The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince (18 page)

now.

It was not to be. Skylar burst into the office, an alarmed

expression on his face. “Shea! Shea’s seizing. Come quick.”

Still carrying Winter, Corbin ran after Skylar, who led them and

their friends into the nursery. There, a desperate-looking Layton

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watched as doctors forced Shea into medical equipment meant to help

him breathe.

The situation didn’t look good. The child’s vital signs were poor,

and he was making whimpering and wheezing sounds. It didn’t take a

genius to figure out what had happened. Because of the shoot-out

below, the spell had awoken. There was nothing the doctors could do

to help Shea.

Quite honestly, Winter didn’t know if he had it in him to save

Shea, either. Even in normal circumstances, Winter wouldn’t have

been able to fight a shadow curse on his own. His healing powers

were great courtesy of his royal ancestry, but he was still young and this particular spell complex. To make things worse, the bullet wound had weakened him and drained him of energy.

Regardless of this, Winter knew he had to try. He couldn’t just let

the baby die. He gestured for Corbin to put him down, and the lynx

reluctantly did so.

“Sweetheart, you’re not well,” Corbin said. “Please be careful.”

Winter kissed Corbin on the cheek. “I will. I promise.”

Gathering his strength, Winter approached Shea’s bed. The

doctors let him pass, and Winter cleared his mind as he took Shea’s tiny hand in his own. Instantly, the spell struck him, with such force that for a few moments, Winter himself couldn’t breathe. He sought

the power of his bond with Corbin and turned it into healing energy,

fighting back against the hostile magic.

At first, it seemed like it would work. The shadow spell retreated

in front of Winter’s energies. But just when Winter thought he’d won, another wave of dark power assaulted him. Already weak, Winter

could not hold it at bay. It shattered his every barrier, and pain

wreaked havoc over Winter’s mind and body as the spell reached his

very core, polluting his magic.

With his final strength, Winter called out Corbin’s name, trying to

express everything that had remained unsaid between them. He didn’t

get the chance, and his world turned into darkness and void.

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* * * *

Corbin sat by his mate’s side, blankly staring at the screens that

monitored Winter’s condition. His sweetheart lay on the hospital bed, looking so still and so pale. The fall of his crimson hair made his

complexion seem even more ghastly. The hand Corbin held in his

own felt far too cool and limp. It was hard to believe that mere hours before, they’d been happily making love on the private island.

After healing Shea, Winter had fallen into a deep coma and

doctors weren’t giving him many chances of survival. Worse still,

Winter’s connection with Corbin seemed frayed and was getting

weaker by the moment. Even if Corbin wasn’t inclined to trust the

medics, he trusted his bond with his mate.

Distantly, Corbin heard the door open. “How is he?” Preston

asked in a soft whisper.

“Bad. Getting worse. I tried to reach his uncle but didn’t get any

answer.”

He’d called King Sterling with the hope that the Sidhe royal could

do something to heal Winter. If Winter was right about the Silver Pool on his home island, Corbin guessed that it could very likely help

Winter as well. But Sterling was nowhere to be found, and the

assistant he’d managed to contact said he’d unexpectedly left without giving any explanations. Upon hearing Corbin’s urgency, the Sidhe

had promised to continue trying to reach the king. However, Corbin

feared that by the time it happened, Winter would be beyond aid.

Preston squeezed Corbin’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. This is my

fault. Had I not been grazed by the bullet, Shea wouldn’t have needed Winter’s assistance.”

Corbin shook his head. He was the only one to blame, for not

being able to get rid of Cherise before Winter got involved, before she became violent. He’d been a fool to attempt reasoning with her, and

now, he was paying the price. “It’s not your fault,” he said. “It’s

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mine.” He took a deep breath and struggled for composure. “How’s

Shea?”

“Better,” Preston answered. “He’s sleeping, although I expect he

might need further treatment.”

At least Winter’s sacrifice hadn’t been for naught. It might not

make Corbin feel any better, but a small part of him managed to be

happy for his brother. The rest was all pain, loss, and grief. If Winter died, Corbin didn’t think he would survive.

Preston said something else, but Corbin didn’t hear it. He was

watching his mate’s face and chest, expecting that any moment now,

his mate would stop breathing. He was so focused on it that the

sudden opening of the door startled him.

He turned, ready to attack whoever had dared to interrupt Winter’s

rest. The last thing he expected was to see Sterling Tomacelli standing in the doorway together with someone Corbin didn’t know.

Sterling approached the bed, eyeing Winter with obvious relief.

“Thank the Nameless One. We’re not too late.”

“Do you know how to help him?” Corbin immediately asked.

“Yes.” The king nodded. “We need a large body of water. A tub

would do if nothing else is available, although it would be preferable for it to provide more space.”

“The Cunninghams own a huge pool,” Preston offered. “I’m sure

they wouldn’t mind it if we used it.” He pointed at the stranger. “But what’s he doing here?”

“He’s here to help.” Upon noticing Corbin’s confusion, the king

explained, “This is Chantay, Rhys Whitaker’s half brother. There’s no time to explain. You’re just going to have to trust me if you want to save your mate’s life.”

Corbin didn’t trust Sterling, but no one except the Sidhe could

know how to help Winter. “Just tell me what to do.”

“The most important thing is to never let go of Winter. The

backlash from the spell should have killed him, and it probably would have, but your bond is keeping him alive.”

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The knowledge of how close to death Winter was made Corbin’s

head spin. “Okay. I can do that. What else?”

“Grab him and lead the way to the pool. We need to make haste.”

