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."