24. Hiero

Chapter twenty-four

Hiero

S kylar was playing with his hair again, his nervous tell, and other than a heartfelt hug, he seemed distant since returning from his trip to Emrallt Valley a short while ago. From behind the bar, I made him a fruity, non-alcoholic drink and passed it over to him, but he only sipped it distractedly with his head down and his eyes averted. The boy had secrets and it was high time he started spilling.

“There was something you wanted to tell me?” I prodded. Regardless of what he had to say, I didn’t want him to suffer for it.

“You should probably sit down for this,” he said, so I rounded the bar and took up the stool right beside him. I grabbed one of his hands and pressed it to my lips, waiting anxiously for him to tell me his “very important news.” I only hoped it didn’t involve my heart getting broken.

“How was your trip?” I asked, since he didn’t seem inclined to start the conversation .

“It was fine,” he said with a long face.

“And did you get done what you needed to do?” I asked, trying to coax him along.

“Yes, I suppose I did.” He gave me another anguished look, then sighed heavily and slid a cream-colored envelope my way. “Perhaps you should just open it.”

I picked up the envelope and examined the fancy fae scroll and wax seal. “This looks very official,” I remarked.

“This sorcerer came highly recommended. You can trust the results.”

“Results? Did you take some sort of test?”

“Something like that,” he murmured, still not meeting my eyes.

“Then shouldn’t you be the one to open it?” I tried handing it back to him, but he pushed it my way.

“You should know that these past few moons have been the best of my life. You are so kind and caring, and you’ve been a wonderful Daddy, and I pity the men in your life who’ve passed you by, because they are clearly idiots who don’t know a good thing when they find it.”

I laid my hand over his–he was shaking–and said, “I’m afraid you’re only making me more nervous, darling. And what did I tell you about this?” I touched his swollen lower lip. He’d been abusing it in my absence.

He gestured toward the envelope again, his intent made clear. Was it a royal summons? A meeting with the fae magistrate? A fucking forced betrothal to that asshole prince? I picked up the envelope again and slid my finger under the paper flap, but just as I was about to break the seal, the sound of a trumpet echoed from outside.

“The royal guard,” Skylar said and snatched the envelope right out of my hand, stuffing it down the front of his pants to hide it. “They must have followed me here.”

“Stay inside,” I told him, then let out a long whistle to signal my kin.

“No, I’m going to face them, Hiero. There’s nothing more you can do.”

Before I could grab hold of him, he’d taken flight and was out the front door. I’d punish him for his disobedience later–if I had the opportunity. Damn him for not listening to me.

I grabbed my bat from behind the bar and chased after Skylar. Outside, the late afternoon sun nearly blinded me, and when my vision returned, I found myself staring at what looked like the entire fae court, all of them wearing ridiculously fancy clothing despite the heat and standing stiffly at attention in my modest cobblestone courtyard. I recognized only a few of their party, but the queen was there, as well as her princeling brat, who, in addition to sporting a freshly blackened eye, was being collared by the scruff of his neck by a tall, imposing figure with pointed ears and a somber expression. He didn’t appear to have wings though, which I supposed meant he was elvish, not fae. The prince hardly looked our way, so cowed was he by the other man’s command .

The royal-looking stranger held a long metal staff and wore a military uniform in what was commonly known as elvish blue. His heavily embroidered cloak had a hood that shielded his crown from the sun while throwing his face into shadow, which puzzled me even more. Only the vampyre hid from the sun.

“Hierophant Wolfsbane, I presume,” the stranger said coolly and without any inflection whatsoever.

“Aye,” I remarked and dragged Skylar behind me, making sure to keep hold of him this time. The boy needed a leash.

“I am Lord Mercier Vasil, ruler of the elvish territories and Prince Cedrych’s betrothed.” He held out one hand and I shook it. At his slight grimace, I wondered in hindsight if I was supposed to kiss his royal knuckles instead. Slim chance of that happening.

“Well, you know who I am already, so what’s this about?” I said, never one for long, drawn-out formalities.

“It seems we owe you and your clan an apology for the incident my fiancé incited at your bar recently.” He withdrew a hefty coin purse from within his cloak and held it out to me.

“I don’t want your money,” I sneered. Damn these royals for thinking they could buy their way out of their misdeeds, as if we “commoners” didn’t also have our pride.

“I see.” He tucked the coin purse away. “Then tell me, how may I make amends for my betrothed’s very bad behavior?”

“Skylar?” I asked .

He’d calmed down a bit, though his wings were still unfurled and humming as if ready to take flight. I gave him some room, but touched his shoulder so he’d know I was here to support him.

“I want an apology,” he said with his head held high. When Cedrych opened his mouth, Skylar interrupted him. “Not from you, Cedrych, from the queen.”

Skylar directed his hot glare towards the fae sovereign as eyebrows rose all around, including those of the queen herself.

“An apology?” she asked with an icy chill to her voice. “Whatever for?”

“You know what for,” Skylar said, squaring his shoulders. “But I’ll give you a hint. It’s something along the lines of ‘guildless, unremarkable bit of fae trash.’”

She blinked slowly and said with a stubborn lift to her chin, “I simply spoke the truth.”

“Your Majesty,” Vasil said with a deferential dip of his head, and the man must have some sway because the queen, visibly perturbed, frowned in response.

“My apologies to you, Skylar Larkspur, for pointing out your deficiencies to my son, who was clearly bewitched by your puzzling allure, a condition which has taken altogether too many moons to remedy.” She waved her hand as if pardoning a subject. It was a shit apology, and everyone knew it, but you couldn’t exactly call out the queen for her passive aggression without some repercussions.

“And I want any present or future claims on me or my offspring formally renounced,” Skylar said.

