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CHAPTER THREE

G wil lay awake, his head pillowed on Hyax’s chest. The beating of Hyax’s heart comforting as he tried not to think about the bombshell his boyfriend had dropped. For all Hyax’s talk of his parents eventually accepting their relationship, he’d always doubted he would get to marry Hyax, and now his self-fulfilling prophecy was coming true. As it stood, they were in limbo, no date had been set and no contract terms for Hyax’s marriage to Metra agreed but given everything Hyax had explained about the politics involved it wouldn’t be long before the pieces were put into place. Lying here, curled up with Hyax, he let himself forget about everything else.

His mobile began to vibrate on the nightstand, he ignored it. If whatever the caller wanted was important, they’d leave a message or try later. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to clients about attics haunted by spectral squirrels, or poltergeists sabotaging gender reveal parties, both open cases he had no headspace for right now.

Hyax stirred as Gwil’s mobile began to vibrate for a second time. Gwil grabbed it to see who was calling and whether it could be ignored. He sat bolt upright as he saw the caller-ID, somehow his phone recognising the number when Gwil was sure he’d never received a call from them before on these contact details.

He accepted the call. “Solivatus?”

“Gwil, long time no hear.”

Hyax stared at him and Gwil shook his head—he was none the wiser than Hyax at this point. He’d not heard directly from his sire in years, and that had corresponded with another situation with his love life. He wasn’t sure how to answer, he’d always had a deference to Solivatus, which was pretty common for vampires and their sires, and had no clue why he would be contacting him now.

“Is there something wrong?”

“A car is on its way. I’m at Flume’s, bring your fairy prince with you—I’ve a job for you both.”

The call disconnected before Gwil could answer and he stared at the screen of his mobile as if hoping it would reveal more secrets.

“What’s going on?” Hyax demanded.

“All I know is he’s sending a car to take us to Flume’s. He’s asked me to bring you, but if you’d rather not you can stay here, and I’ll handle it.”

Hyax threw back the duvet. “Like fuck would I let you go on your own. You’re in a vulnerable state at the moment, there’s no telling what Solivatus might demand of you.”

They’d only had the briefest of conversations about Gwil and his sire, the sexual thrill he’d experienced after being turned and the times they’d met since. Their encounters hadn’t been meaningless to Gwil, but they weren’t some great love affair. He wasn’t pining after Solivatus or feeling he’d been abandoned like some Austen-esque maiden.

“I’m not going to let him fuck me,” Gwil said as calmly as he could manage.

Hyax bristled. “From the little that you’ve told me, every time you’ve seen him, he’s had you on your back.”

Gwil bit down hard on his tongue and managed to stop the reply about him not being the one who was going to marry his ex. “I don’t appreciate what you’re insinuating. I’m with you, I’m not going to shag someone else.”

“You might not have that intent, but he might, and he could use his thrall.”

Hyax was being a twat, but he didn’t have time for his bullshit. “If fucking me was his end goal, I doubt he would have asked you to join us.”

Solivatus might have thought he stood a chance of a threesome with a pretty fae prince. He had a reputation for doing far more adventurous things than playing with more than one person at a time, but Gwil thought if Solivatus wanted to hook up he wouldn’t be shipping them out to Flume’s house for the pleasure.

Hyax huffed. “I’m sorry. I’m being an arsehole. Just everything with Metra, and now Solivatus turning up, all has me unsettled.”

“I get it, but we’re stronger together, and throwing shit around won’t help.” Gwil would do a lot of things for Hyax, but he had to have some boundaries, he was too old to let himself get pushed about by a jealous boyfriend. “He might try and wind you up, he’s a master at finding someone’s weakness and exploiting it—don’t let him get to you.”

By the time they’d finished dressing and emerged outside, there was a car waiting. London’s evening traffic was as bad as ever, and Gwil thought it would have been a lot quicker if they’d taken the Tube. Flume’s residence was in Camden—they’d visited before as part of the case they’d worked to find the Stone of Ljin. Hyax was clearly agitated, and their conversation had dwindled to nothing, Gwil coaxing out the odd monosyllabic grunt but he thought it best not to poke the dragon too much. They arrived at Flume’s house, his goblin secretary there to meet them.

“Your Highness, Mr Hilt, if you would follow me. Mr Flume and his guest are waiting for you.”

Flume’s house was more modern than expected given his age and position in vampire society. Gwil’s guard was up, even as a returning visitor—senior vampires didn’t tend to be good hosts to those they considered little better than dinner if they didn’t want something.

They were shown into a parlour. “I’ll inform Mr Flume you’re here.”

