"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.
It was just after five o'clock and nearing dusk when Amanda reached Kyrian's. She parked her dark blue Taurus in front of the house and walked up to the grand front door, then knocked.
She expected Nick to answer; instead, the door swung open slowly to show her no one at all.
Frowning, she walked inside.
The door instantly slammed shut behind her, making her gasp in startled alarm. Now that she thought about it, the front gates had done the same thing. Only then she had assumed Kyrian had seen her car on the video monitors and had opened the gates before she had a chance to buzz the house.
Now she wasn't so sure.
Her heart hammering, she still didn't see anyone about. The silent house appeared completely empty. "Hello?" she asked, entering the foyer slowly. "Nick? Kyrian?"
"So you're Amanda Devereaux."
She froze when she heard the voice coming from the living room. It was deep and provocative, with an accent unlike anything she'd ever heard before. The rich sound reminded her of quiet thunder.
For an instant, she feared it might be a Daimon, until her eyes adjusted enough to where she could see the stunningly gorgeous man on the sofa. He was lying on his back with his legs dangling way over the arm of the sofa and his hands behind his head as he watched her from the darkness.
Shirtless and barefoot, he wore a pair of tight leather pants. He had long, dark green hair and a stylized small birdlike tattoo on his left shoulder, the tail of which curled down and around his biceps. His skin was the same golden tone as Kyrian's and it set off to perfection the small gold necklace he wore around his neck.
"And you are?" she asked.
"Acheron Parthenopaeus," he said in that steady, deep voice. "Pleased to meet you." His words were devoid of any warmth or emotion.