Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
O f all the places Hyax had expected to be called to discuss dragons, Crofton Hall was not one of them.
He’d been here a number of times when working with the team to rescue Simon, but that was because Robin had needed support from his friend Ben Redbourn, the Dark Earl of Crofton.
Why Hyax was back here now was a mystery, albeit a short-lived one.
Gwil had not been invited, but then he got the feeling this was fae business despite the setting, and he would fill Gwil in when he got home. He’d been allowed to portal directly into a reception room, and had been greeted by Simon and not Ben, and there was no sign of the Dark Earl or Robin.
“Is Crofton Hall yours now as well? That’s a top-tier wedding present.”
Simon laughed. “No, but one of the residents is the individual who might be willing to help us. Remember I told you about the trial I attended on my father’s behalf?”
“The one about an ancient warlord elf?”
“Yes, well, as I said, he’s been reinvented, for want of a better word, as a light elf. His energy levels are off the scale. And he lives here. At least for now.”
Simon had told him as much before, but he’d not been overly attentive or questioning as he hadn’t seen the relevance of Chris, but more Simon’s part in the trial and the wider impact on tribal politics. Now he just had a load of questions. “How does a warlord turn into a light elf?”
“I’ll let Chris tell you his story, but what’s important is he knows where the dragon homeland is. Or at least where it probably is based on his memories from a couple of thousand years ago.”
“I… Simon, are you all right? You’ve not taken a blow to the head recently?”
Simon rolled his eyes and waved him to sit down. “Trust me, Chris’s age is not the strangest thing about him.”
Moments later, an elf who was beautiful by even fae standards stepped into the room via a portal.
He bowed low, his long blond hair falling over his shoulders.
Hyax sensed a wave of goodness from him, something he wasn’t used to from elves.
Also, he’d never seen an elf look so good in Converse and skinny jeans.
“Your Highnesses, my honour to be here.”
“Chris, this is Prince Hyax. He is from the Tasharick tribe and has a dragon problem.”
“It’s not my dragon, I just seem to have inherited a problem by finding it.” He smiled at Chris. “Nice to meet you. You’re a bit different to most elves I’ve met.”
“Have you ever met a light elf before? I’ve been told I’m super rare. But then, I did spend the best part of two thousand years in a jar, so I think I’m unique.”
Hyax wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. “I think I might be missing some important parts of your backstory.”
“Please take a seat, Chris,” Simon said. “I thought it better if you were to tell your own story. You have the right to only divulge what you want.”
This was getting stranger by the minute. “Oh, I don’t mind Prince Hyax knowing. Jack said he could be trusted, and that’s good enough for me.”
“As in Jack Webb?” Hyax asked.
“He’s my bondmate. And husband. He’s mine. You can’t have him.”
Simon chuckled. “While I’m sure Hyax appreciates Jack’s capability, I assure you he’s very much attached to his own partner.”
“I wanted to make sure. Some people have funny ideas about going after other people’s special ones.
” He smiled. “Now that’s all clear, I can explain what Simon was alluding to.
I used to be an elven warlord called Christopholous.
I did lots of terrible things and was imprisoned by the fae as punishment, as they couldn’t kill me.
I was discorporated, and the wispy bits that were left were put in a jar made of dragon’s blood and gold. ”
“And this was the trial Simon was involved in?” Hyax asked.
“No,” Chris said, his expression suggesting Hyax might not be all there in the head. “That was a long time ago. The trial Simon was involved in was far more recent.”
“Okay. But you’re obviously not in a jar anymore.”
“Correct. Because they couldn’t kill me, the fae added a special caveat to my sentence whereby I could only become whole again if I repented. And I did, so here I am.”
Chris looked very pleased with himself. “Right, and you’re now a light elf. But, if you would excuse me asking, while you feel different, I was expecting more juice, given what Simon said about you helping. Or are you just here to point us in the right direction?”
“Oh, I’m masking.”
For a few seconds, Chris let down his guard, and Hyax gasped at the intensity of Chris’s magic. Simon was powerful, with a dark edge, but Chris was as strong without a tinge of malice.
“Fuck!”
“He’s rather impressive, isn’t he?” Simon said, smug bastard. “I think with your special connection, Chris and myself, we should have the power we need.”
Hyax was still trying to process that Chris, who had spent so long imprisoned, meaning he must’ve once been an absolute evil fucker, was now fluffier than a bunny rabbit.
