The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince (8 page)

because Sterling had taken over the throne. Sterling wished he could

have been kinder with Winter, given him more affection after his

brother had died, but circumstances had not allowed it. Winter looked so much like his parents that it was very hard for Sterling to even be in his presence, not to mention that the hostile elements who’d been

behind the assassination of the two royals still existed. Those who’d
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actually killed the two had been dealt with, but the brains of the

operation had never been found.

“Advise me, Great One,” he told the Oracle, the pain inside him

growing as he looked at her sweet face. “What should I do? I don’t

want Winter to suffer.”

“I know you don’t. Sending him to the shifters was a good first

step, and while his choices will carry him down a dark path, he will be loved. ” She gave him a look full of caring and compassion. “For

as long as he lives.”

“Is there no way to avoid it, Oracle?”

“Had you wed Shea Cunningham, Winter would have been spared

that pain. But the future is not yet completely written. I can see the darkness of his death, but it is clouded. I do not know its source. You must stand by his side now and support him in any way you can. Your

future, and his, are not lost.”

Sterling rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I should have never told him to

steal Shea. He’ll never trust me now.”

The Oracle offered him a small smile. “Be patient. His choice

earned him a place in the shifter household. It would have been better if he’d retrieved the child, yes, or rather, safer. But there is still hope.

Do not despair.”

Even with the Oracle’s encouragement, it was hard to keep

composure when he knew how badly he’d failed Winter. The Sidhe

was so young and had no idea what filth hid behind the façade of

royalty. Alas, Sterling had to keep of the pretense of aloofness and purism. If he didn’t, royal blood or not, he would end up like his elder brother. And then where would Winter be?

Sterling clung to the thought that the Oracle would not lie to him

and nodded. She was right. He could not surrender the battle. His

brother was watching over him from the beyond and depended on

Sterling to protect Winter. He had to believe there was a way out of

every path and around every future.

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55

“Very well, Great One,” he said. “Thank you for all your help. I

will start preparations for his wedding now.”

“One more thing,” she added. “When you go to him, pay close

attention. The shifters will hate you, and the Cunninghams in

particular will try to make your life difficult. But the walls have ears in their home. There is only one person you can trust absolutely,

outside yourself. Corbin Mckenna. He can help you protect Winter.”

Corbin. The lynx shifter who’d stolen Winter’s heart. Perhaps not

all was lost. If Winter had made a good choice regarding his life

partner, Sterling couldn’t believe fate would be so cruel so as to end Winter’s existence too early.

The Oracle’s blind eyes suddenly turned their natural green, and

her translucent hair became red as flame. Her voice no longer

sounded so outlandish when she spoke. “Come now, Sterling,” she

said softly. “I know you can do it. I’m relying on you to help my

son.”

“Oh, Jayna…” Sterling was hard pressed not to cry. “I’ve failed

you.”

“No, you haven’t,” she replied. “There’s still time. Bringing Shea

here was the right solution, but it was unlikely that the shifters would agree. We knew it before even trying.” Her kind expression turned

into a frown. “I don’t want to see you gloomy anymore. I know you’ll

be able to find the solution. After all, you’re the King of the Sidhe.”

Oh, if only she were right. But Sterling had been unable to stop

her death and that of his brother, Lamont. The two people he’d most

loved in his entire existence, and they were gone, just like that. He’d been so grief stricken that only the knowledge of Winter’s

vulnerability had given him strength to move on.

His surprise had been great when Jayna had come to him as the

Oracle. He knew now that each Oracle was different, according to

generations, and Jayna had taken up this role, reluctant to leave her people and her son adrift. Even now, she was so beautiful, the same

woman Sterling had loved with an all-consuming passion but had

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surrendered to Lamont when his brother had wanted her as his wife.

He’d have fought for her love, except he knew that Jayna felt the

same way Lamont did. And so he had supported their marriage, and

when Winter had been conceived, he’d loved the child as his own.

“Well, I should depart now,” Jayna said. Her not-quite-ghostly

hand extended, revealing a small pendant. “Take this. It is a wedding present for Winter and a token of my love. Thank you again, Sterling.

Lamont and I will never forget it.”

Sterling took the pendant. For a few seconds, it felt light as a

feather in his palm, as if it wasn’t quite there. But as those moments passed, it materialized, becoming a crystal gem in the shape of a

teardrop. When he looked up from the jewel, Jayna had returned to

her original Oracle appearance. “It will be as you say, Great One,”

Sterling promised. “We won’t allow for anything different.”

The Oracle, or rather Jayna, nodded. “Farewell for now, King

Sterling. We will see each other soon. And don’t forget, Shea is the key.”

And with that, she disappeared into thin air, leaving Sterling with

the teardrop pendant as the only tangible evidence she’d been there at all. It was better than other times, when she vanished almost without warning, often making Sterling question his own sanity.

However, there was one thing Sterling didn’t question now. He

needed to make haste and help prepare Winter’s wedding. He had no

idea when the threat to Winter’s life would appear or how Shea would

be involved. Not even the Oracle could see all things. It would be up to Sterling to be ready for what she hadn’t mentioned.

The next couple of hours were a blur of giving orders to the royal

tailors and jewel craftsmen and making sure the rest of his tasks were done, so that he’d be prepared when the time came for departure. He

also double-checked some of the information the Oracle had given

him. According to her, the Cunninghams had somehow managed the

elves and the sprites. Sterling knew the elders of these nations

personally, and he didn’t think any clash would exist between them.

