Nathaniel’s fingers danced along her jawline, leaning in closer, aiming for her rosy lips. Eyre clenched her fists in disgust and was then reminded of the teacup in her hands. Only a split second later she pulled back and threw the hot tea right up at his face. Nathaniel screamed in pain and scrambled to wipe off the scalding water from his skin. 

Without a second to think Eyre got up from her seat and sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Eyre!” he roared.

The deep bass of Nathaniel's voice sent Eyre’s heart flying in terror. The sound of his feet stomping after her, made her fret and trip on the hem of her skirt. Halfway up the staircase, she glanced back, just as Nathaniel had caught up to her at the bottom of it. She could hardly breathe trying to pull herself back up. Shaky on her feet she bailed down the hallway towards her bedroom where she bashed the bedroom door open, hurried inside and locked and locked it behind her.

Nathaniel chased her down in full rage and slammed his hand on the door only a second later. He giggled in a fit of playful anger and leaned his forehead against the door, trying to nudge it open. “Don't be shy, sweetheart~ No one is going to point fingers at us for having a little fun before the wedding?” His words danced to the tune of a childish melody, teasing her before an eerie silence fell over the entire building. It was too soon for the drug to have kicked in yet, so she could not let her guard down.

Eyre slowly backed away into the room and jumped as soon as she felt a solid figure right behind her. She screamed in surprise and froze on the spot with both hands covering her ears. A soft but firm grip took hold of her shoulders and the sound of a calm voice hushed her. 

"You need to think before you act," Kai whispered.

"…!?" Eyre let go of her ears and turned to confirm Kai’s presence. A sigh of relief knocked all tension out of her knees and without warning she dropped to the floor. 

Kai caught her unprepared and confused. He sighed and kneeled at her side with a deep frown. Her heart was beating with a violent rhythm in her chest and droplets of sweat were racing for safety from her temple as well. "What in the world were you thinking?" He growled in a hushed tone.

Eyre flinched at his remark and could not help but feel misunderstood. "There was nothing else I could do!" She retorted while trying to keep her voice down.

Their gaze remained locked for the moment, both unable to see eye to eye on how to handle the situation. Kai could not relate to her and Eyre was too aggravated by his unfair judgement. Yet, before any of them could lash back at one another they were interrupted by the sound of rattling keys from the door. 

"Oh no! The spare keys!" Eyre fretted. 

"What?!" Kai exclaimed. 

Eyre’s eyes widened when Nathaniel stepped into the room with a threatening aura, he stood tall with a gun in his hand. The mad glare on Nathaniel’s face was aimed at Kai. Before she even had a chance to warn Kai of the danger, she was pushed down only a second before Nathaniel took aim and pulled the trigger. She jolted in shock and closed her eyes in fear. 

Kai stood on hands and knees, leaning in over Eyre frozen in place. Eyes wide open he felt locked in place from the pain of the gunshot burning through his skull. Blood seeped from the back of his head, down along his chin until it lost to the laws of gravity and landed on Eyre’s cheek. His eyes were locked on her and he could see the desperation for help in her gaze spread like a wildfire the moment she looked up at him again. 

The second shot followed shortly after and this time Kai flinched at the pain which made Eyre scream in fear.

Kai remained frozen in place which pissed off Nathaniel even further. With no more bullets left, he stepped forward and kicked Kai in the stomach with full force just so he could get to Eyre. Kai tumbled over on the side with a dead look in his eyes, and although Eyre struggled, she was picked up with ease in a strong grip by Nathaniel.

"No! L-Let me go!" She screamed with eyes fixated on Kai. She did not want to leave his side. Even with all her strength, there was nothing she could do to win. 

Nathaniel was too enraged at the mere fact that Eyre had a man hidden away in her chambers to even notice what he was up against, so he kept on dragging her down the hallway just like how she did everything she could to wiggle free. 

In a last attempt to make Eyre obey, Nathaniel slammed her chest first into the railing next to the staircase. Well over a few metres above the ground floor, she was now leaning over in a forced position and she could feel the intent behind the force at the back of her neck; Nathaniel wanted to push her over it. 

"You little whore! You think that keeping a man close to your bed would save you from an arranged marriage!?" He was livid and on the brink of losing his last grip on sanity when a black shadow appeared behind him. 

Nathaniel was pulled back by the collar and shoved into the wall behind him. As he lost grip on Eyre, she slid down on the floor gasping for air, shaking from the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

The two large figures struggled in a one-sided feud where Kai, without a doubt, had the upper hand. He landed a clean grip on Nathaniel's neck making the man gasp for air trying to break free. 

Kai was burning with a deep grudge and made every move with the intent to kill on the spot. The only upper hand that Nathaniel had in this fight was his height and although Kai was far stronger there was no time to prepare for any underhanded tricks. 

Nathaniel tried with all his might to make Kai trip over, to push him over the railing, but landed a false step and ended up sending himself flying headfirst over from the power of Kai's throw. In a desperate attempt, Nathaniel reached for Kai's collar, trying to save himself. However, Eyre threw herself towards Kai, locking her arms around his waist and preventing him from being dragged along in the fall. 

Kai had never been a fighter and only had his force of power to show for his skills in battle. One of the major reasons he would avoid confrontations with humans.

Nathaniel landed on the ground floor, eyes empty and limbs spread out like a lifeless doll. No more, it was over. They were safe for now at least.

Kai turned around to shield Eyre from the sight. She stood locked in his embrace calmed by the hand that ran over the back of her head in gentle strokes. "It’s alright," He whispered. Meant more for himself rather than her. 

Kai had to take a deep breath and muster up the courage to speak. He never meddled in human affairs and never had he initiated a fight for justice either. He felt like his actions had been justified when Nathaniel had opened fire on him, but that was just a mere excuse. No demon would ever benefit from meddling in human affairs, apart from when it would lead to passive death through possession and cultivation. 

Eyre leaned on Kai; eyes shut to keep the world at a distance. 

"I'm sorry," Kai whispered again, feeling the muscles in his chest tightening up. There were no other words he could offer. The distance he had kept had helped him not to get lost in a maze of desire, but that did not mean that others could harm her. He struggled with his senses on fire, knowing that patience was the only thing that kept him from devouring her to speed up the healing of his wounds.