Chapter 5

Robin stepped into the front parlour of Fairbanks. He couldn't believe what had happened. Simon was the usual pretty blond fae, and he was gorgeous, even if he was a bit rougher around the edges than he was expecting a fae prince to be. Robin had not given him the attention he should have because Yerial had been there, and he didn't look any different from fifty years ago. Apart from his wings, he hadn't seen them before, but they were on display in the fae realm and they were so beautiful—gold with a dark blue sheen. It had taken considerable willpower not to reach out and stroke them. He tried to focus on Simon, he'd done nothing to warrant Robin's disinterest, but time after time his gaze lingered on the black-haired beauty who had been haunting his dreams for five decades.

"You're back."

He was shaken from his thoughts by Claude. He was torn on whether he should tell his sire. He'd mentioned Yerial to him over the years, not giving away the real reasons he was interested, but had asked him to help find him, but he wasn't convinced Claude would have been sympathetic if he'd known the truth, and even less so with the new complication. "Yes, and unfrazzled."

"James assured us that the magic would protect you. Or do you refer to meeting the Younger MacLove?"

"Both." He smiled, it felt forced and he hoped it wasn't obvious. "Simon's a pretty fae, he will look lovely on my arm at the Oscars."

"You should know Sebastian's here. Waiting for your debrief."

"Fuck."

Claude squeezed his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. Your marriage to Simon will make him very happy. He's in the library, go and gloat about how you'll be doing the House of Hewel proud."

This wasn't fair. He needed time to collect and organise his thoughts. Sebastian would be expecting him to be singing Simon's praises, but how could he when he'd found the one who could complete him, the one he thought was his Eternal? Instead, he would be on the back foot desperate to shape his future without disappointing his Head of House.

Robin let himself into the library, underprepared for what he was about to face. There were few people in the world who could make Robin nervous, but Sebastian Hewel was one of them. Outwardly, Sebastian could pass as a young man in his twenties, pale with black hair, and striking green eyes. The fact he looked like he should be in a goth club and resembled some of the kids Robin had for dinner, was somewhat disconcerting. Most people underestimated Sebastian when first meeting him, but they didn't get the opportunity to do so a second time.

Sebastian poured them each a cup of tea from a beautiful Nantgarw China teapot, which was older than Robin and one of Claude's collectables, although neither of them was going to stop Sebastian from using it. "So tell me, how are things going with the Younger MacLove? You're just back from your first meeting, I hear. How was the fae world?"

"Yes, James sorted it so the portals don't turn me into jelly." Apart from a light tingle, the spell James had cast to protect hadn't registered. "But I only saw the reception room I was guided to… meeting Simon has been quite the experience."

"I wouldn't have expected anything less. The reports I've received about Simon are he's an intelligent man, not easy to manipulate, yet likeable with a good sense of humour. Although, I suspect your connection has added an extra zing to it." Sebastian winked, Robin wasn't sure he could cope with him being this friendly.

He wouldn't have said Simon had come across as intelligent, but he could have been nervous, and the connection had none of the connotations Sebastian was alluding to. " Zing ?"

"Yes, from the bond. I've researched it on and off since the contract was signed and it should give you pair a lot of joy."

Maybe he was missing something as he wasn't getting that from his interaction with Simon. He wanted to find a way to fulfil the marriage contract and find happiness for himself, and if anyone could help him it was Sebastian. His Head of House had found his Eternal, and had been with Anthony for four hundred years, he could appreciate his yearning for Yerial. "Sebastian, I'm not sure that's what's happening between me and Simon. He is indeed personable and polite."

Sebastian stopped with his teacup halfway to his lips. "Not beautiful and desirable?"

Those words he reserved for Yerial, not Simon. "I daresay that he is. Blond hair that shines like the sun and green eyes like deep pools."

" Blond ?" The teacup hit the saucer with a clang.

"Yes, a very pretty fae. Exactly what you'd think of when you think of one."

"Right, but you have no pull to him whatsoever?"

Robin sighed. He would share his burden with Sebastian. "No, Sebastian. In fact, and I am truly sorry and promise I will do my duty and marry Simon, but he had with him a bodyguard, and it is him I am drawn to. I can't think about anything else, I am besotted."

Sebastian pursed his lips and Robin wondered if he had miscalculated and should try to leg it before Sebastian removed his head. "Have you met this man before?"

There was no point in lying, he'd dug himself this deep he might as well finish his grave. "Once, fifty years ago. One night he came to Atlas, and we spoke for hours, we kissed but nothing more, and then he was gone… I have been looking for Yerial since."

"I see. And you never thought to mention this man? It sounds like you had met your Eternal, Robin."

He hadn't spoken to Claude about Yerial being his Eternal, it was only Ben he had fully confided in and he didn't want to get him into trouble. "I had lost hope of finding him. Besides, I meant it when I said I would not renege on my duty and will complete the contract."

