Chapter 6

Simon read the letter he had received with horror, or rather that Yerial had received because it was addressed to him. How Robin had managed to have it delivered was a different question but he suspected he had called in a favour from someone in the wider fae community who lived in the human realm or at least visited often.

"I take it that's not a good face you're pulling?" Yerial asked as he waited for Simon.

"Robin is going to present a copy of this document, with Sebastian Hewel's seal, to Queen Hylei with a demand he gets to have a man named Yerial as his permitted lover or he will break the contract."

"Oh fuck. Your mother will kill me."

"No, she'll kill me . I need to stop him from delivering this to my mother. If she finds out I had you pretend to be me she'll be fucking livid."

"When's he coming to visit next? And how's he meant to get here?"

"Tomorrow. I was going to dress in all my finery and greet him. I guess I can still do that, but we need to make sure he doesn't go to my mother first. Shit!"

This wasn't meant to happen. Robin was meant to turn up and sweep him into his arms and he'd apologise for misleading him and Robin would be too overcome with happiness to be bothered by Simon's ruse.

Yerial huffed. "Look, how about we try and find a way to get you to him tonight?

"I suppose I crept out before, maybe we can find a way to do it again."

Security around the palace was more advanced these days, the improvement in some of the wards made them incomparable to those when he was younger. "We'd need to come up with something pretty amazing to get through the security wards and generate a stable portal."

"It's not impossible but I'd need help. Can you open the portal if I build a shield matrix?"

"I can…"

He knew it was a huge risk. Yerial's magic would leave its own trace and there were some terrorist countermeasures that, if tripped, could do him some real damage.

"I should be able to create a deflection but I can't cast everything at the same time." He'd dragged poor Yerial into this. "I'm so sorry."

Yerial rolled his eyes. "Maybe we can get some help. What about your booky friend?"

Getha was the daughter of one of the high-ranking nobles who, if he hadn't been contracted to Robin and preferred girls to boys, would have been high on the list to be a future wife. She was far too intelligent to waste her time on the hunt for a husband and they had been close friends for years. "I hadn't wanted to drag anyone else into this mess, but I think you're right."

"She could also help you get ready. I'm no good with the buttons on your fancier robes and I know you won't ask your official dresser so it'd fall to me."

Yerial was so grumpy, but then Simon had dropped him in a load of shit. "Good plan. I'll contact her, then we can get this sorted. I'll portal to where he went when he left us."

"Was that into his room? Because you don't want to be appearing in the middle of a dining room."

Simon wasn't sure. "I don't know."

Yerial tutted. "We'll need a spying window. Get Lady Getha over and I'll show you both. But if this gets back to your parents you better protect me from the hot iron pokers."

He sent Getha a spark, the little glowing light encapsulated his voice message and disappeared. He hoped he had been vague enough to not give too much away if she listened to it in front of someone, but conveyed enough urgency that he needed her now. Simon headed into his dressing room and threw open the door of his closet. He had to look his best, and by that, he did not mean his most formal and he wasn't sure he had the wardrobe to deliver the impact he wanted. The clothes he wore for attending court were not what would tempt a future husband, and the clothes he wore for going out with his friends weren't going to hit the mark either.

"Simon," Getha called.

He hurried to meet her. "Oh, thank you for coming."

"I sensed it was urgent, whatever's wrong?"

No matter when he saw Getha she was always poised and calm. Her long copper-blonde hair perfect, her wings unrumpled, and carrying the general demeanour of good grace, whereas Simon had to work at the whole stoic fae prince vibe, although he had been assured by his mother it would get easier over time.

"I may have led my vampire fiancé to believe I'm actually Yerial, and now he's going to petition my mother to have our contract changed to allow him to have me."

She opened her mouth several times. "None of that makes sense."

