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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

T he last time Gwil had gone through an emergency portal he’d been unconscious for days. At least at Crofton Hall he was receiving the best care vampire medical science and warlock healers could provide him, with the purest blood stocks on hand to aid his recovery. Hyax sat next to him on his bed, waiting for the chills he seemed to be suffering from to abate. Gwil muttered something in his sleep, it was an improvement from last time, but Hyax was still worried sick.

Gwil had been back a couple of days, he was no longer as frazzled as when he had come through but still had a way to go before he was fully recovered. To avoid going out of his mind, Hyax had been to the facility with Ashley to see if they could track the lich who had escapes and the Warlock Ruling Committee were treating the residents who remained, there was nothing he could do.

He’d promised Robin, who was conscious but not in a great state, that he’d visit Simon, and given Gwil was deep in a healing sleep now was as good a time as any.

He headed to the room where Simon was housed. As he approached, he could feel the wards he’d created with Ashley and Alex. It had been exhausting and he’d slept a day straight after, but he was smug beyond belief they were still standing and giving Simon the protection he needed.

Simon was of average build but nestled amongst the pillow and blankets he appeared small and fragile, his fae qualities still overriding any from his vampire side. His red hair was shocking against the white of the bedlinens. At Sebastian’s request, Hyax had checked Simon’s condition once he had been settled and had been able to provide a base level from which to work, assuming a certain amount of similarity to his own physiology. His assessment was the same as that of the healers they’d brought in, but Sebastian liked to be sure and Hyax was a known entity.

Hyax ran his fingers over the cuff on Simon’s left arm. No change. His magic was sitting behind a magical barrier, the spell housed in the cuffs was stubborn, meaning there wasn’t the option to wait for the enchantment to fade. They’d confirmed the cuffs were elvish and those bastards were the epitome of cantankerous fuckwits. He had to admit that it was a brilliant piece of magic that not only contained Simon’s powers but siphoned them away without danger. Removing them without the right materials would be fatal, Alex was working on a potion which should work, but until that was ready, they would need to be careful. They hadn’t gone to all the trouble of extracting him for Simon to cark it here.

From what he’d heard, Robin hadn’t been as badly affected as Gwil, and Hyax had surmised the protection James had cast had helped Robin when he was in the portals. Once Simon was recovered, Hyax would be asking him how he’d made it possible for Robin to use fae portals without turning into beef jerky.

Simon made a series of whining noises and to Hyax’s surprise, sat up. Simon stared around the room, bemused and a bit lost, which was another shock because Hyax was sure he’d be yelling and screaming if their positions had been reversed.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Hyax said, wanting to keep Simon as calm as possible.

Simon frowned. “Who are you?”

They had hoped Simon would have begun to remember now he was no longer under the lich’s influence, but then he had only met him once so it might not be an indication he still had a Swiss cheese brain. “Prince Hyax of the Tasharick tribe.”

Simon cocked his head to one side and gave him a considered look. “I… you were a guest at my wedding.”

Hyax cheered inwardly, this was an excellent sign and suggested Simon’s memory wasn’t permanently damaged. “Correct, and that answers one of my questions, you know who you are. Don’t you?”

“Prince Simon, heir to the throne of the Calanti, and Viscount of MacLove,” he said as if it were obvious. “Where am I and where’s Robin?”

Hyax felt a prickling of energy from around Simon’s cuffs and he thought Simon was trying to use his magic. Simon held up his arms. “What the fuck are these?”

“This is not going to be an easy conversation,” Hyax said, but he didn’t think it would help fobbing Simon off. “You’re at Crofton Hall, you’re safe but only because myself and Ashley have warded this room with a mix of spells so complex I don’t think I could repeat it under pain of having my wings pulled off.”

The spells had been hard work, and he’d impressed himself with what they had created but he didn’t want to repeat them.

“Crofton Hall? As in Ben Redbourn, and Ashley’s his boyfriend and Senior Warlock?”

Simon was more with it than they’d dared hoped, him being able to recall the information was a great relief. “Yes, we weren’t sure which memories you would have retained. But I get the feeling you’re probably missing some… what’s the last thing you remember before you woke up?”

Simon took a moment, no doubt having trouble collating his thoughts. “I’d woken up after my wedding night.” His smug expression suggested he’d had a great time at Robin’s hands. “I’d got dressed to go somewhere, but… I… must have gone back to bed. Then I woke up here.”

Simon stopped talking and grabbed a handful of his hair. “Why the fuck is my hair red?”

Hyax sat on the edge of the bed, he hadn’t expected to be the one dealing with Simon waking up or being the one to answer his questions. “This is going to take some explaining but since you know who you are, it’s a good sign and I think you can cope with knowing.”

“Knowing what? And why shouldn’t I?”

Best to get this out of the way and be as straightforward as possible, Simon was a fellow fae and Hyax thought he could handle this. “Your marriage was several weeks ago, not yesterday. You went to a house viewing and you were kidnapped, we’re still piecing together all the details, but Robin and a few others got you back and you’re being kept in this room to stop who took you from trying to take you again.”

Simon was quiet for a while before he asked, “Who took me?”

Simon was an intelligent man and Hyax wouldn’t insult him by trying to fob him off. “The kidnappers we think were elves, but under contract and we’ve someone working on that angle, but you were found at a facility run by a Dr Ralph Mettle, who claimed to have helped you escape from a place where you were being ill-treated. You had no memory of who you were, and Mettle put the cuffs in place to limit you using your magic.”

