Nereyda

Chapter 8 || The Chief

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Chapter 8 - The Chief

They weren't walking through the streets for long before little clusters of people started appearing at the sides of the road. They stood in small groups, leaning against the walls of crumbling buildings and talking in low voices to each other.

Some watched them as they passed, smiling sinisterly but others ignored them completely.

Next to her Kai walked with the quick strides that she was beginning to learn were characteristic to him. His expression was smooth save for a slight pulling in of his eyebrows and somehow she knew that his composure was just a mask on the surface.

Her palms started to sweat with anxiety. What if...what if he didn't protect her? How could she have so much trust in this man that she'd just met? Stop it, she told herself, you have no choice.

Her heart jumped when a hand reached out and grabbed her right arm. However, as she pulled air into her lungs to scream, she realised that Kai was, in fact, the man pulling her to the side of the road.

He pressed her into the grimy wall with his whole body, his head falling so his mouth brushed her ear. Her breath stopped and her eyes widened. Was it really necessary for him to get so up in her personal space? Her collarbone throbbed painfully where Braeden's hidden mark lay.

Kai's breath was soft on the side of her face as he spoke in a stifled voice. "Know that people will assume the worst of our association."

Someone wolf whistled loudly from behind Kai, as if on cue. "The sun hasn't even set yet!" The unidentified male voice shouted. Nereyda waited for Kai to turn around and teach the man a lesson for sniping at him in such a disrespectful way but he didn't, simply waiting for the footsteps to pass.

"But more importantly," Kai continued, "we are dalatzef. You have no time to learn that, you just need to know."

Nereyda blinked at the small portion of the sky that she could see. Give up her leopard completely? Half of her soul? She couldn't, wouldn't do it. But, if it meant her survival, she could pretend.

Kai took the two steps that released her from his constraints and her lungs expanded rapidly.

Nereyda scrambled to keep up with him as he resumed his stride, taking deep breaths to try to calm her racing heart rate. He had such an overwhelming presence this man, and so close to her like he'd been just now... She squeezed her eyes shut to try to clear the fog from her brain.

Kai stopped at an unassuming fire escape staircase that looked the same as many down the street before it. Had they arrived?

Nereyda followed close behind him up the stairs, suddenly feeling like eyes were watching her from all directions. Peeking down at the street they were leaving, she realised that the people that had previously been occupied with their own business, now paused in their activities to gape up at her with wary stares.

She quickly averted her eyes, ducking her head in a reflex that would once have sent a sheet of snowy hair falling to protect her. She bit her lip, tugging uncomfortably at the too small top that left her skin bared to the scrutiny of others. Gods she felt so exposed.

Kai pushed open a heavy door to reveal what looked like a deformed version of one of her drawing rooms back home. It had several low sofas facing even lower coffee tables, arranged to maximise each segment's privacy.

From what she could see as Kai led her through, there weren't many people around in this open room.

A man nearly double her size stood with his back to the wall near the door and exchanged nods with Kai as they passed. This must be what the dalatzef used as their guards.