There was no way out.
Not unless she intended to die.
Within half an hour of Mal and Chrysabelle returning to Mephisto Island, Doc and Fi arrived. Chrysabelle sent them into the living room with Mal since Dominic and Mortalis were already in there. Hopefully, they were adult enough to keep the peace between themselves, although Dominic seemed to have softened toward Doc since he’d become pride leader and lifted the ban on pride members patronizing or working at Seven.
As soon as Damian came back from checking on Amylia in the guesthouse, she and Mal could make their announcement official.
A knock at the door called her out of the kitchen, where she was helping Velimai get drinks. Velimai looked up, questioning.
“I’ll get it. I don’t know why Damian didn’t just come in.” She wiped her hands on a towel and went to answer the door. But the security camera showed a different face than the one she’d been expecting.
She opened the door and slipped outside so whatever conversation was about to take place wouldn’t disturb her guests. “What do you want?”
Creek held up his hands. “Nothing bad, I promise. I just wanted to tell you I’m not Kubai Mata anymore.”
“You’re not?” He did seem different. Perhaps a little worn around the edges, like he’d had a few hard days and nights. And yet, there was a lightness about him she couldn’t recall seeing before. “How did that happen?”
He laughed a little, staring at the ground. “My grandmother. And Dominic.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m free of the KM and I thought you should know.”
“I’m happy for you.” She smiled. “Happy that we can be friends again. What are you going to do for work?”
He tipped his head back toward Dominic’s sedan. “My new employer’s already here.” His smile faded. “Look, I didn’t mean to interrupt. You obviously have something going on and I wasn’t invited, so let me get out of your—”
“Creek. Hey, how are you?” Damian grinned as he walked toward them from the guesthouse. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
Creek shook his head. “I’m not. Just leaving.”
“Stay,” Chrysabelle said. “There’s no reason for you not to now.”
He glanced up. “You sure?”
“Yes. Come in.” She led the way and when he and Damian were seated, Mal came to join her at the front of the room. She let him speak first.
Mal slipped his arm around her waist before he began. “As you know, the bond between Chrysabelle and myself has grown significantly over these last few months.”
“We noticed,” Fi said. “Mainly because you stopped trying to kill each other.”
Mal laughed along with everyone else. “No promises there, especially since we’re about to enter a new…” He looked at Chrysabelle. “Stage? Phase? I told you I’m no good at this.”
She took his hand. “What Mal’s trying to say is that we’ve decided to get married.”
The reactions ranged from Fi whooping to Doc pumping a fist in the air to Creek’s open-mouthed shock.
Dominic nodded, clapping enthusiastically. “Molto bene. When do you propose to make this official?”
“Soon,” Mal said.
Chrysabelle nodded, her hand going to her belly. “Because I’m pregnant.”
The room went instantly quiet. Until Fi leaned back and announced, “I already knew.”
“So did I.” Creek shook his head. “So does the KM, but I swear I had nothing to do with it. They told me.”
Mal looked at Chrysabelle. “You were right about Kosmina.”
She looked back at Creek. “Do you think the KM will leave us alone? Leave our child alone?”
He took a breath. “I don’t know, but your child isn’t going to be a threat to them. And”—he looked around the room—“you have a lot of powerful friends.” Then he tipped his head slightly. “What about protecting this baby from Tatiana? If you have a plan to get rid of her and you need help, I’m in.”
“Thank you, but Tatiana has been taken care of,” Chrysabelle answered. “She’s been imprisoned in the Garden of Eden by her own hand. Any attempt to leave, any breach of the Garden’s boundaries and she’ll die. She’s no longer a threat to any of us.”
Creek exhaled. “Good. I’m… happy for you.” He looked at Mal. “For both of you. You deserve it after what you’ve been through.”
“Thank you.” Mal looked around the room. “To all of you. We wouldn’t be here without you. We’ve shared losses together. Fought battles together. It’s only fitting we should also share this joy.” He laughed. “I’m still not used to that word applying to my life.”
“Joy is a good word, bro,” Doc said. “And it’s about time you got some.”
Chrysabelle smiled and hooked two fingers in the front pocket of Mal’s jeans as she continued to talk. “You’ve all become our family.” Her other hand cradled her belly. “We already know this won’t be an ordinary child. We’re going to need your help. We hope you’ll still be there for us.” At the sight of the solemn expressions staring back at her, she laughed. “What I’m really saying is getting babysitters for a half-vampire, half-comarré child isn’t going to be easy.”