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57

The relationships with the vampire coven and merfolk were a bit more

strained, but nothing that could not be handled. Of course, Sterling wondered how in the world the Cunninghams had gotten over the fact

that a siren had essentially cursed their youngest son so easily. In

some things, the shifters were a mystery to him.

At the same time, Sterling was curious as to how Skylar

Cunningham meant to pull off a wedding where so many different

people would be invited. It was clear that Winter needed Sterling

there since the day of his marriage would rapidly turn into just a

political event without his intervention.

A few hours after his conversation with Jayna, the shifter he’d

been studying finally contacted him. Sterling’s assistant announced an incoming call from Skylar Cunningham, and Sterling took it on his

personal line. Sidhe might be conservative creatures, but they still owned phones. When he activated the connection, Skylar’s face

popped up on the vid screen.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” the shifter said politely. “I’m glad to

see you so well.”

Sterling suppressed a grimace. Skylar’s voice was empty of any

deception or irony, but Sterling knew better than to believe the

seahorse held any fond sentiment for him. He had no patience for

schemes now or for the shifter trying to be a smart-ass.

“And good tidings to you as well, Mr. Cunningham,” he replied.

“I trust you are calling about Winter’s wedding?”

A brief flicker of surprise flashed over Skylar’s face before the

seahorse quickly masked it. “Indeed.” He released a small laugh. “It

seems the proverbial cat is out of the bag. I’d hoped to give you the good news myself.”

“Well, you didn’t expect me to leave Winter alone with no

supervision for one year, right?” He arched a brow at Skylar, secretly amused at making the seahorse worry about his security. In fact, it

might not hurt if the Cunninghams added a few more guards. It could

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actually help save Winter. “Not that I don’t trust you to keep him safe, but as his closest kin, I am entitled to watch over him.”

“Of course.” Nothing in Skylar’s tone of expression revealed what

he thought about Sterling’s words. “I assume you know we’ll be

having many distinguished guests.”

“Quite,” Sterling replied. “I’m making preparations as we speak

for Winter to look exactly like what he is. Royalty.”

For the first time, Skylar beamed, and Sterling actually thought

the smile genuine. He was struck by how beautiful that expression

made the seahorse. Shaking himself, he focused on the conversation.

“That’s excellent,” the seahorse said. “Winter has told us a lot about Sidhe traditions, but we’d never be able to achieve such a ceremony

without your aid.”

Sterling supposed the comment was meant as a temporary olive

branch and decided to take it. “I have my men working on what is

needed as we speak. I will be flying into Los Angeles tonight if that’s all right with you.”

“That’s perfect,” Skylar replied. “We will be honored to have

you.”

“And now, if I may, could I speak to my nephew? I’m sure he

must be around there somewhere.”

Sterling had anticipated a refusal from Skylar’s part, but the

seahorse just summoned Winter. The younger Sidhe appeared on the

vid screen, looking a bit pale, but decided. “Hello, Uncle,” he said.

“Hello, Winter.” Sterling offered Winter a small smile. “I hear

congratulations are in order.”

Winter nodded, seeming just a touch apprehensive. “Thank you.

I’m very happy.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Like I mentioned to Mr. Cunningham, your

suit is already being prepared. I will be making further arrangements with your hosts. As it is the wedding of our prince and future king, it needs to be done with full pomp. I advise you to discuss our rites with your soon-to-be husband and teach him his vows.”

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Now, Winter looked fully taken aback. “Yes, Uncle. Of course.

You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Excellent. Congratulations again, my boy. I’ll see you in a couple

of hours.”

Winter still appeared to be lost in disbelief when Sterling returned

to his conversation with Skylar. He hadn’t lied. Further arrangements needed to be made, and Sterling still had to notify the shifters of the content of his party.

Later that day, after everything that could be dealt with here had

been arranged, Sterling went to the Temple of the Silver Pool. It was the grand prelate of the temple that officiated all important weddings.

Usually, the prelate was forbidden to leave Sidhe territory, but

Sterling decided an exception needed to be made in this case. He’d

have preferred it if Winter married in his palace, as he should have, but the shifters who’d started this whole thing were unlikely to agree.

“But are you certain, Your Majesty?” the man asked, sounding a

bit put out at Sterling’s order. Sterling couldn’t blame him. The grand prelate hadn’t left the palace in over three decades. Some days,

Sterling was surprised the priest even remembered how to walk.

“Are you questioning me?” Sterling arched a brow. The prelate

shook his head but looked like he intended to protest further. Sterling decided to save himself the trouble and emphasize the importance of

the situation. “Very good,” he added. “I wouldn’t want to have to

choose a different grand prelate on the eve of my nephew’s wedding.”

That essentially shut the man up.
Now, to the more important

business.
Leaving the grand prelate to worry about living his comfortable existence, Sterling headed into the temple.

The Silver Pool was, essentially, the core of energy all Sidhe had.

Its symbol and the wellspring of Sidhe magic was the large pond in

the middle of the temple. Its pure, clean waters were said to be able to heal all afflictions. It was in this temple that Winter had received most of his instruction as a healer, and here Sterling hoped to find help for whatever came.

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The temple adepts met him at the door, bowing at him and

gesturing him forward. Sterling followed their silent advice and

stepped toward the pool. As he knelt next to the glowing pond, he

found his mind clearing and his despair melting into renewed

decision. When he got up, he knew that no matter what he had to do,

he would save Winter from his fate.

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Chapter Five

“Tell me that again. I could have sworn you just said you’re

mating Winter Tomacelli in two days.”