“Why would he do that? And where’s Robin?”

Simon was more matter-of-fact than Hyax had expected. He’d been exposed to his peers and fae princes weren’t the sort to deal well with situations outside their control.

“Robin’s resting. We had to remove you via an emergency portal, and it messed with his vampire physiology, I will go get him as he’ll want to see you now you’re awake. But the person who took you was a lich.”

Simon shuddered, and Hyax thought the reality was beginning to bite. “He must’ve wanted my magic to use for himself.”

“That’s the hypothesis. A fae healer has done an examination, and found no evidence of physical or sexual assault, and that the only residual issue is your memory, which now seems limited to the period you were away.”

“Do you think I’ll regain my memories?”

The process might take some time, but since Simon had already remembered so much Hyax thought it wasn’t unlikely, but there were barriers, and the cuffs might be holding back more than just his magic.

“Possibly.” Hyax tapped one of the cuffs. “We need to get these off first and see. Releasing your magic might be the answer.”

Simon took a moment to examine the cuffs. “I think they’re elf. I’ve read about how they can enhance metals to hold a certain magic.”

Alex had confirmed their origin. “Yes, we came to the same conclusion and think we might have a way to remove them, but it involves a complicated potion that is currently under preparation and takes some time and constant supervision. The final ingredient would be elf blood and your blood.”

“Elf blood? What will I need to promise to get that?”

“That’s not the issue, Alex is Ben’s secretary and an elf, he’s also one of the brewers. He’s ready to add his blood when needed.”

Simon grimaced. “One small mercy. Do I drink it?”

“No, submersion. You’ll bathe in it, might need a prolonged exposure but we’ll have to see. It might not be the most pleasant of experiences.” Hyax wouldn’t fancy sitting in the concoction, but needs must and they didn’t have an alternative.

“No shit, it’s got elf blood in it.”

“Ashley said he can prepare a lotion to use afterwards… and Robin volunteered to apply it.”

Simon laughed. “I don’t know if he’s a cheeky bastard, or I’d be annoyed if he didn’t.”

Robin hadn’t wanted anyone else’s hands on Simon, and no one had opposed him. They’d also kept Simon’s parents informed, and King James had sent some insights.

“There is one more thing, your father thinks the cuffs are also impeding your fangs from coming through.”

“That makes sense, as without them I can’t transition to my vampire-fae form, and so my magic is in perpetual flux, which would make it easier to siphon. Somehow, the lich must’ve known.”

Simon would have a lot to digest and would need time to do so. Hyax stood. “I’ll let Robin know you’re awake. Are you hungry? You’ve been out a few days.”

Simon’s stomach growled, answering for him. “I guess that’s a yes.”

“I’ll visit again, we can talk some more.” He had other things he wanted to ask Simon, but those could wait until Simon was fully recovered. “I was hoping you’d be able to show me how to adapt the portals to use with Gwil. Robin said he can use yours.”

“I’m part vampire, so that might make a difference, but you can use a biphasic transference spell, and it stops the molecule superheating. You’ll need to tune it to Gwil.”

He might need to cast through Gwil for that to work, but now they had done similar magic together he was no longer concerned he’d be doing more harm than good. “I’ll give him some time to recover from his last trip and try it, I think I’ve the idea now.”

“My father figured it out, I’ve just built on his ideas.”

“I’ll leave you to rest for now. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“That goes the same for me. Thank you, Hyax. I won’t forget this.”

Hyax left. Alex would be in touch if he needed anything, and he was more interested in Gwil. He wouldn’t let the vampires forget how pivotal Gwil had been to the success of returning Simon, and he wouldn’t be subtle about it either.

It was to his great surprise he found Gwil sitting up and a healer on their way out. “You’re awake.”

“Yes, I see your observational skills are improving. The new healer tried a different idea, a magically infused blood which can expedite healing from the inside.”

Hyax would have to follow up on that, he would love to know what they’d used. “Did they give you more details?”

“None I understood. Something about magic antibodies that would be tackling the inflammation and some other stuff that was to speed up the repair of my tissues. Seems to be doing the job.”

“I should say so, when I left you were recovering but still out of it.” Hyax took Gwil’s hand and he could feel the treatment working. Gwil’s body was repairing, and unlike the last time, Hyax thought he might be up and about soon. Hours even. “The effect is quite something. How are you feeling?”

“Bit dopey, hungry for food, not blood. I’d love a ham and cheese toastie.”

Hyax was amazed, and beyond relieved. “I’ll get Karl to bring you something.”

“I feel so well that I should make sure all of me is in working order.”

Hyax knew they’d been apart but Gwil had to have a screw loose if he thought that was going to happen.

“No, you need your rest. Once you’re home and confirmed out of danger, then I’ll fuck your brains out, but not before.”

“Please,” Gwil whined, but Hyax would not be coerced.

“I’ve said no once, don’t make me put my foot down.”

Gwil grumbled and Hyax made peace by sliding into bed for a cuddle. Curled up here he could forget what was waiting for them once they left Crofton Hall. Robin and Simon might have got their happy ending but for Hyax he was facing the start of having to publicly deal with Metra. He held Gwil tighter, trying not to think about what would happen, he wasn’t going to give up Gwil without a fight.