Gwil swallowed as Solivatus entered. From the first moment Gwil had met him in a laudanum den in the 1840s, Solivatus had given off a raw sexual energy that had resulted in Gwil making a reckless decision that had changed him forever. The term silver fox didn’t do Solivatus justice. As long as Gwil had known him, he’d had grey hair worn tied back in a low ponytail, but now he had a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He looked as if he had a new collection of tattoos too as Gwil didn’t recognise the ones poking out from under his cuffs and open collar.

For most vampires there was a connection between them and their sire that was unbreakable, it wasn’t always sexual, but in his case, it was alongside a huge dose of reverence.

He got to his feet. “Solivatus,” he said with a nod.

“Gwil, modern clothing suits you—you are looking very well, indeed. Please sit.” Solivatus turned to Hyax, his smile no longer reaching his eyes. “Your Highness, thank you for coming. I hear congratulations are in order.”

Gwil sat and Hyax tensed beside him, and he wondered if Hyax was thinking the same and somehow Solivatus had heard word of Metra. “If I thought you were offering them sincerely, I would accept,” Hyax said, not giving anything away.

Solivatus smirked. “I am nothing if not concerned for Gwil’s happiness. I just hope that you are one of the rare faes who can fight the habit of a lifetime and not be a complete prick towards your vampiric intended.”

So for now the cat was still in the bag, but Gwil was relieved by the diversion and slightly taken aback by the sniping between his sire and his boyfriend. Solivatus didn’t give a flying fuck about anyone, and Hyax usually wasn’t a posturing arsehole, so it was strange for them to be bitching at each other over him.

Flume arrived, perfect timing for a much-needed diversion.

“Ah, gentleman. Thank you for coming.” Flume poured three glasses of blood. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, I’ve ambrosia in the other decanter.”

“I don’t know, a bit of blood might put some colour in his cheeks,” Solivatus drawled. “Mind you, Gwil’s a fine lad, I’m sure he can pep you up.”

Flume cleared his throat and handed out the drinks. “Thank you both for coming so swiftly. I have a delicate matter to discuss and I’m sure Solivatus will behave himself, at least for a little while.”

Gwil thought Hyax was one comment away from walking out, and he wouldn’t give a fuck about something the vampires might think delicate, although he might like to wipe the smirk off Solivatus’s face.

“To be frank, Mr Flume, unless there is some great political catastrophe about to explode then I don’t see why I’d care,” Hyax said.

“Funny you should describe the situation in such a manner. This isn’t solely vampire business, and I’m approaching you on behalf of King James, or as we call him the Dark Earl of MacLove.”

“Are you telling me this is related to the Calanti?” Hyax asked, his disbelief evident.

“And the Houses of Hewel and Cartwright. You attended the wedding of Prince Simon and Robin Flint. I know Prince Simon approached you about restoring civilities between your tribes, so I hope you will hear us out.”

Solivatus leant forward. “I apologise for my previous uncouth remarks, now is neither the place nor the time for posturing. I asked you here because I thought you and Gwil might be in the position to help where others wouldn’t.”

This must be serious as Gwil had never heard of Solivatus apologising before.

“Help with what?” Hyax appeared to be willing to listen, but Gwil could tell by his expression he would be ready to fire a bolt of pointy magic at Solivatus for the merest infraction.

“Prince Simon has been kidnapped,” Flume said. “There’s seemingly no trace of him, and we were hoping you’d be able to help find him.”

Gwil watched Hyax for his reaction. The kidnapping of a man of Prince Simon’s standing would be big news, and he’d not even heard a whisper about it. Vampires could close ranks like no other, but this was also fae business and they were gossipy bastards at the best of times, but throw in the Calanti and tongues would wag so hard they’d fall out.

Hyax scowled. “How would we be able to locate him since I assume you’ve not been able to and we’d be several options down the list?”

Flume kept his composure, Gwil was impressed. “His parents seem to think you might have a way due to your vampire boyfriend, and that you’d be more willing to help than some fae.”

“Right, so you’re saying King James and Queen Hylei asked for me?” Hyax sounded incredulous.

“Yes, and I have something called a spark that Queen Hylei said to give to you if you were to entertain the notion.” Flume was as diplomatic as they came, or he was a great actor—Gwil couldn’t call it. “But I can share some details up front.”

“She gave you a spark?” Hyax said.

Gwil was pretty sure that was the fae equivalent of a voice message and seemed like a big deal to Hyax that she’d send one to him.

“Yes. This is a terrible situation. She has no idea where her only child has gone—taken the night after his wedding by unknown assailants who are thought to be elves.”

