Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

A fter all these years he shouldn't be surprised at Gwil's inability to say no to the likes of Flume. For all their devil-may-care attitudes, vampires were a hierarchical species and if a big bad pointy-fang asked for something, the chances of a lower-down saying no were little to non-existent.

But he couldn't let his anger with Gwil interfere with his duty. He might only be fourteenth in line to his mother's crown, but it came with expectations, especially if he wanted the freedom to do as he pleased. He had no desire to be king of his tribe, or marry into one of the other tribes to foster better relations with a friendly faction. As far as he was concerned his eldest brother was welcome to the crown and his siblings were happy enough playing inter-tribe bed-hopping. However, the liaison role was inescapable, but if it kept his mother sweet and stopped her from asking questions about a future spouse he'd do it without argument.

He'd left via a portal to his friend Cikla's residence in Chelsea where his footballer date was meant to be picking him up any moment. Not that it was being called a date—there was still too much discrimination for him to be an openly gay footballer—but Ian hadn't wanted to miss an evening with someone who looked like Hyax.

Cikla threaded a red rose into Hyax's buttonhole. "Do you have enough fairy dust?" she asked.

"Yes, I restocked earlier." He saw she was pouting. "You're not still mad that I'm the one going out with Ian tonight? It's no reflection on you, you know?"

She was a beautiful fae, but not even her stunning copper hair would have persuaded Ian—he was well into no-vagina territory. "I know. And you're only doing what the Crown is asking. I'd be more annoyed if I had to do it."

"You'd hate it. I don't think you'd have the patience to deal with some of the egos I have to contend with."

"There are perks." She waggled her eyebrows.

Not the ones she was alluding to. He wasn't about to fuck the likes of Ian, he was far more selective these days. The doorbell rang. "He's here. Wish me luck."

"I'd rather wish you the good fortune that his stamina off the pitch is as good as on it."

He tutted and left. It wasn't that he didn't hook up with anyone, but those he met via these encounters were rarely his type or often bored him senseless. He wasn't a fledgling anymore, sex for the sake of sex had lost its edge years ago and he'd much rather spend an evening watching bad television with Gwil and a bag of lavender bonbons.

Twenty minutes later, having been chauffeured to an exclusive club and shown to a VIP section and private booth, Hyax was sitting opposite Ian. The champagne was mediocre, as was the company, and Ian wasn't even that pretty to look at. Sometimes he wondered how the court selected the people who were on the cross-examination list. Ian was a potential link to an escaped convict. Not one of the dangerous types, his charges had been minor, but the fae did not tolerate rule-breakers, so Hyax had been called in to help find them.

Hyax imagined that if Ian hadn't been born with amazing footballing skills, he'd have been sitting on his own in a pub trying to pull someone with his lame jokes and a personality borrowed from a three-week-old potato.

"I'm surprised you're allowed to drink," he said, grimacing at the taste of his wine. He loved a good champagne, pity Ian didn't know a decent one from mouthwash. "Aren't you footballer types meant to be super health-conscious?"

"I won't tell anyone if you don't." He winked.

Hyax supposed Ian could be attractive to someone, sort of, in the right light and who thought money bought charisma, but there was something about him that made Hyax think Ian had taken a ball to the face a few too many times.

"I'm not someone who'll go running to teacher." Hyax imagined Ian would be in a shit ton of trouble if it got back to his coach he'd been out drinking. Depending on how annoying the rest of the evening was would determine if he somehow made sure it did.

"It's no big deal. I've been on the bench the last couple of games, and I'm only having a glass or two, I wouldn't want to impair my performance later."

Why was it that men thought he was automatically going to sleep with them? He knew by human standards the fae were beautiful, but that didn't mean he was easy to get into bed. The worst thing was, the one person he would be willing to shag with no questions, apart from when they would do it again, had put him in the friendzone with no obvious way out of it.

Hyax decided he was already bored enough to move this along. Usually he'd pander to the mark's ego a bit, butter them up as that tended to make them more susceptible to the dust, but he wasn't in the mood. His conversation with Gwil was taking up more brain space than he should allow, and he knew it was more than just being a friend. He was annoyed Gwil had agreed on Hyax's behalf to help without consulting him, but in essence the job itself wouldn't be too difficult with the right planning—he wished Gwil had thought it through properly. Once they took on this kind of case, they'd never hear the last of it.

"I said are you all right?"

"What? Oh, sorry I'm a little distracted. I've a lot on my mind."

Ian bristled, and Hyax thought he was probably used to being the centre of attention. "Worried the new Louis Vuitton collection won't be to your taste?" he drawled.

Once it would be nice to be wrong, and that he hadn't spotted an arsehole before they'd opened their mouth. "I'm more a Gucci man myself."

"You don't say."

He'd had enough. He didn't have the patience tonight, he was too rattled by how he'd left things with Gwil. Hyax shoved his hand into his pocket and grabbed a fistful of powder. In a smooth action, he brought his hand up to his lips, opened it and blew a cloud of fairy dust into Ian's face.