"It does make this a little more complicated. Did this Yerial person know who you were when you met in Atlas? Did he recognise and remember you now?"

"I told him my name when we first met, and yes, he recognised me when I saw him again. I didn't have much time to talk to him but said I would find a way for us to be together."

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. "There was only one guard with Simon? And he was this Yerial?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, I wonder. Describe this guard to me?"

"Long dark hair, and eyes like the sky, and when he smiles it's as if my heart has begun to beat again. Graceful and yet there is a strength about him, and I could not stop myself, I kissed him once we were alone even though it was only a moment."

Sebastian's whole demeanour changed and he laughed, a delighted cackle Robin wasn't expecting. "Oh, the saints in the heavens. He is the wiliest of creatures, and I so believe the perfect match for you."

Robin wondered if there was something extra in Sebastian's tea because he should not be finding the situation funny. "How can you laugh when I'm not attracted to the man you have asked me to marry? Instead, I want to negotiate a way that I can have the one who I want as well as a husband I don't."

"Because, Robin, Prince Simon is not a blond-haired and green-eyed beauty, he is not the perfect essence of what is thought to be fae."

"I… what?" Robin was getting more confused by the minute.

"He is his father's son. His hair is as dark as the night's sky, and with eyes to match a summer's day." Sebastian laughed again. "I surmise he came to find out about you fifty years ago, and then let you be. Now he was observing you, measuring your worth no doubt. I approve in every way."

Robin gasped as the realisation hit him. "Yerial is Simon?"

"I believe so."

"I… why didn't he say?" His head swam as he tried to think. "I've been pining after him for fifty years!"

"Because half a century is a long time, and you have indulged in every excess—as it was your right to do so." Sebastian's smile was wry. "So you cannot blame him for wanting to see what he is getting himself into."

Robin wasn't sure Simon had known who he was when they'd met in Atlas, but he had when he left. Sebastian had suggested he may have come looking for him in the first place, but then he'd disappeared without a trace and Robin hadn't understood why. "He never came back, but when I saw him again I knew he must have felt the same. He knew who I was, and our future… he didn't have to stay away."

"Of course he had to. Robin, your destiny is now, not then. Imagine having to watch the man he knew he would come to love doing all the things you have done in the last fifty years."

"But I wouldn't have wanted all the others if I could've had him." The truth behind the statement hit him harder than he could have ever imagined.

"The contract meant you had to wait until after his seventy-fifth birthday, he must remain chaste for the bond to form so he can then drink from his bonded mate. He had no choice."

The thought of Simon wanting him for all these years as much as Robin had longed for him made his heart ache.

"You are so lucky. To be reunited and to know there will be no issue in your future nuptials and supported by both your families. Not something to underestimate."

Robin knew Sebastian had a point but some of it still rankled. "He did not have to play the role of his bodyguard. That was… naughty."

Sebastian chuckled. "One might say he could do with a bit of discipline… or a firm hand from the right man."

The little fucker. He would put Simon over his knee. The thought excited him and he wondered how compatible they might be as Robin had a definite dominant side at times.

"But, Robin, put yourself in Simon's shoes. I don't know why he turned up all those years ago but I doubt it was by accident. He wasn't meant to have contact with you, and if he had the same reaction you did, found the man who would be his future everything. Fast forward fifty years and your reputation isn't of a man who had been pining after his lost love. I suspect he was protecting himself and making sure what he had felt was real."

"I suppose he is in a difficult position."

Sebastian was right about one thing, Simon's keen intellect had devised this ploy and had made sure to engage Robin and learn more about him without incriminating himself. "He's a clever fucker. I will need to watch out."

Sebastian finished his tea. "But in the best of ways. A staid and dull-witted spouse would be no good for you. But from what you have told me he has not acted maliciously."

Thinking back to their meeting, Simon had done everything to keep the conversation going, trying to guide his bodyguard to answer how Simon would have. "I can't let this slide though."

"Of course not. Let me help you. I am positive Simon's mother is not aware of what is going on. If you were to write to Simon, pretending you still think him Yerial, with a copy of an addendum to the contract stipulating you'll only go ahead with the wedding if a clause is added that you can be with him."

Robin liked the direction this was going. "I did say I would find a way for us to be together."

"In addition, you should say you have my blessing and at your next visit you will hand it to Hylei."

Robin sniggered. "I wonder what the response will be when we meet. The real Yerial is not the greatest of actors, Simon will be squirming trying to make him behave as he should."

"I think it should be sufficient to have Simon come clean and you would then both enjoy that moment." Sebastian gave him a filthy grin. "Fetch me some writing materials. I will put my seal at the bottom."

The euphoria bubbled through him as he realised he was on the cusp of getting everything he wanted. Simon was a devious sod, Sebastian was right that he would be a good match as Robin needed someone to challenge him and keep him on his toes. With Sebastian's scheme he'd be able to have a little retribution and the thought he'd be able to claim Yerial—no Simon—was all too wonderful.