"How would I know that?" He scowled at Ethon. "How do you know that?"
There was no mistaking the agony in Ethon's dark eyes. The grief and guilt. "Her husband was my little brother."
Just when he thought nothing else could shock him...that sent him to the floor. "What?"
A tic started in Ethon's jaw. "Ioel, her husband, was my brother."
Dev gaped. No wonder Ethon protected her the way he did. It made complete sense now.
Ethon fell silent as his emotions churned. He'd been so jealous of Ioel's happiness with his Amazon bride. The two of them had had the most incredible relationship. And while he was happy for his brother, he'd been bitter. Ioel had been raised by their mother away from the Spartan culture. While Ioel was a fierce warrior, he'd lived a pampered life of luxury and kind doting.
Unlike Ethon.
Everything Ioel had ever wanted had come to him. And Ethon had been forced to claw and fight for every table scrap he could find in the gutter. And to this day, he could still remember the first time he'd met Sam.
In full armor, she'd been breathtaking. Her zest for life was infectious as she joked with her friends and his brother.
But she'd only had eyes for Ioel.
So he'd buried his feelings for her and stood back to watch as they married and started their family. Anything they'd needed, he'd given them to make their life easier and happier. His brother didn't need to know the harsh lessons that had been rammed down his throat.
And when Agaria had been born, he'd loved his niece so much.... She'd looked just like her mother. There was nothing he wouldn't have done for any of them.
Nothing.
Until the night they'd died. He'd been in battle when the news of their deaths had arrived. Wounded and bleeding, he'd headed straight for his horse instead of the physician. Stupidly, he'd thought that if he could just reach them that he might be able to change it.
To save them. That maybe it was a lie and they weren't really dead.
By the time he'd reached them, Ioel and Ree had been cremated and Sam's body had been missing.
They'd found her sister's slaughtered remains the next day. The viciousness of that kill had told him well that Sam had had her vengeance. However the truth was, her sister had gotten off easy. What Sam had done to her had been a mercy killing compared to what Ethon would have done had he found her first.
He'd hunted for Sam after that, but he'd never found her. Not until centuries after his own death when they'd both been stationed in Athens.
They'd met in battle against the Daimons and then, with the dawn coming, she'd taken him into her house.
The bloodlust and their past ties had overwhelmed them. He looked enough like his brother that Sam had welcomed him to her bed.
For one single instant, he'd almost had a moment of peace.
Until she'd come to her senses.
And him.
By then it'd been too late. The guilt and pain had been more than either of them could bear. So they'd gone their own ways, crossing paths every now and again.
Still Ethon loved her. Even though she couldn't stand him. Even though he had no right to. He loved her.
He always would. But that was the past. And right now, Sam needed him.
Ethon would not fail her again.
He met Dev's stare. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
Dev didn't speak as Ethon withdrew. His head was still reeling from what he'd learned about Sam. Gods, how painful it must have been for her to see the bond he shared with his family while knowing her sister had taken everything from her.
Even her life.