"What the fuck?"

"I have some questions." The dust had a different effect depending on the species. To other fae it made him a bit more sparkly, elves more vicious than usual, vampires it varied, and for humans it made them super suggestive and then forgetful. A bit like fast-acting vodka but with less strain on the liver.

"Okay." Ian grinned. "You're so pretty. I'll tell you anything."

"Do you know a man called Jasin?"

"Yes, he is my sister's not-boyfriend—fuckboi is probably the best description."

Sounded right. Rogue bloody fae-cross, half fae half dryad. He wasn't supposed to be outside the fae realm without permission—which he most certainly didn't have. "Do you know where I can find him?"

Ian screwed up his features and then placed his hand on Hyax's thigh. "Why'd you wanna know about a creep like that when you can have me?"

He bit back the responses that there were various levels of creep. "I've been asked to find him. His family are really worried. They haven't heard from him in weeks."

"Odd. Jasin said he'd only seen his mum a few days ago. I spoke to him yesterday at a reception my sis was holding."

If that were true then Jasin had implicated his parents and a stint in fae prison would be a family affair. "It's his father. He's getting on and starting to feel his mortality."

"Right."

"Give me his address."

"I don't have it. I just know he lives somewhere in Tottenham. Not far from a pub that has its own brewery."

Not what he'd call helpful. He leant in and whispered into Ian's ear, the fairy dust would do most of the heavy lifting in making Ian suggestable, but he could sugarcoat the offer. "If you can get me his number, I'll make you feel like you've won the treble."

Ian fumbled with his phone. "He's also a dealer. I can get his number from my sis making out that I have a friend who could be lucrative if they were on his client list."

Humans were so simple. Sometimes it hurt how easy it was to take advantage of them. "Thanks, I'd really appreciate it."

He reached over and squeezed Ian's thigh. There was no mistaking the benefits of his profession, his physique was amazing, or at least his legs were. For a moment he thought what would be the harm with going home with him. It had been a while since he'd scratched an itch but the thought of Gwil gave him pause. Bastard.

Ian grinned and waved his phone at Hyax. "Got it. I'll ping you over the number."

Hyax's phone vibrated and he checked it, then he forwarded the number straight to the security officer in charge of this case. "You are brilliant. I tell you what, I'll pop to the bathroom. You finish your champagne and then we can leave to have ourselves a bit of private ball practise."

Ian puffed out his cheeks and stared into the middle distance. The second wave of effects was starting to hit. Ian would be out of it for a few minutes and then blissfully unaware he'd been drinking with a pretty blond. Hyax tapped his finger to Ian's phone as he stood, a shot of fae magic would delete all records of his existence from Ian's world.

He headed towards the rear of the club, locating the fire exit and disabling the alarm with another flick of his fingers. Once outside in the alleyway, he gave a quick check to see if he was alone, then he opened a portal and arrived at Cikla's.

She peered at him over the glossy magazine she was reading. "I wasn't sure if you'd be coming back here."

"Can I stay over? I don't want to return to the palace this early, my mother will ask why this one wasn't to my taste, and I want her nowhere near my love life."

"Of course. Drink?"

"Yes, please. I need something to take away the taste of the champagne he favoured. Some humans have very dull tastes."

She clicked her fingers and two glasses appeared. "Finest ambrosia, from my family's collection."

He accepted the glass, Cikla's family were a high-ranking bunch from the hinterlands, the best place in the realm for the drink. "Perfect. Thank you."

"I have to ask, why didn't you bang the footballer? Was he that annoying?"

He sighed. "I wasn't in the mood. He had the wit of a dull toad, and while I'm sure his arse would have been amazing he didn't do it for me."

"Right." She sniffed.

"What's that meant to mean?"

She patted his arm. "Have you considered talking to Gwil?"

"It's complicated. A member of the undead with a subpar pedigree and a fae prince is hardly Hans Christian Anderson, is it?"

"I guess not, but you know there's precedent with one of the other tribes."

Fae politics was complicated, and the fact the Calanti tribe had links to the vampires meant it was all the more complicated. It wasn't openly discussed but he'd done some research, and found King James was a member of the House of Cartwright, a Dark Earl no less, but the Calanti tribe had been annexed a millennia ago and relations remained… difficult. He swirled the golden liquid in his glass. "Gwil is also one of my best friends, and business partner. I don't want to risk that."

She rolled her eyes. "You'd be all right with him dating someone else then?"

"Why would he?" Did Cikla know something he didn't?

"Why wouldn't he? If you're not gonna ask him out, then someone else will—eventually. How are you going to deal with that?"

Hyax's glass shattered.

Cikla scowled. "Badly then."

He waved a hand to banish the glass and spilt drink. Cikla didn't understand. Gwil wound him up in all the right and wrong ways. He was the first person he thought of when he woke up, and last when he went to sleep, and although there were some things he couldn't tell him, Gwil had always been there for him and he couldn't risk losing him if he made a clumsy, unwanted pass.