Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. "It's all right, Amanda, I've got you." Kyrian froze as he realized what he'd done. He'd used her name. And with it, he felt some inner barrier shatter.
Tears rolled down Amanda's cheeks. "I know it's just a house, but all my things were in there. My favorite books, the blanket my grandmother crocheted for me before she died. Everything that was me was in there."
"Not everything. You're still here."
She wept against his chest. Kyrian closed his eyes and leaned his cheek against the top of her head as she clutched at him. It had been centuries since he'd comforted a woman. Centuries since he felt this way. And it shook him deeply.
"Can Desiderius get to Tabitha?"
"No," he whispered against her hair, trying not to inhale the sweet rose scent. He failed and his body reacted instantly as his groin tightened and burned for her. "As long as she stays in a private, human dwelling he can't get to her. It's one of the limitations Apollo put on them when he cursed them so that humans would have some protection."
Amanda took a ragged breath and stepped away from him. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping the tears from her face. He clenched his teeth as he noted the way her hand shook. He could kill Desiderius for hurting her like this.
"I don't normally cry in front of people."
"Don't apologize," he whispered, cupping her face in his hands. "You're actually holding up a lot better than anyone should under the circumstances."
She looked up at him from under those long, dark, wet eyelashes. His heart hammered at the vulnerability he saw. A vulnerability that touched him on a level he didn't want to think about. He wanted her. Desperately.
He hadn't felt this in so long, no, he corrected himself, he had never felt this way about another woman, not even Theone. This wasn't just lust or love, he felt a bond with her. They were like two parts of a single heart. But it was a lie. It had to be. He didn't believe in love anymore. Didn't believe in much of anything. And yet…
She made him want to believe again. Made him long for things he had forgotten. Things like a tender hand in his hair when he woke up. The feel of a warm body lying next to him while he slept. He was almost powerless before it.
His cell phone rang. Kyrian pulled it off his belt and answered it. It was Talon.
"Is the woman with you?" Talon asked. "Yes, why?"
"Because you have one big problem. The Apollite told me the fires were set from an electronic timer that was hidden inside the houses."
Kyrian frowned, then went cold as he remembered something else Amanda had said to him yesterday. "Amanda?" he asked, drawing her attention to him. "Didn't you say Desiderius had captured you while you were inside Tabitha's house?"
She nodded."In her living room."
His stomach settled into a cold knot of dread. "Did you hear that?" he asked Talon. Talon cursed. "How is that possible?"
"Someone must have invited Desiderius in, which means there's a human running around working with or for him. My money says Tabitha wouldn't be so stupid."
"Neither would Allison," Amanda inserted. "She knows to watch out for anyone suspicious."
Kyrian thought it over. "Any ideas?" he asked Talon.
"I don't know."
"What does your guide say?"
"Ceara knows nothing. And the next tiny problem, my back isn't healing."
If his stomach drew any tighter, it would make a diamond. "Not healing how?"
"I was hit with an astral blast. The same kind a god wields." Kyrian went cold. "I didn't kill a god, I killed a Daimon."
"I know."
Kyrian cursed under his breath. "What have we gotten into?"
"Beats me, but until we know more, I suggest you sit tight on her. With the untapped powers she has, Desiderius will be after her full force. I'm sure by now he'd rather have her than her sister."
Kyrian shifted the phone as he watched Amanda take a seat at his table. Gods, he couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt. The pain of the idea racked him. "Do you need me to do anything for your back?"
"No. It just hurts like hell."
Kyrian knew the feeling. His shoulder was still stinging from Aphrodite. "I'm beginning to understand how Desiderius killed the last eight Dark-Hunters who went up against him."
"Yeah," Talon agreed. "And I don't want us to be nine and ten."
"Me, neither. Okay, I'll keep Amanda safe with me, but we still have the problem of her sister out there."
"I can have Eric put a leash on Tabitha for the time being. You just make sure Amanda stays in touch with her or she's likely to make our lives even more difficult."
"Will do." Kyrian hung up and tossed his phone onto his counter.
"Is something wrong?" Amanda asked.
He laughed in spite of himself. "I think a better question would be, is anything not wrong?"
"And that means?"
"It means your boring life has just ended. And for the next few days, it looks as if you're going to find out exactly how dangerous mine is."
CHAPTER 7