The queen’s eyes narrowed slightly, and after a quick recovery, she practically spat out, “Gladly. Consider you and your progeny officially and eternally renounced.” She pivoted toward the elvish lord and said loud enough for all present to hear, “Lord Vasil, the air here reeks of wet dog, and I have a severe allergy to fleas. May we depart?”

“Say your goodbyes, Cedrych,” Vasil said to the shamefaced prince.

The prince stepped forward, bowed deeply to Skylar and said, “I’m sorry, Sky, for hurting you and mistreating you. I hope one day you might be able to forgive me.”

“I’ll consider it,” Skylar said without any further assurances. He shot the imposing Lord Vasil a nervous glance then said to Cedrych. “Did he give you that?” Skylar asked, motioning to Cedrych's black eye.

“No, that was my own doing. Starting fights with the wrong person again.”

“You do have a habit of doing that,” I said.

“Indeed,” was the prince's clipped response.

“Well, good luck in the elvish territories,” Skylar offered.

“I’m sure going to need it,” the prince said with a rakish grin.

“Now, back to the castle, you cur, before you cause any more trouble,” Lord Vasil said to Cedrych right before cuffing the prince’s neck with his free hand and marching him back toward their palanquin. I could only speculate as to what the prince’s future with his betrothed might hold. We watched as they filed into their litters, draped with emerald curtains and embellished with jewels of every kind, which seemed counterintuitive to flight, as well as tempting for any rogue gang of bandits, but their safety was not my concern.

Their caravan took to the air soon after on the shoulders of their fae attendants and Skylar sagged into me as if about to collapse. I thanked my kin for showing up yet again and led Skylar back into the cool shade of the bar.

“That was unexpected,” I said.

“Yes,” he said faintly, plucking up a bar napkin to blot the shimmer of sweat on his face and neck. Seated beside me again, he slid the envelope back toward me. I reflected on our conversation and the demands he’d made of the queen. Strange for him to want her to renounce all claims, unless…

I studied my boy a little closer. Bouts of nausea and fatigue with a slight flush to his cheeks. A test with results that might make me, according to him, feel trapped. All of this cloak and dagger business with a secret sorcerer. Could it be that my fae was with child?

“Skylar, are you pregnant?” I asked.

He glanced up in wide-eyed surprise, blinked rapidly, then slowly nodded. “Yes, Hiero, I am. I only found out recently, and that was why I had to go back to Emrallt Valley, to have a spell cast. This envelope will give you the answer you’re looking for.”

“What answer might that be?” I asked .

“The identity of the child’s sire, of course.”

The answers I was looking for couldn’t be cast by a sorcerer’s spell or written on a fancy piece of paper. The answers I was seeking had to come from the heart–Skylar’s heart. I held up the envelope and studied the fancy wax seal and looping fae scrawl, remnants of the life Skylar had left behind when he journeyed here with only the clothes on his back. I considered his bravery at striking out on his own to preserve his dignity and his trust in allowing another man to care for him, even after all the hurt he’d endured. All that he’d overcome in his traumatic childhood that had wounded his spirit and yet, despite all of that, he was still the kindest, most thoughtful man I’d ever known. He was my sweet, beloved fae darling, and he needed a man to love and take care of him. Not just any man, he needed a Daddy. He needed me.

“Do you want this child?” I asked him.

He blinked once, then nodded, eyes shining.

“And do you want me?” I asked, praying that our answers aligned.

“Desperately,” he said solemnly.

“Then there’s only one thing I need to know, Skylar Larkspur of the fae. Are you mine?”

He stared up at me with wide, trusting eyes. “I’d like to be yours, Hiero, if you’ll have me?”

“I’ll have you a hundred times over, baby boy. And if you’re mine, then the child is ours. I don’t need this piece of paper to tell me what my heart already knows. Do you? ”

He swallowed and shook his head slowly. “No, I suppose not.”

I grabbed a packet of matches from behind the bar and lit one, setting the envelope aflame and burning it down to nothing but the wax seal, which I tossed into the sink.

“Dramatic,” he said with a small smile.

“You know I like a little drama. Now, come here, my darling.”

He came to me willingly, softly, and melted into my arms. I dipped my nose into his raven hair and breathed him in, smelling honeysuckle and springtime.

“Goddess, I missed you,” he said, which reminded me there was still another matter we must discuss.

“Why did you think you had to run from me?” I asked. Hadn’t I made it known at every turn that I wanted to be his safe haven? His partner and his lifeline? Had I failed him in that way?

“It all happened so fast and I wasn’t sure what you would say. And I’ve made such a terrible mess of your life already.”

“Not a mess. Not at all. The day I met you, my life changed for the better. I’m no longer lonely or searching for my other half. You’re exactly what I’ve always wanted, in a boy and in a partner. I’ve finally found you and what a blessing it is.”

He pulled back to give me a sobering look. “You say that now, but I’ll be moody and irritable and I’ll probably cry all the time. ”

“Is that much different from how you already are?” I teased and this at least won me a dimpled smile. “But you have to confide in me, Skylar. Don’t hide or run away from me because you’re scared of how I might react. I’m here to help you, always.”

“I’m going to make your life messy, Daddy.”

“Bring it.”

“And you’ll have to correct me at every turn.”

“I look forward to doing so. Come now, sweetheart, did you miss the part where I told you that you were my dream come true?”

“I’ll need many, many reminders,” he said, turning coy. “And I still want you to use me for your pleasure. Even with child, I still crave your touch.”

“Aunt Mabel said I was cleared for strenuous activity. Is sucking my cock going to make you gag now that you’re in the throes of morning sickness?”

Skylar smiled and said with a twinkle in his eyes, “How about we go to the alleyway and find out?”

“There’s my sweet, slutty boy.”