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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

H yax stood next to Metra. He felt a bit like a creature on display, dressed in his finest. This should have been one of his most fondest moments, where he stood up and declared himself ready to take a husband. Instead, he seethed inwardly and tried to keep his disdain and anger from becoming visible. This would go down as one of the worst days of his life—no one would die, the world would not end, but he could not manage an iota of good grace or happiness and would have to fake it. The declaration had been read, he was now enduring the hell of small talk and pretence.

“You make a striking couple. Hyax’s fair hair and Metra’s black mane are simply stunning,” Council Treyma remarked. She was one of Queen Vaness’s senior appointees and Hyax thought she must be aware of the situation. “There will be many broken hearts in both tribes now you are both no longer available for matrimony.”

“There would be no reason to be upset over our marriage, my heart belongs to my Beloved and has done so way before tonight.” He’d decided since Gwil had been part of the declaration that he’d be well within his rights to bring him up at every eventuality. If he’d had his way, Gwil would have been here.

Treyma choked on the drink she was sipping and Hyax took it as a sign to move along. He grabbed a glass of ambrosia, if he had to do this, he was not going to do it sober.

“You know you are allowed to have a conversation without mentioning another man,” Metra said. “I get you’re not happy to be here, and I’m not thrilled either, but if we could get through this with a fraction of civility, I’d appreciate it.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you appreciate.” Hyax saw Sitial with his wife across the room. “Especially as you have your special person here, one I know you lied about and continue to do so.”

“Can we not do this now? What will it take?”

“I’ve already told you what I would consider a good starting point.”

Metra clenched his jaw. He glanced around. It wouldn’t be long before someone else came along wanting to give them their best wishes. “Fine. I’m a lying, cheating piece of shit. Happy?”

He’d not expected Metra to confess, and his admitting he was a fucker did nothing to make it better. “No. You’re still a cunt. And I hope he gives you wing droop.”

“Hyax.”

“What? Metra, back off. I will do my best to tolerate you, but you can’t seriously believe I would want to be friends?”

“There’s more to this?—”

A cry went up as a toast was proposed and they got swept into a series of congratulations Hyax wasn’t able to deflect.

He hated the pretence and there was only so much more he would be able to put up with. His patience was wearing thin and Metra’s admission of guilt hadn’t brought him the closure he thought it would. If anything, because Metra had sent his little friend along to try to convince him he’d been mistaken, he was more annoyed. They must think he was stupid or easy to manipulate.

Metra was called over to speak to his parents. There were a few people Hyax had yet to talk to, but once they were done, he should be able to escape. His mother glided up to him, she’d been playing the role of delighted mother-of-the-groom.

“You’ve tolerated this evening much better than I thought you would. I do appreciateyouractions.”

“I won’t be here much longer.”

She laughed. “You’ve done your duty. No need to extend your frustration any longer. I’ve a couple of my council members probing a few things, so we may have more news soon.”

“I think Metra wanted to tell me something, but he was interrupted before he could.”Hyaxsuspected the speed at which things had moved had taken Metra by surprise, and while he was happy to do as his parents asked, he didn’t think he’d expected to have to marry so soon.

“Are you sure he wasn’t looking for another way to manipulate the narrative?”

His mother was probably right, if he tried to reach out to Metra before the ceremony, that would only give the wrong idea he was interested in being more civil. “The ceremony is only a week away, if he tries to contact me, then I’ll see what he has to say.”

He’d accepted the wedding would go ahead, and the timeline was being driven by the Elementa. Somehow, he didn’t think he’d hear from Metra and he had other things to deal with before then. Like Gwil.

With Metra still talking to his parents, Hyax slipped back to his rooms through a portal. He was dressed in his finery, although his wedding garb would be even more splendid, and he didn’t want to upset Gwil anymore than he had to, so he decided he would change. He’d find a way to make this up to Gwil. Gwil hadn’t chosen to leave him, but Hyax hadn’t asked if he would attend the ceremony, perhaps that would be a step too far, but he really needed him there.

He changed back into jeans and a shirt and was about to leave when the surface of his cheval mirror flickered. He blinked, wondering if he was seeing things, but then the face of Prince Simon materialised.

“Hyax, I do hope I’m not intruding, and this is a convenient time to talk.”

“I’m in the fae realm. How are you in my mirror?” He flicked a spell in the direction of the door, locking it and casting a silencing charm.

“It’s a variant of the mirroricom you used to help find me.”

Hyax didn’t know how that was possible. “You can’t just turn up in my mirror, the spell doesn’t work that way.”

“True I’m not reaching out to you due to a specific bond, but the mirror and reflection are the same.” He opened his mouth, his fangs descending before he retracted them and grinned. “My magic is a bit different nowadays. I think you’d understand a flavour of it because of working through Gwil but it’s not normal fae magic anymore.”

He would love to learn more about Simon’s vampire-fae magic. Technically they were peers from rival tribes so he should be keeping Simon at arm’s length, but there was no way he’d do that.

“I admit I am fascinated by what you can do.”

“Me too. I have so much to learn, but then I have the time to do so.”

“So, what brings you to my mirror?” Hyax asked with a smirk.

“I thought I owed you an update on what happened with the lich. I wanted to give you my assurance that he has been dealt with.”

He hadn’t expected anything less, Simon was never going to let the lich escape justice. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

“I am not being completely altruistic, I am probably as intrigued with your connection with Gwil as you are about my new skills.”