With as much gentleness as he could muster in the circumstances,

Corbin took his mate in his arms and followed behind Preston as his

brother directed them to the pool. Sterling and Chantay came after

them. In the hallway, a group of quiet Sidhe waited and joined

Sterling at one sign from the king. Skylar was with them and followed as well, looking worried and confused.

But none of them mattered, no one except Winter. Corbin focused

on his bond with his mate, fueling it with all the love he felt for the Sidhe. At last, they reached their destination, the huge pool Byron had built for himself and his family.

“All right,” Sterling said. “Go into the water with him. It would be

better if you were undressed, but we don’t have the time to disrobe.

You, too, Chantay.”

Corbin obeyed Sterling’s instructions to the letter. He stepped into

the water, still holding his very pale mate, with Chantay trailing

behind him. As he moved, the rest of the Sidhe with Sterling

surrounded the pool from all directions.

Sterling retrieved a vial of a strange-looking liquid and poured it

into the water. “This magic comes from the Silver Pool,” he

explained. “Normally, no one is allowed to remove even one single

drop from the island, but exceptions are made when the life of a

member of the royal family is in jeopardy. Now, take Chantay’s hand

and focus on your connection with Winter. Close your eyes and

relax.”

Corbin did as he was told and reached out to Winter with every

fiber of his being. Chanting started around him in the same language

that had been used at his wedding with the Sidhe. And just like then, Corbin felt a welcome warmth envelop him, the presence of a being

more powerful than him supporting him and guiding his actions. He

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flooded their connection with every emotion in his heart.
I love you,
Winter. Come back to me, sweetheart.

All of a sudden, their mate bond was flooded with something

Corbin could only describe as darkness. He gritted his teeth, and it roared through him, thousands of needles slashing at his mind and his spirit.

But there was someone else there with him, another mind and

another body that had nothing to do with Corbin’s bond with Winter.

Just when Corbin thought he would lose this battle, that person

stepped in, braving the spell.

And then the comfort of the strange presence surrounded them all,

and the pain melted into contentment. Corbin opened his eyes, unsure

as to what had happened.

“Corbin?” a weak voice inquired. “What’s going on?”

At first, Corbin almost thought his eyes were deceiving him. Still

in his arms, Winter now looked so much better. The pallor had been

replaced by a healthy glow, and while his eyes looked dazed, the

sickness had clearly left him. For his part, Corbin didn’t feel too

affected by the spell’s attack.

On the other hand, Chantay had gone gray, much like Winter had

been the first time he’d braved the shadow curse. The water was

glowing softly, seeming almost fluorescent, and the light emanating

from it made Chantay seem almost ghostly.

Several other Sidhe entered the pool and helped the three of them

out. “What just happened?” Corbin asked Sterling.

“We used an ancient Sidhe incantation to exorcise the spell.

However, the shadow curse was very strong and couldn’t be wiped

out completely. There was a risk that it might strike back. In fact, it was likely that, because of your bond with Winter, it would loom over you.”

“I’d have gladly done it,” Corbin protested.

“I know,” Sterling answered. “But if something happened to you,

Winter would have never survived it, and that would have defeated

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the purpose of the entire process. As such, we had to pool the

remnants into Chantay.”

Corbin looked at Chantay, struck dumb by the extent of the

sacrifice. “It was the least I could do,” Chantay said softly. “After all, my father was the one who helped create it in the first place, and since I’m half-incubus, half-Sidhe, I can withstand the magic better than

most.”

At last, Corbin remembered his brother had once upon a time

mentioned meeting Rhys Whitaker’s half brother on his birth father’s

side. At that time, Corbin had remained behind to take care of the

Agency in the absence of his fathers and the Cunninghams. He’d been

so lost in his pain over his mate’s condition that he’d completely

forgotten about it.

Winter, however, seemed to know Chantay. “It wasn’t your fault,

Chantay,” he said. “Children shouldn’t have to pay for their parents’

sins.”

But Chantay didn’t look sad or regretful in the slightest. He

bowed lowly in front of Winter. “Your words honor me, Your

Highness. I consider it a privilege that His Majesty trusted me with

such an important task in spite of my father’s deeds.”

Winter still seemed worried. “Uncle, I’d like you to take Chantay

to the island and shatter what’s left of the spell. I won’t have him

suffer in the slightest.”

“Of course, Winter.” Sterling smiled, and to Corbin’s surprise, he

looked genuinely happy. “Don’t worry about a thing. I have it all

figured out.”

Suddenly, Winter’s eyes widened, and he started to panic. “What

about Shea? What happened to him?”

“He’s fine for now, sweetheart,” Corbin replied. “You saved his

life.”

“I’ll make arrangements with his parents to take him to the island,

too,” Sterling added. “Even if they don’t trust me, we’ll come up with
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some sort of compromise. You took most of the curse upon yourself

when you healed him, so he’s safe.”

It occurred to Corbin that he had no idea how Sterling even knew

about Shea. In fact, the entire ceremony that had brought Winter back from death’s door had been very complex. There was no way Sterling

could have just guessed what was needed.

Obviously realizing this as well, Winter gazed straight at his

uncle. “You knew. You knew about this.”

“Not until earlier today, at least not in detail,” Sterling replied.

“It’s why I insisted on bringing Shea to the island. Had you obeyed

me then, none of this would have ever happened.”

“But, Uncle, how was I to know?” Winter asked. “Why didn’t you

say anything?”

“Would you have believed me?” Sterling waved a hand

dismissively. “It doesn’t matter anymore. The important thing is that you’re safe, and Shea and Chantay will be healed.”

Corbin could tell his mate wanted to question Sterling further, but

Winter was clearly too tired.
“Later, sweetheart,”
Corbin told the young Sidhe.
“For now, you need to recuperate before you worry