• Chapter 53
    Break Her Heart
    “Hai,” Edan breathed uneasily helping the limp girl off the floor. So what he was being rebellious, what did he have to lose? She latched on to his arm, sobbing indiscriminately. Edan sighed. “Hai you need to let go now.”
    “No,” she cried holding on tighter, “if they kill you they have to kill me too.”
    He sighed, “Hai please don’t say that.”
    “I don’t care,” she wept, “they can do what they want with me. But I won’t let that happen to you.”
    “Hai-”
    “No. You saved my life now it’s time I return the favor.”
    Edan sighed again, “I know, but I’m only going to break your heart.” He wrapped his arm around her; squeezing her gently. He truly was only going to break her shattered heart, tear her apart. By the time this was over she’d be no different from a Broken. And a Broken was a terrible thing to be.
    Hai glanced up at him with her disarming brown eyes muttering, “Break it if you want, it’s because of you it still beats.” Her skin was warm against his arm as she squeezed it tight.
    “Darling,” Mauve tapped on Hai’s shoulder, her golden gown bunching up as she knelt down next to her. “Will you tell me what happened?”
    Hai looked up at Edan seeming to be searching for the answer in his eyes. He nodded as she turned over to the golden haired girl with the matching colored dress. She wiped her face with courage but her voice never reached above the fearful little whisper that trailed around the room in ropes. “The Damned were after me and one of them tried to kill me. But Edan saved me, that’s how I know the secret.”
    “Would you by any chance know who it was?”
    Hai thought for a moment looking down at the floor. Please don’t remember, Edan thought.
    “It was Kara, the woman with the white hair.”
    s**t! That’s just great, now we have a new problem on our hands.
    “I see,”’ Mauve said. “Well this clears everything up a bit now doesn’t it?”
    A voice shot from the crowd Edan had barely taken the time to notice, “Wait so you are just going to let him off the hook?”
    “I plan to. After all we do make exceptions for saving a humans life,” Mauve’s voice was teeming with compassion and determination.”
    “But isn’t it against the rules to interfere with another clan’s hunting choices?”
    “It’s my job to protect humans from the Damned,” Edan yelled back.
    “Lady Mauve you seriously aren’t going to let him go just because he is a Host?”
    “What?” Hai’s face was paper white, her eyes wide with bewilderment and disorder. She was timid of what this meant for her.
    Good going Edan! Now she knows the truth! What are you going to do, she could get hurt? Matoko scolded.
    Will you shut up already? I have enough to deal with right now if you don’t mind.
    But now she knows this secret! That puts many other Hosts in danger and trust me the Damned with be much less accepting of the situation.
    Gee aren’t you just a big help? For the final time just shut up dammit!
    You have a bit of an attitude don’t you,     Matoko spoke with his cocky tone of voice.
    You’re pissing me off.
    Isn’t your personality just lovely? You ought to work on being nicer you know.
    Do we really have to talk about this now?
    Yes we do. Now I feel that you don’t really like me and it hurts my feelings.
    That’s because I don’t like you.
    That hurt my feelings Edan.
    Good.
    Why would you say that?
    I don’t have time for this, if you don’t mind I have to be executed!
    Maybe that wouldn’t happen if you just treated me better    .
    Edan rolled his eyes deciding to ignore the voice ringing inside his head. There were times when Matoko knew what the best thing to say was. But most of the time he would continually rant about whatever crossed his mind.
    Hai tugged on his sleeve, “Why didn’t you tell me,” she whispered completely broken down in her devastating soft tone.
    “Because you would’ve gotten in more trouble if you knew that.”
    How come you’re nice to her and not me? Matoko complained.
    “How,” she questioned churlishly.
    “Let’s just say the Damned wouldn’t have to worry about not letting you see what they were really capable of.”
    Her heart wandered, “What are they capable of?”
    Best not to tell her that it would scare her to no return, Matoko alleged sympathetically.
    I know. I won’t.
    “Nothing you want to get yourself stuck in the middle of……. You should probably go back to where you were taken to start.”
    Hai stared at him pleadingly, “No I’m going to stay right here.”
    Edan leaned down, kissing her on the cheek, feeling her heart flicker all the way through her pleasantly warm skin. “Please go,” he smiled at her lovingly.
    Hai breathed heavily trying to take in all that happened before blushing a self-conscious abashed cherry color. “Alright, just promise me you’ll stay out of trouble.”
    “I can’t promise you that.” Edan pulled her up of the ground, brushing the choppy locks of atrous hair from her face. He kissed her on the forehead; taking in every second of her fluttering heart, understanding that possibly this was his last moment with her. She pulled herself away; face flushed an even darker red than before. She exited the room with an awkward gait that kept her from shaking.
    “Goodbye Hai, forever,” Edan breathed as she shut the door behind her.
    You handled that well, Matoko muttered.
    I had to do what was best for her.
    I understand and this was defiantly for the best, she will be fine. You did the right thing.
    I know, let’s just get this over with.