“Simon also said you were looking for where the dragons might be,” Chris said.
“Yes. We were told there was somewhere beyond the elves’ meadowlands. And while I don’t claim to be an expert on elvish geography, the only place I can think of would mean folks would have noticed a load of winged lizards flying about.”
“There were dragon hunting grounds when I was still Christopholous. The dragons took them from the elves, and they were on my list to get back. But I didn’t get around to it before I got put in my jar.”
Hyax got the sense that there might have been a lot of dead dragons if Chris hadn’t been stopped.
From his memories of the myths, the fae had been subjected to the wrath of the elves, and there had been a lot of death and destruction on both sides.
But it was difficult to reconcile the Chris who stood before him and the warlord he once was.
“That does suggest there was a physical place.”
“The dragons were fearful of attack from both the fae and the elves, and while they were using captured land for additional hunting, they hid where they lived in a bubble. The Rexes were magnificent creatures, and they were able to use their collective magic to create a stable parallel homeworld. I thought it might make a nice summer home once I’d got rid of them. ”
Chris was so matter-of-fact it was almost funny. “You know where the dragon homeworld is?”
Chris nodded. “But I don’t want them disturbed. I’m happy to help you return one of their lost friends, not to give the fae access to new territory.”
Hyax hadn’t even given the possibility a thought. “I wasn’t planning to.”
“I just wanted to make sure you knew my position. I’d worked out where the entrance was and how to pass through, so I’m happy to direct and triangulate the spell so the portal opens in the right place, but I won’t share the coordinates.”
“I would think you could trust two fae princes,” Hyax said, a bit miffed at the connotation of Chris’s explanation.
Chris snorted. “Why? I don’t think being a prince makes you more trustworthy. Some might argue the contrary.”
He wasn’t used to being talked to in such a fashion. “I beg your pardon?”
“Hyax,” Simon said. “Chris doesn’t mean to be insulting. He’s speaking from a place most people couldn’t begin to understand.”
If that meant Chris hadn’t meant to be a rude twat, then he supposed he could turn the other cheek for now, and he thought Gwil would laugh his arse off when he told him.
The trouble was they needed Chris, and Hyax would need to put aside his annoyance because throwing a fit would not help him reach his goal.
“At the moment, all I care about is moving a sleeping dragon.”
Chris stared at him. “You’re a bit odd too.”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to call someone else odd.”
“There’s a tinge about you that’s not standard issue for a shiny fae prince. You’re not like Simon, but you’re not a normal fae either.” Chris wrinkled his nose. “I met representatives of all the fae tribes at my trial, and none of them were like you.”
“You’re an astute fellow,” he drawled.
“I can’t place what it is…”
Simon smiled. “What if I were to tell you that Hyax’s partner is a vampire?”
Chris sucked his tongue, staring at Hyax, and then his eyes went wide. “Oh, I didn’t think that sort of thing happened anymore. Aren’t you fae a bit pure for that?”
Hyax couldn’t decide if that was meant to be an insult. “Purity is a rather relative term.”
“You lot don’t intermingle that much as far as I’ve seen, and I’m pretty sure what you must be doing would be considered necromancy in some circles.”
Chris didn’t sound as if he were accusing him as such, but Hyax did feel the need to defend himself. “Hardly. Gwil is a vampire, technically the undead, but it’s not like I’m reanimating a corpse.”
“Both you and Simon seem to have a thing for vampires. I’m not judging, Jack’s a siren, or part siren, and from what I can tell, they’ve a much worse rep than vampires.”
Simon cleared his throat. “Putting our spouses to one side, I sense we’re at an agreement in principle to work together.”
“I guess so. Although I don’t know how to move a dragon, well, not one that’s asleep. I assume if it were awake, I could just bop it on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper and shoo it along.”
Not a method Hyax was aware of. “The dragon is huge. I’ve made the assumption it’s a Rex because of its size; we’re going to need more than a newspaper.”
Chris shrugged. “As I said, dragons aren’t my area of expertise.”
“Do you have the spellbook with you?” Simon asked.
Hyax retrieved a book from the bag he’d brought with him. “You might know this one. Your father gave it to me.”
King James had been grateful for the role Hyax had played in bringing Simon home and had lent him several books from his personal collection. Simon laid the book on his lap and flicked through the pages, stopping at the same place Hyax had identified as a possible solution.