The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

this?”
    “Does the name Bella Valentino sound familiar?”
    Preston froze. His father looked sick and his adoptive dad angrier
    than Preston had seen him in a long time. Preston was only thankful
    he’d managed to convince Corbin to stay behind and oversee their
    father’s responsibilities. He had no idea how his brother would have reacted upon hearing this.
    Bella Valentino. Preston hadn’t heard that name in a long, long
    time. The last time he’d seen the person in question was when he’d
    been only a child, before Layton had even been born. Preston
    remembered that day well. She’d come to see Preston and Corbin
    while they’d been out in the park with their new adoptive dad,
    Nicolas. She’d told them they’d always been a burden to her and their 80
    Scarlet Hyacinth
    father nothing more than a trophy. Then she’d disappeared, never to
    be seen again. Bella Valentino. Preston and Corbin’s mother.
    “It does, doesn’t it?” Romaine chuckled, but the sound was bitter.
    “Well, you have powerful enemies, Mr. Mckenna. And you know
    what they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
    “But how could she recruit you and all the others?” Rhys inquired.
    “She might have been angry, but you should never have abused your
    power like that.”
    “I had no choice.” Romaine looked away. “I was desperate, all
    right? My son was growing up away from me, and my mate was
    withering away without me. How could I say no?”
    Preston was officially confused, but Ysanne clarified things. “My
    family never agreed to me marrying Romaine. Incubi are demons and
    my kind are Seelie. We don’t mix. I was forced to separate from
    Romaine, and for ten years, I lived only for my son, the last thing I had left from the man I loved.” She paused, suddenly looking very
    old. “I have no idea how this woman got him to help her with this
    spell you mentioned. Until now, I never knew what Romaine even did
    to convince my father to leave Chantay and me alone. “
    Layton’s emotions echoed through Preston. Layton felt a strange
    sense of kinship with Romaine and his family. Clearly, they’d been
    victims as well. But at the same time, neither Layton nor Preston were willing to trust them just like that. They’d be given the benefit of the doubt, for Rhys’s sake, but if it turned out they’d lied, all bets were off.
    Preston’s dad seemed to believe at least part of the story. “That
    sounds like something Bella would do,” he said. “All right, then.
    Whether you were forced into it or not, you must know where Bella
    and the rest of the people who participated in this plot are.”
    “I’m not sure about anyone else. Hell, I don’t even know their
    names,” Rhys replied. “But I have the address of Ysanne’s father. He can probably tell you more.” He paused and gave Preston and Layton
    a regretful look. “I swear to you that what I did then has been one of The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx
    81
    my greatest regrets. I’d hoped that one day, your love would be
    stronger than the spell. It seems I was correct.”
    “My brother, Alexis, helped,” Rhys explained. “The spell was
    frayed, and Alexis’s magic shattered it.”
    “Well, I’m happy for you. I know what it’s like to be separated
    from one’s mate. I don’t wish it to anyone.”
    As approachable as the words made Romaine seem, Preston
    wasn’t willing to stick around and tell stories. “The name and address, please,” he said.
    “Ignace Girard. He lives in a mansion in Paris. It’s a fortress.
    You’ll never get inside unseen.”
    Byron snorted. “We’ll just see about that. No one messes with my
    family.”

    * * * *

    As Romaine had told them, the Girard domain was strongly
    guarded, to the point where Layton wondered what in the world the
    Sidhe were hiding. According to the incubus, Girard was an
    influential family among the Seelie, but they were also known to have some shadier dealings with the Dark Sidhe, the