Kyrian took a step back as Tabitha whirled to face him. Her battered face was still bruised from the beating she had taken from Desiderius's minions and she wore a bandage over one cheek to cover the sutures. She dropped into a wobbly, tough fighting stance.

Anguish swept through him that he had failed to protect one of the people Amanda loved best in the world.

He swore it wouldn't happen again.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Where's Esmeralda?"

Kyrian glanced to the mirror to see his missing reflection and quickly took a another step back before Tabitha noticed it, as well. "Her car broke down on her way home. Amanda went to pick her up."

He realized too late that he should have kept his mouth closed because recognition flared in her eyes as she registered his unique accent.

"You!" she screamed. "What have you done to my sisters?"

"They're safe."

"Like hell!" She rushed him.

Unwilling to hurt her, Kyrian pivoted on his feet and ran down the hallway.

"Vampire!" she screamed.

He heard rustling downstairs and realized she wasn't alone in the house.

"Pull open the curtains." As she screamed out the order,

Tabitha grabbed the curtain cord in the upstairs hallway that shielded the line of windows there, and gave a yank.

Kyrian hissed as the daylight touched him. Leaping over the banister, he landed in the living room below.

Two pairs of eyes widened as they took in his size. The dark-haired man turned pale, but the blond woman reacted quickly, running to the window to open more shades.

Before Kyrian could move, Tabitha was on him. She kicked out and caught him right in his sore side. "Die, vampire scum!"

Kyrian hissed, baring his fangs at her, then back-flipped away from her, and started for the kitchen. He slid to a halt in the doorway as he saw the sunlight streaming through the room. There was no place to go in there that wouldn't kill him.

Something hard and sharp bit into his shoulder. Growling, he turned to see Tabitha with a long dagger. She drew back to stab him again.

Kyrian caught her wrist at the same time her two friends rushed him. The four of them stumbled back. Kyrian slung one of them off and broke free. He tried to run back to the living room, but Tabitha somehow managed to get in front of him.

Hatred burned in Tabitha's eyes as she swung the dagger in a way meant to slice open his stomach.

Kyrian jumped back into a ray of light. Pain lacerated his back. Hissing again, he dodged her and ran for the living room, trying to stay in the shadows.

They rushed him at the door, slamming him against it. Desiderius's words rang in his ears as they tackled him to the floor.

"They'll take you down like a pack of wild dogs."

Tabitha sat on his chest, her hand on his throat as her two friends grabbed his arms and held them down. Had they attacked him like this yesterday, he would have gone mad with panic. But today he felt a strange lucidity as he remembered Amanda restraining him last night.

"What did you do to my sister?" Tabitha demanded.

"Nothing."

"Don't you lie to me! I saw the blood in the trash can."

Trying his best not to hurt her, Kyrian brought his legs up and wrapped them around Tabitha's upper body and pulled her away as the dagger slashed, barely missing his throat.

He caught the man on his right in the stomach with his fist, then sent the woman flying over them, onto the couch. He cursed as Tabitha sank her teeth into his thigh.

Kyrian pulled the knife from Tabitha's hand and embedded it deep into the hardwood floor. "Listen to me."

"No!" she shrieked, squirming and punching.

Kyrian rolled over with her, pinning her to the floor. Instinct demanded he knock her unconscious, but as he caught sight of the face so close to Amanda's he realized he could never hit her.

That moment of hesitation cost him as her friends grabbed him again. Kyrian rolled with them, rising to his feet at the same time the door opened, spilling more light into the room.

Cursing, he barely made it into a corner.

Amanda's shrill tone rang out. "Stop!"

The humans froze when they heard Amanda's voice, while Kyrian tried to catch his breath. His new wounds throbbed as blood oozed down his back. Amanda rushed to his side and slid her hands over him to inspect the damage.

Tabitha pulled the dagger from the floor. She approached him with a determined stride, her angry eyes never leaving him. "Out of my way, Mandy. I'm going to kill a vampire."

"Wrong," Esmeralda inserted, closing the door and moving to stand between him and Tabitha. "You're about to kill your twin sister's boyfriend."

Tabitha gaped and paused mid-stride. She looked from Kyrian to Amanda. "Excuse me?"

Amanda ignored her. "Are you all right?"

He rubbed his hand over his bleeding arm. "Never better."

"Him?" Tabitha asked in disbelief. "What about me and the guys? I don't see you asking about us. He almost tore our heads off."

Amanda glared at her sister. "I don't see any of you bleeding. Believe me, if he had really wanted you hurt, none of you would be standing."

Tabitha raked them with a disgusted sneer. "You're defending a vampire?"

"I'm defending Kyrian," she said emphatically.

Curling her lip even more, Tabitha looked back and forth at them. "What are you? Insane? You want a boyfriend who drinks blood, lives forever, kills for fun, and can't go outside in the daylight? Why, Mandy, I do believe you've finally found the King of the Losers. Congrats. I didn't think anyone could top Cliff's loserness."

That set off a whole deluge of insults and shrillness.

"Loser? I don't want to hear it from a woman who dates a man who hasn't worked more than two weeks in the last three years."

"At least Eric has a soul."

"Kyrian has a heart."

"Oh, please. You think that makes up for it? Tell me, Mandy, are you willing to give up everything for him? Your life, your future? What can a vampire offer an accountant? You want kids. Can he give you those?"

