Chapter 11

"Love, by reason of its passion, destroys the in between which relates us to and separates us from the other."

-Hannah Arendt (1906 - 1975)

Tristan took a deep fake breath and turned around but his eyes widen when he saw that Kyra wasn't in the lake and her clothes weren't on the ground. "Where is she?" Tristan whispered. Suddenly, a force knocked him down and rolled him over on the ground. Something was on top of him.

Somebody was on top of him.

He opened his eyes and saw a stunning pair of golden eyes matching the beautiful sky.

"Tristan, what the bloody hell?" Kyra's voice yelled setting him out of the trance he was in.

"Kyra…um, hello."

Kyra's golden eyes looked Tristan down. "You were watching me, weren't you?"

"Watching you doing what?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Tristan. You were watching me naked in the lake." Kyra said to him, her nails pinning through his skin. "What do you want?"

"Well, first off, I want you off of me." Tristan pointed out and saw how close Kyra's face was to his own.

Slowly, Kyra stood up and took a couple of steps away from Tristan as he stood up. He noticed that Kyra wasn't wearing her uniform; she was wearing tight jeans and a black long sleeve hoodie. Then, he remembered Kyra's back…her naked, wet back – "What happened to your uniform?" Tristan asked, taking his eyes off Kyra.

"After you left, I went back to my room to get extra clothes just in case I get blood on my uniform. I don't want people to get the wrong impression of me." Kyra mocked. "But I did get blood on my uniform…"

He whirled around, finally looking at her. "Kyra, what happened?"

"A newborn attacked me." Kyra said simply. "I don't know what happened. I was finishing my meal then suddenly; something attacked me and tried to stab me."

"Where's the body?"

"Burned to ashes." Kyra replied. "Don't worry, there's no evidence left."

"Do you know why this newborn attacked you?"

"I asked him but he didn't give me an answer. He knew I was going to kill him, though. Anyways, I had to burn my uniform because he manages to bleed me for a while. It looks like I have to ask the headmaster for a new –"

"Kyra, shut up." Tristan interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Kyra asked amazed what he just said to her.

Tristan opened his mouth to explain, then closed it, shut his eyes thinking what to say, and reopened them again as he stared at Kyra, who stood silent and watching him. He shook his head and strode to her, burying his hands in her hair, pulling her closer, and crashing his lips on her forehead. Kyra stood there surprise and not sure what to do.

"Did he just kiss me?" Kyra thought and could feel his forehead on top of hers, his hands not letting go of her hair.

"I thought I'd lost you," Tristan whispered.

"Lost me?" Kyra whispered back and felt strange as how close Tristan was being with her, physically and mentally. His hands released her hair and pulled her closer in his arms, embracing her. "Tristan, what are you doing?" She whispered, her arms hanging out, not sure what to do.

"I thought you left me." Tristan muffled in her hair and held her even tighter. "I was being a complete idiot and should've never yelled at you like that."

"Um…can you let me go?" Kyra asked in a whisper and pushed herself away from Tristan. "Why are you apologizing to me now? For weeks, I've been trying to get you to talk to me. And now, when you find me naked in the lake, you decided to talk."

"It's not like that, Kyra. I…Adam finally got some sense in me and I wanted to talk to you but I couldn't find you in the forest or anywhere in the school. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hagrid are still searching for you in this forest." Tristan explained. "I apologize for being an arrogant ass to you."

"I, uh…wow." Kyra said. She couldn't believe that Tristan was actually apologizing to her like this. "But what else are you sorry for? I know there's something else you need to grovel."

"Grovel," Tristan whispered, adding a smile on his lips. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like you meant nothing to me. But Kyra, you are my friend –probably my best friend, which is sad after all this years being a dead human. I never get too close with anybody besides Adam because of my past."

"A past you don't trust me to talk about." Kyra reminded him.

"A past that I'm afraid for you to hear from somebody other than me" Tristan said, correcting Kyra. "I am scared that you'll learn the false accusations made against me and not the truth."

"Oh, I see ya found her!" Hagrid's voice yelled from across. The three young wizards stood besides the half-giant professor.

Tristan chuckled, "Come on, let's go."

The young students managed to return to their dorms without being caught and Tristan was glad because he didn't know what to say to Flinch. Kyra sat across the firewood, feeling its heat and saw it was only eight-thirty at night. She turned her head and saw Tristan pouring blood in their cups. She touched her forehead as if she could still feel the lingering kiss Tristan gave her.

"Here," Tristan said as he handed her a cup. "You might need it after that fight with the newborn."

"Thank you," Kyra whispered.

"What I don't understand is why a newborn would attack you in the Forbidden Forest? Especially since it's near a school of young wizards and witches." Tristan said.

"I don't know."

"Kyra, are you alright?" Tristan asked her.

"Why did you kiss me?" Kyra blurted out.

Tristan turned to Kyra then at the fire, trying to find the right answer. But he couldn't because he didn't even know why he kissed her. Tristan looked around and noticed that they were alone in the living room. The night guards already left for their duties and everyone else were in their rooms with their own mates.

"I…I was worried about you." Tristan finally said, saying his words carefully.

"Why?" She asked and he snapped his head in her direction.

"Why?" He echoed and looked back at the dancing flames. "I…I don't know. I…feel very protective of you, Kyra. I always was since my brother and I first found you. But I have to be honest about something, I thought ignoring you and being away from you would be…helpful."

"Helpful? How is ignoring me for weeks being helpful?" Kyra asked him.

"Like I said before, I didn't want you to know about my past. And I thought not being around you would…make me not think that because of my past, you might get in danger." Tristan told her. "But during these past few weeks, I've realized that you are more than a pupil to me."

"Pupil…" Kyra whispered. "So you're still my mentor and not my mate?"

Tristan stiffened, remembering what he said to her that night. "I'm sorry about that but please let me continue. These weeks, it made me…anxious…to be away from you and not talk to you. You are my best friend and right now, the only person I can trust. I…care about you, Kyra. More than you'll ever know."

Kyra observed him as he stayed focused on the flames in front of him and knew that he carried around a lot of weight on his shoulders for who he is: the younger brother of the leader of their clan and everyone expected him to be like Adam. But there was more weight because he had to hide his past away –he probably has nobody to talk to about it besides Adam.

Hesitantly, she took hold of his cold hand and felt him jump surprise but he didn't let go of the grasp. "You can talk to me, you know." She replied, softly. "Waking up with no memory of who I am in the middle of the night at a park…one of the best things that happened to me since was meeting you and becoming your friend."

Tristan looked down at their united hands and something inside of him to seemed to argue –whether to tell her something else or not. "I'm used not to talk to anyone besides my brother." He told her, barley above a whisper.

"I know," She replied, her voice just as soft.

Tristan lifted his head and Kyra did the same thing, gold looking at violet. "And I'm not used to trusting anyone."

"I thought you said you trust me." Kyra asked, bewildered.

"I'm beginning to," He smiled, as Kyra couldn't help falling into those violet eyes of his.

A/N: Please, please comment!