Such direct speaking wasn’t a typical fae trait, and Hyax sensed King James’s influence at play. “Nevertheless, I am happy to hear about how you dealt with Mettle.”

“I was able to track him, a spell I would not have been able to do before I transitioned. So, with a few members of my House and the House of Hewel, plus our two favourite warlocks, I paid him a visit. Once I’d destroyed his phylactery, I handed over the pleasure of terminating his mortal existence to Sebastian. He’s gone and he will not be able to return.”

Hyax knew that liches had the capability to regenerate as long as their soul fragment in their phylactery was maintained, and he knew Simon wouldn’t take any chances. “We are all safer for that. I’m curious to know how he knew what you were. Your tribe is not one to advertise themselves or you and your father’s ways.”

“That is something of a sore point. He had been playing a long game, as he heard about my father’s nature centuries before and had made it his business to listen out for him to have a child. Somehow, he heard not just about my birth but also the contract to Robin and surmised correctly what I was, and had even managed to get himself installed as my tutor at one time.”

“Fuck.” He’d had tutors, they were as close to him as some of his friends, and the thought of such a betrayal made him feel upset on Simon’s behalf.

“Yes, it is a pity I couldn’t kill him twice without risking his escape. But I would have hated even more not knowing how he was able to find me. My marriage to Robin was the trigger for him to act, as he had been able to deduce there would be a time then when I would be vulnerable. I will never be vulnerable again.”

Hyax didn’t doubt it. Simon was a powerful magic practitioner before his vampire side had come in, now he would be sublime. “You know if there is ever anything I can support you with, I am more than happy to do so.”

“Actually, given all your help, I think that is something I should be saying to you. You did not have to help me as you did, we are from different tribes, and even with your vampire boyfriend, your actions could’ve caused you real trouble. I cannot thank you enough.”

The request had come from the vampires, and while he could have refused, he knew Gwil would have been punished, albeit subtly. He had wanted to help, and if he had heard about it from other sources, would have offered anyway as he believed the fae would only be stronger with the Calanti back in the fold.

“I accept your thanks, but you do not need to repay me.”

Simon wrinkled his nose—it was a rather cute gesture for someone who could disintegrate him with a flick of his finger. “I have heard commiserations are in order, due to your upcoming nuptials.”

“Yes, well, there is nothing to be done on that front. It is a political match and not a love one, I will not be giving up Gwil.”

“I would think a lot less of you if you did. What you have with him is quite lovely. I have been blessed with my feelings for Robin, I see you are as attached to Gwil.”

Hyax had wondered if the bond would fade once Simon had fully turned, or if it would have changed the affection between him and Robin, but it didn’t appear to be the case. Simon loved Robin, and he had witnessed Robin’s devotion to Simon. Destiny, for once, hadn’t been a cruel and heartless bitch.

“We are in a difficult situation, but we will weather it together.”

“I was wondering if I would receive an invite to the wedding,” Simon said, and there was something about his tone Hyax couldn’t place.

“Each tribe will be invited to send a representative, I didn’t think the Calanti would attend.”

“Then how about I represent my tribe, I was thinking Gwil could be my plus-one.”

Hyax would have thought if Simon were to attend he would prefer to bring Robin. “Wouldn’t your husband have an objection?”

“Somehow, I think I would be doing him a favour by not asking him to come. Besides, for the next couple of weeks, he needs to be in LA, there’s several events that I might have gone to if I didn’t have an alternative.”

He wasn’t sure if that were true or not, but he’d welcome Simon supporting Gwil. Having Simon, important in both the fae and vampire societies, with Gwil would be an excellent message. “I think it a marvellous idea. I’ll need to speak to Gwil, we’ve not spoken yet about the ceremony itself. We used the investigation into your kidnapping to defer the announcement, but I didn’t realise the payoff would be the ceremony would happen so fast.”

“If you could let me know in the next day or so and I’ll make sure I’m available.”

“What’s the best way to contact you?”

“This way. Place your fingers on the glass of the mirror—you’ll see how to do it yourself, and you can then use any reflective surface to contact me. Or leave a message—I don’t intend to be available on demand.”

Hyax laughed and pressed his fingertips to the mirror. He could taste the way the spell worked, see in his mind how to recreate it, and sensed also a slight shift in the flavour of his own magic, a tinge darker and he wondered if that was Gwil’s influence. “Got it. I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks again, Hyax. Don’t be a stranger.” The surface of the mirror flickered, and Simon disappeared.

Hyax needed to talk to Gwil—they had so much to discuss and so little time to do so. He opened a portal and stepped into the lounge of his home. It was dark and there was no sign of Gwil.

The doorbell rang and he hurried downstairs, not sure what to expect and was greeted by a man dressed all in black, wearing sunglasses who wouldn’t have looked out of place minding the door at an exclusive nightclub. Without saying a word, he thrust a shoebox into Hyax’s hand and stomped away.

On the box were the words: Fairy Tales, an alternative ending for those who upset people’s big brothers. Px

He was in two minds about whether to chuck the box without opening it as the P had to be Penelope and the big brother, Gwil. He closed the front door and pulled off the lid. Lying on a bed of scrunched-up tissue paper was a doll, the sort human kids played dress-up with but this one had no face and two sparkly wings balanced on top as if they’d been removed. Hyax knew he would now have to tread carefully, some threats were literal, and Penelope had never been the type to mince her words. She couldn’t have been clearer, upset my brother and I’ll pull off your wings.