him Solivatus had said he could do with a course in vampire etiquette, but hadn’t thought he’d act so quickly. “Did he contact you already?”
“I went to Bled last night. After our argument, I needed to talk to someone, and Penelope agreed to meet me. She’s never on time, so while I was waiting, I ran into Daniel, and he mentioned it.”
Hyax wasn’t sure about Gwil’s sister. She had a manipulative side to her that Gwil was aware of, but he was too attached to her to let go. “Dare I ask what her opinion was?”
“She thought I was being a twat too.” He laughed. “I’d already come to that conclusion. Interesting night. I met Daniel’s fiancée, scoped out Bled and am able to tell you it would be fae-friendly, and I had a pleasant time with Penelope. I may have slipped into an alternative reality.”
Hyax led him back to the sofa. “You’re not the only one who had a bit of an odd evening.”
“Sounds ominous. I assume you went back to the palace.”
He had to talk to someone about what his mother had said, and Gwil was the one person he could rely on to be completely on his side.
“I went to clear my head, and I was fucking raging after our argument, but I calmed down. Then I realised that I’d never told you about Getil, so I was at least in part blindsided by your accusation because you shouldn’t have known.
It dawned on me that you’d have your session with Opali and called him to my room to explain himself. ”
“I hope you didn’t blow your top at him. He was only doing what he thought best.”
Gwil knew him so well and had seen him chew out people he thought he had the right to.
“I was a little pointed with my original questions, but it became clear that he was following the brief he’d been given.
He’d assessed you as not needing the basics, which, to be fair, is true, and instead was working through a list of topics he had been suggested. ”
Gwil frowned. “The list I saw didn’t have the origins, or my title, or your past engagements. I take you weren’t aware of the adjustment either?”
“No, but then Opali was also taking direction from my mother.” He held up his hand to stop Gwil.
“Nothing nefarious, she seemed genuine in her desire to make sure you felt comfortable in various situations. He brought up Getil because of how Pawl, as my older brother, has the occasional moment about not being as well-placed as he could be to be king.”
“How much more well-placed does he need to be? He’s next in line.”
“And I was intended to be king of another tribe, or at least king consort, and my magic is more diverse and powerful than his.”
Gwil sucked on one of his fangs, a common tic for when he was thinking. “He did tell me that I should watch out for those interactions. But unless Pawl is worried about a constitutional change, it really shouldn’t be an issue.”
“He wasn’t worried, but he might be now. I spoke to my mother after Opali, and she said she’s seriously contemplating a change to the succession laws.”
Gwil’s jaw dropped. “To you?”
“Potentially. Nothing is confirmed; she’s just ruminating things over at the moment. But she said she didn’t think it would be an unpopular move. Even Pawl would welcome the change.”
“Fucking hell! Would you want that?”
He’d not had much time to think about becoming the future king of his tribe, but he wouldn’t lie and say it was unappealing. “I don’t think I’d refuse. She said my choice in partner, with the likely future reintegration of the Calanti, could be seen as an additional positive.”
Gwil opened his mouth several times. “I don’t know what to say. I knew your people loved you, but I’d never have thought your mum to be the radical type.”
“Her primary goal is what is best for her people.”
“I’m biased. But I agree with her that you’d make a brilliant king. You’ll probably want to cut back on the fighting with your husband in public, although I’d also say that was justified too.”
He laughed. Gwil was as shocked as he’d been about his mother’s suggestion, but like everything else, seemed to be taking it in his stride. “As you know, my husband situation is a temporary one. Hopefully as short as possible, and we’ll be divorced asap.”
“Penelope offered to walk me down the aisle, that is if you want me to be husband number two and we were to include vampire customs in the ceremony.”
“She did? That sounds all rather supportive for a woman who once sent me a fairy doll with its wings pulled off to warn me not to fuck over her brother.”
Gwil shrugged. “She does have strange ways of showing she cares. Technically, I don’t need anyone to walk me down an aisle, and she thought that you’d prefer her to do it than Solivatus.”
“Like fuck is your sire acting as if he is giving you to me.”
“I don’t think for a minute Solivatus would have even considered it, but I was taking it as a nice gesture from my sister, for a hypothetical event.”
He needed to address this imbalance. “I do owe you an apology about marrying Metra. I know you understand the position I was in, but I didn’t truly appreciate the importance of marriage to you both as a vampire and from before you were turned.
I wrongly assumed you’d understood that making you the Prince’s Beloved put you above a spouse in terms of seniority, and I didn’t appreciate that to non-fae it wouldn’t have the same message. ”
“I’m not sure I was that aware of my own feelings towards a marriage either. Only afterwards did it sink in more.” He tapped his collar. “I do appreciate you giving me this. I know the significance, and I know you love me. I shouldn’t have acted out and accused you of settling.”
He picked up Gwil’s hand. “So, while one day, me being king of the Tasharick tribe is still a hypothetical event, you being my second husband through a marriage isn’t.
I still want a fae bonding, and you will remain the Prince’s Beloved, but I would like us to have a traditional vampire marriage ceremony as well. ”
“Oh, Hyax, I hadn’t thought that was something you’d be interested in. Are you sure? I wouldn’t expect the blood sharing.”
He hadn’t considered what he was letting himself into. “ Blood sharing ?”
“Yeah, usually part of the wedding night, the spouses have a little sip from each other.” He licked his lips. “I bet you taste sparkly. Never drank fae blood before.”
He found he wasn’t that appalled by the idea of Gwil drinking from him, as long as it wasn’t much. Some of the spells he’d read had an element of bloodletting, and he’d not dismissed those. “We can talk about it nearer to the time.”
Gwil pulled him close. “I love you, and I want to show you just how much.”
Hyax sank into the kiss, their argument forgotten.