Thane squinted at the handsome man. "Why haven't I killed you yet?"
"Because secretly you want me to have your love child," Cristo said, without even looking up from the box.
Kendrick pointed to Cristo. "You like him because he reminds you of me."
"You mean I want to wrap my hands around his throat and throttle him because he reminds me of you?" Thane corrected.
Brennus laid a hand on the lid Cristo was about to open. "Are you sure?"
Cristo nodded. "My nose has never failed me."
Brennus lifted his hand. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Cristo turned and faced the large group. He clapped his hands together. "Okay boys and girls, gather round, it's story time."
Brennus rolled his eyes then sat down next to his mate and the man Izzy assumed to be Stefan sat down next to Meryn.
"Once upon a time, there were five strong, handsome warriors. They didn't like the way certain groups were being led, and tended not to play well with others, so they joined forces to combat evil." Cristo pointed to his chest. "There was a sexy wolf-shifter, Rio Suarez a coyote-shifter, Thane Ashleigh a rage-filled sarcastic witch, Ange Belanger a directionally challenged vampire and Eamon Vi'Eirlea, a golden child of the fae." Cristo's eyes drifted to the box. "Now, these five men managed to accomplish amazing feats, all while not murdering each other in their sleep."
"Get on with it!" Thane ordered.
"As I was saying," Cristo huffed. "They worked together beautifully, until one day, when Eamon had to take a mission from his queen, leaving his friends behind. The other four heroes believed that the mission would only last a few months, then the heart of their group would return, but as the years passed they all wondered what had become of their brother." He tapped his nose. "So, the brilliant wolf-shifter tracked down his friend and made a discovery so secret that his friend Eamon made him take a blood oath never to speak of what he learned outside the protection of Éire Danu." He drew in a deep shuddering breath and it was then Izzy realized that the flippant tone was a form of self-preservation, to make the telling of this story easier.
Thane stood and walked over to Cristo placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "I swear whatever you have to say, I will help you to bear it," he promised.
Cristo's eyes shined. "Surly asshole," he said, though his voice held no venom. He turned back to the group. "He discovered that in the process of investigating for his queen, his best friend had found his mate and they had a child together."
Brennus stood, reaching for Cristo rage etched in every line of his face. "Lies! Our tree did not show any branch extending from Eamon, nor any child!"
Thane stepped between the two. With a whispered spell, he calmed the angry fae warrior and gently sat Brennus in a vacant chair. Doran and Celyn were by their brother's side in a moment.
"Our brother speaks the truth, Eamon had no mate, no child," Doran insisted.
"For five years Eamon stopped sending these," he opened the case and lifted out a pulsating sphere. Inside Izzy could clearly see a dozen more just like it. "You see, his mate had the gift of premonition and in every instance, if someone outside their tiny family learned of their existence, their child would die. Eamon used fae magic to hide his bond with his mate and removed the light of the fae from his child. He stopped sending these spheres because he had used them to document the time spent away from his family, so they wouldn't miss anything."
He turned to Brennus. "Did you never wonder why we were unable to open the last barrage of spheres we received?"
Brennus nodded. "It is because we tried opening them after he died."
Cristo shook his head. "If that were truly the case, the light within the sphere would have dimmed." He looked at Brennus then Doran. "Do you remember what he said he would use as a key before he left?"
Doran looked away as Brennus answered. "The blood of his closest relative."
Cristo held out the sphere, Brennus went to take it but Cristo walked past him to stand in front of Meryn and extended it to her. "Brennus, you were no longer Eamon's closest living relative because he left a daughter behind."
Izzy looked around for a second before the sound of shouting voices exploded all around her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Izzy covered her ears as everyone seemed to be speaking at once. She turned to see Ryuu begin to glow blue, then lift his fingers to his lips and release a piercing whistle, the silence that followed such chaos was deafening.
"Quiet yourselves," he said in a dangerous voice. He pushed Cristo a step back and glared at him. "She is with child; how could you spring it on her that way?"
Cristo met the squire's accusing eyes. "What would have been the less traumatic way to tell her? Because no matter how it's said, the truth doesn't change."
Ryuu released a very impressive hiss and knelt beside his charge. "Breathe denka, all is well. We are with you," he said in gentle tones.
Aiden wrapped an arm around her as Stefan quickly stood so that Amelia could sit and hold Meryn's other hand.