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."