Kyrian's heart sank as he listened to them fight. With every word out of Tabitha's mouth, he became more and more aware of just how right she was.

He looked at the daylight streaming into the house.

Daylight that was lethal to him and vital to Amanda. Humans needed sunlight as much as they needed to breathe. As long as she was with him, Amanda would never have peace. She would have to sacrifice all her dreams for him.

It was something he could never allow her to do.

Heartsick, he crept along the shadows, toward the stairs.

"Would you two stop fighting!" Esmeralda shouted.

Kyrian paid them no more heed as he went up the stairs.

Several minutes and a truckload of insults passed before Amanda realized Kyrian was gone. "Kyrian?"

"He went upstairs," Esmeralda told her.

Amanda started for the stairs, but Tabitha stopped her. "You can't do this to yourself."

"You know nothing about him, Tabby. He's a Dark-Hunter, not a vampire."

"Yeah, and Julian Alexander said there's no real difference between them. They both have animal qualities and are killers."

"I don't believe Julian said that."

"I don't care if you believe it or not, it's true. And while you're mulling that one over, let me tell you another thing Julian said. Artemis will kill your boyfriend before she ever lets him walk free."

Her heart screaming a denial, Amanda pulled away and went upstairs. She found Kyrian in the bedroom gathering up his things.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"You can't go outside. It's just after noon."

His face was blank, cold. "I called Tate."

"Kyrian..." She reached out to touch him.

"Don't touch me," he snarled, baring his fangs to her. "You heard what Tabitha said. I'm an animal, I'm not human."

"It wasn't an animal I slept with last night."

"Wasn't it?"

"No." She laid her hand on his cheek.

She saw him savor her touch for only an instant before his face went rigid. He removed her hand from his cheek. "You say that, Amanda, and yet do you know how many times I've had to pull back from sinking my teeth into your neck? How many times I have felt your blood under my tongue and have craved a taste of it?"

She swallowed in fear. But she refused to give in to it. He was only trying to scare her off. "You have never hurt me and I know you would die before you did."

He said nothing as he grabbed his suitcase and left her.

She followed him down the hall, to the top of the stairs. "You can't leave like this."

"Yes I can."

She pulled him to a stop before he could descend down to the foyer. "I don't want you to leave me."

Kyrian paused at her words. Words that tore him apart. He didn't want to leave her, either. He wanted to toss her over his shoulder, carry her back to the room, and make love to her for the rest of eternity.

He wanted the right to claim her. The right to have her.

But it wasn't meant to be. He was a servant to the goddess. His life wasn't his own.

"Go back to your world, Amanda. It's safe there."

She cupped his face in her hands. Her bright blue eyes searched his with such an aching need that it made him hurt all the more. "I don't want safe, Kyrian. I want you."

He pulled away from her tender touch and headed down the stairs. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" she asked, following him. "It's the truth."

"You can't have me," he said between clenched teeth as he whirled on the stairs to face her. "I'm already owned."

"Then let me love you." The plea in her voice ate at his will. Gods, how easy it would be to open himself to her. To take her into his arms and...

Watch her grow old while he stayed the same. Hold her in his arms when she died of old age and left him to live out eternity. Alone.

The pain of the thought was enough to cripple him. Life without her was not something he wanted to contemplate. And if it hurt this much to let her go after only a couple of days, how much worse would it be in a few decades?

It was more than his wounded heart could bear.

"You can't."

"Why?" she asked.

"Some things are not meant to be."

She touched his arm, her eyes begging him to see her side of things. But he couldn't. He didn't dare.

"Maybe this is meant to be."

"You're wrong."

A knock sounded on the door.

Amanda watched as Esmeralda opened the door. Tate wheeled his stretcher in.

The resigned, pained look on Kyrian's face as he saw the body bag would be forever etched in her heart.

"Don't leave, Kyrian," she begged one last time, praying this time he would listen.

"I have no choice."

"Yes you do. Damn you, you stubborn man. You do have a choice. Don't leave me."

He rubbed his hand over his eyes as if he had a throbbing headache. "Why do you want me to stay?"

"Because I love you."

Tabitha's angry curse rang from the kitchen and was followed by silence so loud, it was deafening.

Kyrian closed his eyes as agony assailed him. He'd waited an eternity to hear a woman say that to him and mean it.

But now it was too late.

"The last time I believed a woman loved me I gave up an empire for her and watched her laugh while I was crucified. Don't be a fool, Amanda. Love isn't real. It's an illusion. You don't love me. You can't."

Before she could argue, he nipped gracefully into the body bag and zipped it closed.

"Don't you leave me!" she shouted, grabbing his arm through the thick plastic.

"Get me home, Tate."

Tate gave her a sad smile as he pushed the stretcher through the door.

Amanda growled her frustration. "Damn you, Kyrian Hunter. Damn you."

Kyrian heard her muffled words. They tore through him. He was such a godless fool.

Don't leave her , his heart begged.

But he had no choice.

This was the path he had chosen. His decision had been made with full knowledge of the consequences and sacrifices.

Amanda belonged to the light and he belonged to the darkness. Somehow, he would find a way to reclaim his soul without her, and once he did, he would kill Desiderius.

Amanda and Tabitha would be free and he would return to the life he knew. The life he had sworn himself to.

But deep in his heart, he knew the truth. He loved her, too. More than he had ever loved anything else in his life.

And he had to let her go.