The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx (15 page)

Preston was magnificent in his animal form. He might not be as

big as other felines, but there was a grace in him and a silent, hidden power that Layton admired even in moments such as this. With no

hesitation, Preston jumped on his mother, pushing her away from

Layton. The Sidhe elder hissed in anger, and magic sizzled through

the air, threatening to defeat their rebellion again. As if that weren’t enough, the siren song swirled around him, trying to seduce his

consciousness and blur his reason. But this time, Layton was warned.

He clung to his bond with Preston, allowing his sense of self to fall back onto Preston’s strength. Much to his satisfaction, the magic

recoiled in the face of the strength of the bond.
Take that, you stupid
fuckers!

Knowing he needed to take advantage of the element of surprise,

Layton allowed his own power to flow freely. It burst out of him,

fueled by his pain, anger, and yes, his fear. The magic users froze in the process of casting another spell.

Preston shifted back into his human form and cupped his chin,

analyzing his injuries with tormented eyes. “I’m fine,” Layton said.

“They’re just flesh wounds. They’ll close.”

Preston nodded, although he didn’t seem very convinced. “Come

on. We have to get out of here.”

Layton couldn’t agree more. Even if the wounds caused by Bella

were already healing, his head hurt for no discernable reason. Well, that wasn’t quite true. Layton was pretty sure he knew the cause

The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx

103

behind the ache. Layton had managed to immobilize the spell casters, but they were far too strong for him to control for long.

Luckily, Preston was there to get rid of the problem for him. With

a few well-placed punches, the lynx knocked out their opponents, and Layton realized that, in spite of their strong abilities, Sidhe and other such magical creatures were physically quite weak. Layton distantly

noted it, just in case he needed the knowledge in the future.

They grabbed Elder Mercier, knowing that it was too much to

wish for finding the coast clear. Not to mention that the rest of the Sidhe still had Preston’s dad and God only knew who else. Indeed,

outside they found the group of Nazi look-alikes. As soon as the

Sidhe spotted Preston and Layton, they immediately became alarmed.

“No funny business.” Preston growled at them, his claws

threatening at Elder Adele’s neck. “My hand just might slip.”

The Sidhe seemed more than a little reluctant to just let them go,

but they didn’t have much choice. They parted in front of Layton and Preston like the proverbial Red Sea. Layton held his breath, following his and Preston’s senses to find their loved ones.

Their instincts led them to a room down the hallway. The door

opened, and Layton couldn’t suppress a gasp at what he saw inside.

Rhys and Nicolas were laying on a couch, a male Sidhe watching over

them. They were so still, their eyes open but unseeing. Rhys, in

particular, looked very bad, his beautiful face wrecked by angry

scratch marks and his arms sticking at odd angles, broken. There was pain there, so much pain, but Rhys couldn’t even move enough to

vocalize or express it. Nicolas was only a little better off.

With the obvious violence that had been inflicted on the two,

Layton’s first instinct was to destroy the hovering Sidhe. He only

stopped when the Sidhe’s gaze shot toward the door. It was Rhys’s

brother, Chantay.
What the fuck?

Relief flittered over Chantay’s face. “Oh, thank God. I thought

they must have hurt you, too.”

104

Scarlet Hyacinth

Preston briefly handed Elder Mercier to Layton and stalked to

Chantay’s side. “Do you think we’re idiots or what?” he fumed

angrily, grabbing Chantay’s arm. “What did you do to them?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Chantay replied, his eyes wide. “I was

trying to help them.” He broke away from Preston’s hold. “Rhys is

my brother. I came here because I was worried for him. That’s all.”

Given the situation, Layton was disinclined to believe any word

that came out from this guy’s mouth. It just seemed that his parents had been sent off on a wild goose chase while the elder Sidhe had

been waiting in the wings, ready to attack. Layton was still not

absolutely sure why she’d decided to put the spell on him in the first place, but he decided he’d worry about that later, when they were out of danger.

Right then and there, they couldn’t know whether for certain

whether Chantay had been involved in the attack or not. “Just get a

move on,” Preston said. “Grab Rhys, and let’s get out of here.”

Preston grabbed Elder Mercier again while Layton took Nicolas in

his arms. The hummingbird was quite light, so Layton had no trouble

carrying him. He didn’t deceive himself, though. They’d have to be

incredibly lucky to get out of there safe and sound.

But luck, it would seem, was on their side, at least to a certain

extent. Layton sensed a familiar presence approach. Both he and his

mate froze in their tracks, hope coursing through them.

Instead of rushing outside, Preston dumped the unconscious Sidhe

elder on the floor and barricaded the door as well as he could. He

shouldn’t have bothered. Outside, Layton heard a fight, brief, but

intense. He actually sensed the energies unleashed, both shifter and magic. He felt like a coward for hiding in here while his friends and family did all the work, but honestly, he didn’t think he could have taken another battle. He placed Nicolas back on the couch and waited.

Chantay followed his example with Rhys, although he still looked

very nervous.

The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx

105

Of course, there was still a doubt, a fear, until the moment when

the door burst open. His parents rushed into the room, panic and anger carved in their features. Predictably, Byron was leading the way, and Skylar appeared from behind him.

They both hugged him tightly, almost choking him with their

affection. They only released him when Skylar noticed the motionless forms of Rhys and Nicolas.

“Oh, no. Nico…”

Garth looked pale and glum. He seemed to have expected this, at

least to a certain extent. Layton couldn’t say he was surprised. He

imagined that due to the mate bond, Garth must have sensed and

known at least a part of what had happened.

Still, it was heartbreaking to see Garth kneel next to Nicolas and

take Nicolas’s hand to kiss it. Preston hovered over his two dads, and Layton could sense his mate’s pain. There had to be something they

could do. If the Sidhe were defeated, why weren’t Nicolas and Rhys

snapping out of their trance?