Gwil cleared his throat. “If you’ve no trace, I assume you don’t know who has him. So where do the elves come into this?”

“They are suspected to be a group known as the Red Stars, elite mercenaries for hire,” Flume explained. “We were able to ascertain their species by their magic signature and the rest by their modus operandi.”

Gwil didn’t know enough about the elves to recognise the group in question, as far as he was concerned, all elves were evil shitbags.

“They would have delivered him to order,” Hyax said with a sneer. “But to who?”

“We don’t know,” Solivatus said. “Look, Prince Simon and his husband have a special bond, not some lovey-dovey made-up shit, but an honest-to-goodness magical bond that for some reason his parents can’t track. They thought you might be able to do so because you’re not related to Prince Simon, so you’d not be blocked, and as you are a fae could sense the magic.”

Gwil thought there had to be more to this, if it were just a fae link, they could have asked someone from the Calanti tribe and not one of their rivals but, as this was fae business, he would follow Hyax’s lead.

“I’m not convinced I could do something Queen Hylei couldn’t, but I would be willing to liaise with her to hear her reasoning for why I might be able to help.”

“It all goes back to the bond between Robin and Prince Simon, and I was allowed to share with you that Prince Simon was meant to have fed from Robin to fully embrace his vampire side, but he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to do so.”

Gwil gnawed his bottom lip, in these matters, the most obvious answer was usually the correct one. “Does that mean Prince Simon is a vampire-fae?”

“Well deducted, Gwil. Yes, Prince Simon is, or he will be. He hadn’t fed before he was abducted, so he’s trapped at a crucial point in his metamorphosis,” Flume said, his smile fake.

Gwil guessed there was a lot of pressure to bring Prince Simon home.

“Why can’t Hylei or James trace the bond?” Hyax asked.

“All I know is they can’t.” Solivatus scowled. Hyax and Solivatus had as much patience as the other. “Look, we don’t know any more than we’ve said, but as you can imagine, it would mean a great deal to both the Calanti tribe and the Vampire Council if you were to help.”

Gwil didn’t think Hyax would care but he did. This was a huge deal, and if he were to say no, then he might as well forget about being able to work again. He’d be blacklisted in minutes, decades of dedication gone. He turned to Hyax, hoping he understood. “I think it would be only right for us to help.”

“While you’re not the star attraction, Gwil,” Solivatus said, “I’ve heard excellent feedback about your detective skills and that you’ve a network to call on that we’d also like to explore.”

Gwil assumed Solivatus meant the sewer dwellers who he had a special deal with, mostly because his contact, Copperpipe, liked him and the ample quantities of sugar-based confectionery he sent him. “I’d be happy to assist in any way.”

“And you?” Solivatus said to Hyax.

“I said I would liaise with Hylei, and I will,” Hyax snapped. “I can’t promise something until I get the full picture.”

“Thank you.” Flume handed over a glowing orb. “The spark is password-protected.”

Hyax took it. “So, what’s the password?”

“Your birthday, which we don’t know.”

Hyax pocketed the spark. “I will open this when I’m home, she didn’t intend you to hear it, so I won’t do so in your presence.”

Solivatus stood, grinned and then sat in the space next to Gwil on the sofa. His hand landed on Gwil’s thigh. “How’s things, Gwil? It’s been a while since we’ve caught up.”

He felt the ripple of Hyax’s magic, his displeasure unmistakable.

“Doing well,” Gwil croaked and took hold of Hyax’s hand. “We’re doing well.”

Solivatus slapped his thigh. “That’s what I like to hear, and I hope it remains that way. I’d hate for you to get hurt.”

“I don’t like your tone,” Hyax snarled.

“You don’t have to like it.” Solivatus smiled, it was a bit disconcerting as he leant around Gwil. “But you have to do right by one of mine. I hope I’ve made myself clear.”

Gwil had never thought he’d hear his sire give his boyfriend the equivalent of the shovel talk—no one had ever done that for him. “Perhaps we should go.”

Hyax was on his feet in an instant, for a moment Gwil thought he would open a portal and leave him behind, but instead he grabbed Gwil’s arm and marched him out, Flume on their heels. “Please take my car. And accept my apologies for Solivatus, Your Highness. Us vampires can be a little protective of our own.”

“I don’t like being threatened or the status of my relationship being called into question. Gwil and I are happy and do not appreciate your interference.”

Gwil wouldn’t mind a bit of interference if he thought it might help with their Metra problem, but for now, he’d get out of here with Hyax before he set fire to something with a well-placed fireball.