"I'm betrothed to a vampire called Robin Flint but he thinks I'm a bodyguard called Yerial. We met decades ago when I snuck out and we were drawn to each other like nothing I can explain, and I called myself by a false name." He smiled apologetically at Yerial. "We had our first official meeting, and I wanted to observe him so me and Yerial swapped places."

"Oh, you are a twat."

"Yes, I am. I'm also in need of help, I must get to him tonight before he goes and hands my mother the addendum to the contract he's had officially approved by his people."

She tutted. "What do you want me to do?"

"I need someone who can open a portal while I reflect the tracking so I can get to him. Yerial said he'd show us how to open a spying window so I know where in the house Robin will be."

Yerial cleared his throat. "Prince Simon also wants to look his best, and I think, my lady, you are in a better position to help him than me."

"You're not wrong there. Are you worried your future spouse will turn you away once you admit you lied to him?"

"No." Simon thought the connection would be far too strong for that to happen. "But both times he's met me I've not been dressed in a way appropriate to my status."

"I'm sure you've lots of lovely formal dress suits and robes you can wear. But somehow I don't think you want to look as prim and proper as you do at court."

His cheeks must be flaming, and Yerial sniggered. "You could say that I would rather look a bit more… er…"

"Sexy, wanton… desperate?" she said laughing.

"Yes, although less of the desperate, more of the hot fae."

"All of which you could pull off with the right clothes. Don't worry we'll have you looking like the sexy fae prince most frat boys wank off at the thought of. Your future hubby won't be able to keep his hands off you."

Robin was going to have to keep himself under control, but it would be nice to get that reaction, and it might stop Robin from contemplating a possible fling before he lost his freedom. "I'd like not to give off porn star vibes."

She chuckled. "Flirty Fae is a huge money-spinner, it's amazing what people will pay to watch hot fae fuck each other."

"I'm sure that's a perfectly acceptable choice for some." Him being one of them, he had a premium account. And he had other accounts including one for Vampire Ero-Dic-Ka, which had some lovely educational material he would take to his grave or maybe his marital bed. He might not have practical experience, but he reckoned he'd ace the theory.

Yerial sniggered but changed the subject. "Let me show you the spying window. Can you focus in on where the portal opened previously and encompass the thought in a spark?"

Simon did as requested, it was a simple piece of magic by his standards and he was curious to learn the technique Yerial had mentioned, although he suspected there were limitations on who was supposed to use them and Yerial's permissions came with his rank and duties.

The spark floated over to Yerial who caught it and a moment later a shimmering square appeared, reminding Simon of frosted glass. The surface cleared but it wasn't a sharp focus and it was like looking through a translucent window. "This looks like a reception room," Yerial said. "Downstairs, facing the grounds."

"If this is the Flint property then the residents are vampires, and it's daylight outside by the light so I would think it would just be staff awake," Getha said.

"Mid-afternoon by the clock," Yerial said. "Let's see if we can find Robin's rooms. We can use his signal to track him, then once we pinpoint him we can lock down the vector and open a portal directly there once you've prettied up."

They appeared to be moving through a large manor house, which made sense and this must be Fairbanks, the Flint family's ancestral home. Simon didn't know much about the architecture in this realm beyond MacLove castle, but the furniture was expensive and old. They were working their way to the next floor and through several internal doors until they were in a wood-panelled room with a splendid four-poster bed. With a lump under the covers. "There he is. And we've a lock."

The shimmering square disappeared and Yerial created a spark that he handed to Getha. "My lady, the coordinates for when you open the portal."

Simon had a plan, a plan that could work. "Let's get me dressed, then I'm going to reveal the truth to Robin. Hopefully, he won't be too pissed off that I've been lying to him."

If Robin was annoyed he wasn't sure how he would deal with it. He could grovel, possibly even muster up a few tears, or even promise he'd let Robin do what he'd like to him on their wedding night. The last thought made him flustered and he had to will away his erection—now was not the time. But there was no escaping the fact he was a horny virgin with a hot future husband, and he wasn't averse to begging.