Krystal POV:

I yelled at Kai as his blades barely missed Amber. I heard a growl from my side as Kris stood in front of me while Amber and Kai circled each other. Kris tensed and and looked over at Henry who looked like he was ready to take Kris’s protective possition over me.

“Kai! Stop this!” I tried again. Kai’s smile only grew wider as he lunged for Amber again.

“Why? I am showing her how weak she is. How do you expect to trust her with your life if she can’t even fight off one hunter?” Amber flinched and swiped at Kai ripping the front of his shirt and the two pushed off each other creating space between them.

“Amber please! He won’t hurt me. He can’t.” I said sternly knowing he wouldn’t break his promise to Sulli. Amber just stayed still waiting for Kai’s next move. I stepped past Kris who followed me trying to figure out my thought process. Amber stopped to look back at me. Kai took this time to strike. He kicked her over off her feet and positioned one of his swords at her neck.

“See? Look how weak she is.” I pushed kai over in rage. No one threatened her. No one. I glared at Kai and made my move. I waited for him to swing at me, and once he did it was all over. I pulled him to me and impaled both of his swords deep into the ground. I then pushed him away harshly before he could try to pull them out.

“Don’t ever try that again.” I said threatening him. Kai just laughed and held his hands up in defeat.

“See? You defend yourself better than she can.” He smirked. “She needs to learn. Face it Krystal. In a real fight she would have been dead before she crossed the field.” I knew he was right. The inscriptions on Kai’s sword meant that he was a good fighter… And a good hunter. The little tick marks made in the smooth metal marked the death of a vampire by the hunter. There were at least 50 of them covering both blades. Amber ran to me and stepped between Kai and I.

“Amber its ok,” I said petting her head she turned to me and nuzzled my leg before she shifted back into human form.

“Stay away from us.” She simply said before taking my hand to pull me away.

“You need me.” Kai said simply.

“Why would I need you?” She spat back at him. Henry and Kris came by her side now in human form to hold her back if needed.

“You can’t protect her, and if you insist on being the one to take care of her and live with her then you need to learn. And who better to teach you than a hunter? Who can teach you all a hunter’s weaknesses better than me?” Kai stated. I looked over at Amber trying to plead with her to listen. As much as I hated it Kai was right.

“I can protect her. And I can do it without you.”

“Amber please listen,” I said softly while holding on to her arm. “Kai is right if i am going to quit my job we need to take all the measures we can and all the help we can i said glancing at Kai.  

“I won’t learn from him. I’ll get stronger on my own.” She said letting her pride speak for her. “I’m sorry you are going to have to stay at Nox a little longer but there is no way I can trust Kai let alone learn from him.” My heart sunk. She couldn’t put her feelings aside even when I was on the line.

“Fine. Then Krystal will live with me while you take your time learning to protect her.” He said firmly. Amber’s head snapped up and glared at him.

“No way in hell is that happening.” Amber said slowly.

“Do you want to be responsible for not only her death but your own when the hunters come for her? Or do you want her to keep selling her body so she can stay at a place that can protect her?” I saw how Kai’s questions stung Amber. She knew he was right and it was either or. “What is your answer Liu?”

    Amber gritted her teeth and just tried to spit the answer out.

    “Fine. I’ll learn from you. But if you ever attack Krystal again I will kill you.”

    “Good, so we will start tomorrow.” Kai said smirking. She hit his shoulder knocking Kai back in surprise.

    “Don’t think that this means the attack was okay.” She said. Kai looked back at me and shrugged his shoulders.

    “I just want to keep my promise to a girl I thought you could protect. Since I can’t save her life I’ll settle for yours.” He said simply looking over at me,  making Amber, Kris and Henry look at me in confusion. “I’ll let you explain to them later. I’ll see you tomorrow Krystal.” He said before walking away.

    “What was that all about?” Kris said looking at Amber and us.

    “Yeah isn’t that Krystal’s co-worker?” Henry asked the both of us.

    “Yeah. I don’t get why he started just attacking us.” Amber said. All three then looked at me. “I think we need to talk Krys. All of us need to talk.” I nodded and moved to Amber’s side.

    “O-ok, we need somewhere safe though.” I stuttered still clinging on to Amber’s arm. She patted my head and looked at Kris.

    “Do you have the keys to the shop?” Amber asked looking over to Henry and Kris. Kris nodded and we all started walking down the familiar streets to the small little shop. Once we were there Kris unlocked the door and we all shuffled inside. I took a deep breath and prepared for all the questions that were to come.

Amber POV:

    We awkwardly sat in silence before I decided I needed something to drink. I walked behind the counter and started to make all of our regular drinks. Krystal fidgeted in her seat looking up at me every once and a while. I just kept my eyes on the drinks and once they were done I cleaned everything trying to keep myself busy. I passed Henry and Kris their drinks and set down Krystal’s in front of her. She nodded in appreciation and we sat as the silence continued. Finally she spoke.

    “I-I’m sorry.” Krystal said looking down at the floor. Henry, Kris and I turned to look at her in confusion.

    “Why are you sorry Princess?” I asked taking her hand in mine.

    “I’m sorry Kai attacked you. This is all my fault.”

    “How could it be your fault? You couldn’t have known that he would attack you.” I answered trying to comfort her. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close to me. Even though I needed to know what was happening between Kai and Krystal, it was more important to make sure she was okay. Krystal nuzzled into my shoulder and gripped the hem of my shirt in her hands.

    “I don’t know where to start…” Krystal trailed off.

    “Start wherever you feel comfortable Krystal.” Henry said smiling at her. She smiled back slightly and nodded again.

    “A-alright, well I’m not human first of all.” Kris chuckled.

    “We knew that Krystal, I could smell it on you from a mile away. Why don’t you tell us why Kai was with you and what he wants from you.”

    “Today at work…” Krystal paused. My heart sunk. What happened? Did Kai… Did he… Rage filled my body and I tensed as I thought of what Kai could have done to her. Krystal sensed what was happening and just put her hand on my cheek to stop it. “He was just there. He bought my time but nothing happened.” She said quickly to stop me from shifting. I nodded still feeling the anger pulse through me. “He knew Sulli.” I froze. Sulli? Krystal’s dead girlfriend? The one she attacked?

    “What? But how?”

    “He loved her. He loved her enough to let her go. He loved her enough to trust her with me. She found her after I-I-I,” Krystal couldn’t speak and I pet her softly trying to coax it out of her. “He found her dying on the floor. She made him promise that he would look out for me and protect me right before she died.” Now I understood. Kai was driven to make me stronger so I could save the girl I love, so I wouldn’t have to go through the pain he felt. Was he really that good though? If Krystal was the cause of Sulli’s death then could something like a promise keep him from killing Krystal? I didn’t trust him. I couldn’t help but think what could happen if I let Kai, a hunter, alone with Krystal.

    “What did he mean by me needing to be stronger?” I asked looking at Krys who just kept her eyes glued on the floor. “Who is after you Krystal?”

    “Hunters. Hundreds of them.” she answered softly.

    “Why do they want to kill you Krys?”

    “Because of what I did.”

    “What?” I asked confused. “What did you do Krys?”

    “I killed my creator.”

    “Who was he?” I questioned.

    “The King.” she whispered.

    “Who?”