Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
G wil checked the text message and slid carefully out of bed.
Hyax hadn’t been joking when he’d said the brewing had taken its toll.
He couldn’t appreciate the magical drain, but he could understand standing over a cauldron for several hours would be both physically and mentally exhausting.
If he were lucky, Hyax would sleep through his errand and would be none the wiser.
He had a few hours before sunrise, and the streets were quiet. He thought about calling a cab, but the address in the message was less than twenty minutes away on foot and he could do with some exercise.
He disappeared down a side road where he’d never been before and found himself in one of the rat runs of the old city, where once plague would have been rife and cholera a regular guest. It reminded him of his life before he’d been turned.
Pickpockets and thieves would have thrived here, alongside beggars and others down on their luck.
The road opened into a cobbled square, and in the daytime, some of the shops would have been fancy boutiques, and there were two cafes which looked expensive and ultra trendy.
He saw lights on in several of the upper-floor windows and realised there was a metal set of stairs and a gangplank leading to the address he’d been given.
The lighting wasn’t great, but his night vision meant it wasn’t a problem and he found himself outside a green door. To the right was a plaque that stated : H Liome, Master Jeweller .
He knocked on the door and waited. Several moments passed with no sign anyone had realised he was there. He knocked again.
A small door, cut into the main panel, opened, and a gnome stared up at him. His beard was greying and his bushy eyebrows were borderline comical. “You’re an impatient one, aren’t you?”
For some reason, he’d not expected a gnome; they weren’t known for their craftsmanship. “Sorry. I was sent a message that my design was ready. Are you Horatio Liome?”
“Ah, you’re Mr Hilt. Come on in. I’m excited to see what you make of it. You’ll have to crawl in; the main door is just for show.”
He’d crawled through worse things than an oversized cat flap, and as he poked his head through, he saw a workshop with benches and tools sized for Horatio’s proportions.
He could stand, but it would make it difficult to talk properly, so he settled for sitting cross-legged as if he had tried one of the chairs he’d have broken it.
Horatio grabbed a package from the side and handed it to Gwil. “If you’re not happy, I’ll be surprised, but I’d be willing to make minor adjustments.”
Gwil unwrapped the parcel. The earrings Katherine had designed had been recreated to perfection.
He held one up, the platinum expertly shaped and the emeralds a deep shade of exquisite green.
And the fangs with ruby blood drops were amazing.
“Wow, this is beautiful work. Prince Hyax will love them.”
“I wasn’t told the recipient, but I thought it might be him. The vampire link and design shaped for pointy ears kind of gave him away.”
“I wanted something special, and you’ve definitely delivered. Do you take cards?”
“Of course. I’m a businessman, not an idiot.” Horatio scoffed. “But there is something else I’d like, as part of the payment.”
“I thought we’d agreed a price through my colleague,” he said carefully. He wanted the earrings, but he knew better than to promise things without knowing the potential fallout.
“We did. This isn’t about money, but I’d like the option to call on you for professional advice.”
“You want me to waive my fee to look into something for you?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m still working through whether there’s a real issue, but if I do, I’d like to call on you for a consult. At a discount.”
“Not a problem. I’ll do an initial consult, but it depends on what you’re asking for if I’ll take a case. I’m not risking my licence for anything dodgy or so morally corrupt that even a vampire has pause for thought.”
Horatio chuckled, his whiskers quivering. “Fair enough. Now, are you happy with the earrings?”
He removed his bank card from his wallet, having moved funds around to make sure he had money available as Hyax’s gift was getting on for being one of the most expensive things he’d ever bought.
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’d not 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.”
“No, but I reckon we can take it further. My mother could invite King James for a visit, and he could bring his son with him.”
“Would she agree to that?” Gwil asked. He didn’t realise things were moving so quickly in terms of the Calanti.
“I believe so. She’s one of the most forward-looking leaders. She’ll want to capitalise on any opportunity to best position our tribe.”
He hadn’t expected Hyax’s mother to agree, but then Queen Talia had surprised him more and more of late.
Her talk of changing up the succession had been blindsiding, and he didn’t think Hyax had fully processed what it might mean if she were to swap him for his older brother.
“If she were to host them, it would send a message. I’m not sure about the reception, but you’d know better than me. ”
“Let me talk to her. She insinuated there was already more going on than she could say openly. But I’ll speak to Simon first, as I would bet my wings his father will be including him in his thought process.”
“He’s next in line, and only child, so I suppose it makes sense. None of this helps you with Metra, though.” They’d diverged away from the suggestion, and he wasn’t sure if it was deliberate or not. “Unless we could ask King James to pass on a message of vampires and their Eternals.”
“I need to think about that sort of messaging. It’s one thing to actively seek closer ties to a fae tribe who happen to have a vampire-fae as king, and another for a fae prince to dissolve a political marriage because the vampires are miffed over a perceived snub.”
Gwil wanted to push a bit more before he left the idea alone for a while. “But are you opposed to trying the excuse? I get it might not be what you had in mind originally, but I do think it’s a credible option.”
“As I said, I’ll consider anything that gets me separated from Metra, vampire interference included.” He smiled. “Doesn’t help with this evening’s request, though.”
“We don’t have plans, and you were just going to talk to Simon, so how about keeping the peace and going?” Gwil suggested. “The better terms you’re on, the less difficult he’ll make the divorce.”
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d have liked me spending an evening with him.”
“If you’re saying I should have a reason to be worried, then I would be fucking livid, but then that would mean we’ve not got the relationship I believe we have.” He grinned. “You can be civil without shagging someone.”
“Arsehole.”
“Yeah, but your arsehole.”