Before Eyre knew it, the ruined shirt popped up in front of her. Kai stood right behind her reaching around to hand over the shirt. She took it into her hands before turning around. A loud gasp could be heard throughout the corridor. “Y-Your horns are gone!?” she fretted and could hardly believe it.

“Hm?” he paused for a second. He was not expecting such a reaction from her, was it really that strange? “You didn’t know about this?” he asked and felt a sense of pride crawl up his spine. Her reaction entertained him, but only because she had been so calm about the whole demon thing until now.

“No, I didn't,” she replied and could not stop staring at him. Without the markings on his skin and the horns, he looked just like any ordinary human. His dark bangs swept to the side and graced his eyelashes before he let a hand run through and pushed it all back. She was stunned by his visuals and tried to hide her excitement by covering her mouth with the torn shirt. 

Kai was too focused on fixing his attire to notice at first, but when she tried to run off, he reached out for her forearm and pulled her back. As he kept her shoulder close to his chest he leaned down and whispered. “Don’t ever forget what I am,” he warned, knowing full well that his very existence could easily derail the human mind. He released his grip once more when he heard how the heartbeat spiked in her chest. 

It was a tough balance and even if Kai tried to put down boundaries, there was little to nothing he could do. He placed a gentle arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the bedroom.

It took a while before Eyre was able to pack a light bag for the road. Then she was reminded of the old cottage that her family used to visit back when her mom was still alive. It had been years since then and only her father had frequented the place up until last year.

Eyre stood up and turned to Kai, who was sitting on the bed with crossed arms. “If we head to the next town down south, I know of a place where we can stay,” she said and noticed how it piqued his interest. “It’s an old cottage in the forest, but close enough to the town to get what we need,” she added.

Kai sighed and unfolded his arms. “Is that all you need?” he asked and pointed at her bag. 

“Yes,” she confirmed and saw how he reached out for it and swung it over the shoulder. 

“Let’s get going then,” he said and offered her a hand to hold onto. Eyre’s gaze shifted between his eyes and his hand before she accepted it. With careful steps he guided her through the house and out the back door past Nathaniel’s dead body, disappearing before people would start moving about. 

They wandered through the empty streets and did not stop until they reached the wide-open fields south of the town. Then Eyre let go of Kai’s hand and paused for a moment to take in the view of the sun breaking through from the east. 

The little port town was hidden deep within the mountains and relied heavily on the merchants that made use of the port for trading. A business that her uncle had clawed into early on when he was nothing but a mere labour worker. It felt strange to see it all left behind, however, she had no regrets.

With the bag over his shoulder and one hand buried deep in the pocket, Kai walked along at a decent pace. This was not how he imagined that he would leave the little port town, but now that he was finally on his way again, he felt relieved. 

The gravel road was rough on Eyre’s feet. Never had her shoes been this torn and dirty yet she did not complain much. They had kept up the pace but only seemed to be halfway to the next town. 

“Kai, please, slow down,” she begged and was out of breath trying to catch up to him. There was a clear difference in their stamina and while she was about to faint from fatigue, he was in no way affected by the physical strain. 

Kai skimmed over his shoulder the moment he felt something pull at the fabric of his coat. The sudden weight pushed him out of balance and made him trip like a clutz. He landed face-first on the ground with Eyre on the back.

“Geez! Watch where you’re going!” he snapped and cast a fierce glare over his shoulder; however, Eyre’s poor condition muffled him. She moaned in pain from the fall and tried to push herself back up, but before she could move away, he got a hold of her arms and forced her to lean back down over his back as he got up. 

“Wah!” she exclaimed. 

There was little to nothing else Kai could do for her, although he was not satisfied with carrying her on his back like this. 

Eyre remained silent and hid her face at the back of his neck in shame, but all he could hear was her fluttering heart beating against his back. “Ease up, will you? Your heart might explode at this rate,” he growled, but nothing changed. The things he did to keep up his end of the bargain seemed oddly familiar. 

With every hour that passed, the landscape changed. 

Eyre remained quiet for a long time leaving Kai alone with his thoughts, as he kept reminiscing. 

Familiar surroundings began to pop up around them as they neared the outskirts of the neighbouring town, and as nighttime arrived, they finally stood on top of the hill with a perfect view over the entire area. 

Kai halted in his tracks with a paralyzed gaze fixated on the glowing lights of the town. 

“Why did we stop?” Eyre yawned and looked over his shoulder. The moment she laid eyes on the town she lit up like a little child. 

Without hesitation, she climbed off his back and went over to the road signs. One pointed to the town and the other towards the forest.

Kai seemed almost frozen in place in the middle of the gravel path. The wind kept pulling in his clothes and hair. There were fields as far as the eye could reach and only in the distance could one spot the forest west of the town. 

Eyre stepped back over to his side and pulled on his sleeve with a gentle touch. “Come on, we are almost there,” she said and could hardly get a reaction out of him when he turned around in silence. She watched him carefully as he just kept on walking while not paying attention to his surroundings. She sighed with worry and could not help but ponder over the sudden change in his mood. Here they were, only moments away from their destination and all he could do was mope about it. 

Eyre bit her lip and skipped up in front of him trying to reach out for the bag. “Here let me take this-,” she exclaimed out of excitement before she stepped on the frayed hemline of her skirt. Thrown out of balance she fell over and fell over in a panic before a pair of strong arms pulled her back up into a tight embrace.

Eyre looked Kai right in the eyes. His amber-coloured eyes were warm, yet sad. He sighed in relief and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers, lost in a deep sentiment. Once again listened to her fluttering heart and by default, he ended up stroking her back with his thumb as if he were trying to comfort it.