While his sight was clouded by rage that was directed at the intruder, Treyton had failed to notice Yuki's condition when she was caught up in the strong looming atmosphere that hang over the shop. He only took notice of her when the ominous creature closed in on them and held the stumbling girl.
"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Treyton growled after Yuki passed out. He put the pruners in his hand on the table beside which he stood, while staring maliciously at the unwelcomed guest. Taking notice of how the person completely disregarded his presence and words, Treyton's irritation escalated.
Treyton strode towards Kaithenn and attempted to redeem Yuki from his grasp. However, before his hand would even get as much as an inch close to Yuki, Kaithenn lifted his eyes from the girl and threw Treyton a threatening scowl.
Kaithenn's expressionless face had mutated into a stony one. His black eyes grew darker and narrowed fiercely, he exuded a hostile air as he beheld the approaching figure.
Abruptly, Treyton halted in his tracks when he noticed at the unexpected change of aura, countenance and potency the man gave off. His outstretched hand shook faintly while refusing to either return to his side or go forth. Nonetheless, despite the cautioning of every fiber of his being, Treyton still ventured forward unyieldingly to retrieve Yuki from the claws of the man.
As soon as he was close enough to actually touch the unconscious girl, Treyton felt a warm sensation on his lips, he paused, then touched his lips. It was wet. He brought his hand away from his mouth to take a look at whatever the fluid was. It was blood; his blood.
There and then, as if spotting the blood was the trigger, Treyton's head began throbbing. His heart started to pound in his chest at an alarming rate; he clenched his chest from the excruciating pain. While panting as if he was in the final moments of his life, Treyton sank slowly onto the floor. As if unwilling to fall to the ground, he extended his hand and grabbed onto a chair near him, however, his strong grip on the chair's arm crushed it instantly. As he lay at the man's feet, Treyton silently groaned while his fingers raked at his chest, as if he desired to rip out his heart which was the cause of the inconceivable pain.
"Argh!" he growled in pain, then relentlessly, Treyton lifted his gaze to look upon the kingly figure that stood over him. His face darkened at how he had been utterly disregarded.
Kaithenn's eyes remained on her girl in his arms the entire time. Without sparing Treyton an ounce of his attention, he stepped away from him and walked towards a nearby table. After reaching, Kaithenn delicately placed Yuki in a chair and slowly let her head fall onto the table.
Afterwards, he pulled a chair for himself by the same table and gracefully sat. His facial expression had recovered its superficiality as he gazed upon Yuki, whose breathing was slowly stabilizing in accordance to the energy he released.
At the change of Kaithenn's aura, Treyton's pain decreased by several degrees. The pain in his chest subsided by bits, his heartbeat gradually returned to normal just as his head felt clear again. Treyton's respiration progressively came under control. However, he chose to remain on the floor till his condition returned to normal completely.
When he recovered the entirety of his strength, Treyton finally got to his feet, wiped the trace of blood on his lips and under his nose with the back of his hand, before turning his gaze to the man who had his back facing him. It was evident that Kaithenn underestimated Treyton considerably. Treyton's jaws clenched as he glared at Kaithenn from behind.
"Return to Gouna," Kaithenn ordered lazily while staring at Yuki.
Just by his tone and conceitedness, Treyton was enraged. He had no idea what the identity of the arrogant man was, notwithstanding, Treyton hated him terribly. And that hatred had nothing to do with the fact that he was his kind's nemesis.
"And if I do not?" Treyton growled, his eyes staring blazing daggers into Kaithenn's back.
Kaithenn did not respond. He was quite lazy with words after all. Instead, he stood from his chair and closed in on Treyton in the blink of an eye. His dark pupils had turned scarlet red. Kaithenn's eyes were narrowed as he stood before Treyton, scanning him. There was not much change in his expression when he lordly stared at Treyton.
The two were almost the same height, though Treyton had a much larger frame than Kaithenn. Despite the difference in stature, both men were equally imposing in a way or another.
The sudden appearance of Kaithenn startled Treyton, yet, he maintained his composure regardless. He did not want to lose face twice.
"Do you think a filthy creature of your kind, can threaten me with your presence?" Treyton snarled with visible disdain.
Kaithenn was unfazed by both Treyton's contempt and rage. "You are either audacious or blind." Kaithenn turned around, slowly sauntering away from Treyton and returned to Yuki's side.
"I wish to commend you for your courage to stand in my presence and command such bravery…" Kaithenn's red eyes returned to their original alluring blacks as he stared down at Yuki and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face.
"Still, I will not have a leashed hound bark in my face," Kaithenn glanced at Treyton, his black eyes which was laced with a hint of red flickered momentarily.
Immediately after meeting Kaithenn's gaze, Treyton fell to his knees. His eyes widened in disbelief at the state he found himself, as well as the weighty pressure he felt from Kaithenn's gaze which kept him rooted on the floor. Cold sweat streamed down his face; his grey eyes darted subtly before he lowered his gaze as if in submission.
Kaithenn's eyes lingered on Treyton briefly before he tore them away to look at Yuki once more.
"For your meekness, heed my advice and leave Echt. Nothing fortunate will come from dawdling by this girl's side, I can assure you." Kaithenn picked up his overcoat that he had hang on the chair he sat on, took a final glance at Yuki before vacating the shop in a refined gait.
Treyton glared at the empty door through which the most irritating person he had ever met passed, he felt a sense of chagrin at the thought of how simply he was overcome despite how strong he believed he was. "Damn it!" Treyton roared; he raised his hand, channeled all his fury into his palm and attempted to smack a table nearby but stopped midway when his eyes caught sight of Yuki.
…
At an unhurried pace, Yuki opened her eyes. She allowed her dazed self to fully recover before lifting her head from the table.
"You are finally awake," Treyton said when Yuki raised her head. His expression was back to what it always was, while his conduct and thoughts were calculated to perfection.
Yuki looked blankly at Treyton, who was sitting across from her. After staring at him for a while, Yuki was finally reminded of the heated moment before her loss of consciousness.
She took her eyes off of him and scanned her shop. A loud sigh escaped her lips when she realized the shop was still intact. She ignored the one chair which was sitting in the corner of the shop with crushed parts; one chair was better than her entire shop crumbling, she thought.
Yuki's eyes returned to Treyton's face. "Were you two already acquainted?"
A disdainful frown crept onto Treyton's face at Yuki's words. "I don't know him," he said disdainfully.
"You don't?!" Yuki exclaimed with raised brows. She watched Treyton shake his head as an answer to her question.
"Then why were you trying to pick a fight with him?" Yuki could not comprehend the conversation she was having with Treyton. Low profile, right! Yuki huffed in her mind.
"I was picking a fight with him?"
"You were! Master Kaithenn was clearly uninterested in your provocative glare!" Yuki almost felt helpless. She did not want to attract the duke's attention to Yuki, just in case he did not already know she was the masked raven. But now…
"Was there a reason for your behavior earlier?" She tried to be reasonable enough to not just jump into conclusions, but instead, understand what caused Treyton's unusual behavior.
Treyton shrug with a nonchalant look. "I just disliked him."
What! Just that?! Yuki stared blankly at Treyton. Was he really keeping a low profile? Was he safe?
She and Jacek were doomed for their close relationship with Treyton. If he was going around making enemies of Beichans, it wouldn't be long before they would be caught up in some serious problems. Good riddance! Yuki shut her eyes and cussed. So much for a quiet life!