• When I found Kayandra's father, I was surprised. He was very handsome, only in his mid-thirties. He had these amazing, piercing blue eyes, and silvery-white hair. His face was clear of imperfections, and he had a very muscular build. He was tall, with light skin. But what caught my eye was his wings. The white feathers were gorgeous. They sparkled in even the dimmest of light, and they were so clean, unscarred.

    He was full celestial, and me being half-demon, I could tell that he already hated me. Though his eyes were amazing, his piercing glare frightened me. "What is it?" he asked me. I couldn't stand staring at his terrifying gaze anymore, so I looked at the ground.

    "Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you about my sister's death. I need to know some information about it."

    "What about it?"

    "I saw you there. You know what happened better than anyone. I saw you..." My eyes, which I had placed back on him as I spoke, fell. "You were the one."

    He nodded. "Yes, I was, and she went willingly." Tears came to the man's eyes. "I didn't want her to die."

    My eyes were welling with tears, too. "You wanted me to die, right?" He nodded.

    "Come inside, and I'll explain."

    At first, I didn't quite understand what there was to explain, because basically, he wanted me dead, and he made a mistake. At least, that's what I thought. I was wrong, though.

    "A few weeks before he death, she came over to my house for the weekend because the two of you were in a big fight, remember? Well, she had overheard me talking to one of my friends. I was telling him that she shouldn't have to live with a demonic sister, so I was going to kill you to give her a better life. She stormed out of her room. I remember exactly what she said,

    "'Daddy, you can't kill my sister! I don't care that she's a demon! I don't care what you think of her! She's my sister, and I won't let you kill her!' " At this point, I could see it clearly in my mind. I even knew exactly what she was wearing: a snow white dress that dragged across the ground when she walked. It was her favorite dress, and she wore it whenever she got the chance.

    "I told her that somebody had to die, that not both of you could stay alive. It was driving your mother crazy to the point of suicide. She decided that she still would not let you die, and that I should kill her. I told her that I'd think about it. I didn't want to kill her, after all.

    "Well, a few weeks later, I was in the marketplace. I saw you three. I had just bought new hunting equipment, and I thought about what she said. I held the bow out, with an arrow notched. At first, I pointed it at her, but I decided that I couldn't do it, so I turned it to you. I thought about it over and over again, until I decided to just close my eyes and shoot whomever the arrow flew toward. I let the arrow fly.

    "I heard screaming, and I hoped that it was you that was killed, but when my eyes opened, there you were, tears in your eyes. She was gone. I ran home. I was hoping that I would never have to talk about her again."

    I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She didn't actually die on a complete accident, and not only that, but she wanted to die. The reason for that broke my heart. She wanted to protect me, even though she always said that she hated me.

    "Now, you'd better get home before your mother worries."

    I knew that he still wanted me dead, but he knew that he couldn't. He had promised Kay.

    I walked home slowly, trying to think about what all had happened. Tears fell from my face the whole way home. When I walked into the house, my mother asked me, "Did he tell you?" I nodded. "Kay told me today, too. She said that it was better that I knew why she had died."

    I looked up at my mom. "She should have let him kill me."

    My mother grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug. "No, she did what she did because she loved you. She thought you deserved to live, and so do I. I understand it all, now." Her tears fell onto my head.

    I suddenly wished that I could be dead, too, that we could all be dead, just so that we could be with Kay, but I heard her voice in my head, "She's my sister. She can't die, because I love her."

    My tears fell, and I realized that it actually wasn't my fault after all. She wanted it this way.

    So why did I feel so broken?

    Why did I feel like every second, I was falling apart, and that soon I would be nothing but dust?