Garth pressed his lips briefly to Nicolas’s, seemingly oblivious to

the presence of anyone else. Layton looked away, remorse coursing

through him at the realization of just how many things he’d crushed in his attempt to secure his own life.

“It wasn’t your fault,”
Preston said through their bond, but his voice was full of pain and anger.
“It’s nobody’s fault but theirs, the
Sidhe’s.”

Layton’s parents looked just as torn apart, probably feeling guilty

for leaving the house in the first place. But much to their relief, a moan suddenly sounded from Nicolas. He blinked dazedly, his gaze

fixing on Garth’s face. “Garth? What…What happened?”

There was a sob of relief from the older lynx as he clutched

Nicolas in his arms. Layton breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank God.

There was hope still.

106

Scarlet Hyacinth

Or…Was there? Even as Nicolas stirred from his paralysis,

Chantay was still attempting to make Rhys react. It would seem

things would not be as easy as Layton had hoped.

* * * *

Byron Cunningham was a very efficient man. Preston had always

known this, and now, he had a chance of actually seeing it firsthand.

The older shark dealt with the aftermath of the attack quickly,

organizing the imprisonment of the intruders, bringing in additional staff to replace the people they’d lost, reinforcing the security of the building.

The sad thing was that, in spite of all the efforts, many of the

people who’d been in the building during the attack had not yet

recovered from the spell. Only the people with mates had snapped out of it, the bond apparently too strong for the magic to contain. The

others remained in a coma-like state, and neither Preston, nor any of his loved ones, had any idea what to do about it.

The only positive thing in the whole debacle was that Chantay

seemed to have been telling the truth. Chantay had indeed notified

Byron and Skylar of his arrival, and his presence here during the

Sidhe attack had been mere coincidence. Unfortunately, his concern

for his brother had turned out to be justified, as Rhys Whitaker was among those who still hadn’t awoken.

“So what do we do now?” Preston asked the Cunninghams when

they met up again in Skylar’s office.

Skylar was looking over some files busily, scanning them with

almost frantic eyes. He hummed thoughtfully, as if the question

hadn’t really registered.

Thankfully, Byron was there and took over the conversation.

“There’s not much we can do. I’ve never seen this sort of thing,

although Skylar and I have been studying older records and found

The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx

107

mentioning of it. Our pet Sidhe is trying to help, but the spell seems to be too powerful for him to take on his own.”

“But if we kill the elder, won’t that break the spell?” Layton

inquired. Killing someone might not be a solution either of them

enjoyed these days, but they were shifters, and they accepted the

inevitability and sometimes the necessity of death with far greater

ease than other races.

Skylar shook his head, finally looking up from the papers. “We

can’t kill them,” he said. “Then exactly what the elder wanted will

happen. It won’t matter that she struck first. There will be a war, and God only knows how many people might die because of it.”

The older seahorse was right, but that didn’t make this situation

any easier to withstand. “So what do we do then?” he asked between

gritted teeth.

“For the moment, I’m having my parents come here and take over

the mansion. I’ve already asked Garth to send the injured to the

Agency HQ here in Paris, and we’re strengthening the guard. Since

we’re not sure whether or not a magic attack is going to occur, I’ve asked the Whitaker family to send us some reinforcements. Due to

Rhys’s condition, it wasn’t hard to get them to cooperate.” Skylar

grimaced, obviously realizing how bad the latter phrase sounded.

“Once they get here,” he added, “you two, Garth, and Nico will return to the States. Rhys will come with you. We’ve discussed the situation with the Whitakers, and they believe the best place for him is at home.

We will send Chantay to his own parents, since him getting involved

in this would just put him at risk uselessly.”

“What about you, Dad?” Layton inquired.

Skylar and Byron exchanged a look, obviously discussing the

issue through their mind bond. “Elder Mercier is a very important

person,” Byron finally said. “Thankfully for us, though, she’s not the top of the hierarchy. The Seelie Court has a king, and Skylar and I

hope to reach out to that man and initiate a discussion before it is too late.”

108

Scarlet Hyacinth

Skylar gave Layton a serious look. “I won’t lie to you. This might

not work. It’s very risky. You’ve seen what the Sidhe think about

shifters firsthand. I know this is incredibly poor timing, but between you and Morgan, you have to take over the business in the States.”

He turned his gaze on Preston. “I’m counting on you, Preston, to

give my sons your support. I’ve already discussed it with Morgan and Alexis, but I need you there.”

“You can count on me, sir,” Preston said a little numbly. He

understood what they were saying. They would try to reach out to the Seelie court, but the likelihood of them surviving the attempt was

very small.

He sensed Layton’s pain through their bond as the young seahorse

shot forward to reach his parents. “No! You can’t do this. You can’t leave us.”

“It’s already done,” Byron replied, his voice cool. “Calm yourself.

You’re a grown-up now. You don’t need us to hold your hand.”

The words were harsh and unfair, and Layton froze in his tracks.

Preston wrapped a protective arm around his mate’s shoulder, waiting as Layton took a few deep breaths. “I understand, Father,” he finally said. “I’m sorry for losing my head.”

A small smile appeared on Byron’s face. “It’s okay. I trust you to

do the right thing.”

Skylar got up, and Preston released his mate, allowing Layton to

go to his birth father. As the two seahorses embraced, Preston heard Skylar whisper encouragements to Layton.

“I know it hurts, honey, but you gotta know that we wouldn’t do

this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. And your father is a very strong man. We have a chance.”

Layton nodded against his dad’s chest and broke away from the

embrace. As he did so, Byron unexpectedly hugged him, too. Preston

looked away from the scene, feeling a bit like a voyeur for watching a very personal moment.