Page 16 of Her Fallen Angel

A low growl rumbles in his chest. He grabs my chin, tilting my face up. His violet eyes bore into mine, seeking answers I won't give. "What game are you playing, little flame?"

"No game." I meet his gaze steadily. "You provide shelter, protection. Is it so strange I'd wish to make your burdens lighter?"

The answer is yes. It is strange, but I'm not going to point that out. It's just… There is something with Kai. He's very attractive, but there's been a tension brewing between us. Something that I don't understand - just like how I don't understand why I'm not afraid of him or why I want to please him. Maybe it's just in my nature but I find myself serving him not out of self-preservation but because I feel like I should.

Like maybe I want to.

His grip tightens for a moment before releasing me. Confusion flickers across his features, there and gone like lightning. He turns away, wings spreading slightly as if to shield himself.

"The wine needs to breathe longer," he mutters, but takes a long drink anyway.

I hide my smile as I adjust the fall of his cloak, smoothing wrinkles from the dark fabric. His wings quiver at my touch, but he doesn't pull away. Small victories, measured in millimeters of trust.

Trust I shouldn't want. But at this point, my mind is too jumbled for me to understand.

Honestly, I'm not really trying to question it at this point. Instead, I start to clean up and prepare pitchers of water andfruit since Kai is training here today. And once it is ready and the xaphan are already outside, I decide to stay.

From my position near the courtyard's edge, I watch Kai drill with his warriors. Vhex lunges with brutal force, his steel-gray wings snapping out for balance as his practice blade whistles through the air. Kai deflects the blow with practiced ease, violet eyes cold and distant even in combat with his supposed friend.

"Getting slow?" Vhex's scarred face twists into a sneer, but there's an underlying warmth to his taunt. "What happened to the once great warrior?"

Kai doesn't return the banter. His ash-gray wings spread wide as he counters with a series of swift strikes that force Vhex back. Each movement precise, controlled, revealing nothing.

Mykael approaches from the sidelines, his dove-gray wings neatly folded. "Touchy, too."

"Shut up." Kai doesn't even glance his way, focused on disarming Vhex with mechanical efficiency.

"See, there? Never can take what you give, can you?" Mykael's green eyes narrow slightly, studying Kai's reaction. Always watching, always calculating.

"I said shut it." Kai's wings snap tight against his back, a clear dismissal.

Blood sprays as his blade catches Vhex's forearm. The silver-haired warrior curses, dropping his weapon. Most would pause, check their companion's injury. Kai simply turns away, sheathing his blade.

"Patch yourself up." His voice carries no concern, but a hint of smile tugs at his lips as Vhex curses. "Be faster and that wouldn't happen."

I pour fresh water into the practice yard's washing basin, careful to keep my movements quiet. Even among his closest companions, Kai maintains walls thick as the compound'sfortifications. He has light banter with these too, but that's it. It's like he keeps himself walled off from the world.

The cruelty I understand - it's written in every scar on his wings, every cold command. But this isolation, this careful distance... it pulls at something in my chest even as it makes my skin crawl. A fortress cannot stand forever without foundations.

Vhex wraps his bleeding arm, shooting Kai's back a look that has me biting back a laugh. Mykael claps him on the shoulder with a raised brow. "He's got a point, you know."

"Oh, fuck off," Vhex shrugs him off.

"Let's get you back before Kai decides he wants another round."

"Afraid?" Kai taunts.

"Not fucking stupid," Mykael answers as he guides Vhex out of the courtyard. His eye snags on me for a second before they continue around the corner.

But my focus is already on another xaphan. As he turns back toward me, I spot a gash splitting Kai's shoulder, crimson seeping into the leather of his training gear.

My feet move before conscious thought catches up, medical supplies already out since they all knew they'd need them. I quickly grab what I need and dart toward him.

Kai's hand closes around my throat, his body pivoting to slam me against the stone wall. His violet eyes burn with feral intensity, wings flaring wide to cage me. Blood drips between us, pattering on the floor like rain.

"I didn't give you permission to touch me." His breath fans hot across my face.

I keep my voice steady despite his grip. For some reason, he doesn't scare me. In fact, I like seeing his dark side come out. "The wound needs cleaning before infection sets in."

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