Kai had finally strapped Anya into a chair, tightly securing her arms and legs. To top it off, he had gagged her with a handkerchief to stop her from speaking, but that didn't stop her from thrashing about, her eyes were wide with defiance and fear.
She struggled hard against the bindings, shaking the chair beneath her, vigorously. Kai, who was already on edge, rubbed his temples in frustration, groaning loudly.
"For the love of—will you shut the fuck up?" he yelled, his voice echoed through the room. "Keep it up, and you won't live to see tomorrow!"
The threat landed, and Anya instantly froze, her heart pounded but her body went suddenly still. And the room fell silent.
Zephyr, standing nearby, glanced at Kai and sighed. "Kai, you need to calm down."
Kai gave him a glaring look, he was still visibly annoyed. "She's impossible. I'm done with this."
Zephyr smiled. "You've done things your way, but now let me try doing it the Zephyr way."
Kai's patience was already worn thin, so he narrowed his eyes. "And what, pray tell, would you do?"
Zephyr gestured toward Anya. "First, I'd start by untying her."
Kai blinked at him. "Untie her? That's the most idiotic thing you could do."
Damien chuckled from the sidelines, still swirling his wine, watching the exchange like it was a particularly interesting show. "This should be fucking good," he muttered to himself.
Zephyr was undeterred, he patted Kai on the back. "You need to learn the virtue of trust, my friend."
Kai gave a half-hearted shrug. "Fine. Let's see how far that gets you."
Zephyr crouched down in front of Anya, his gaze was gentle as he reached for the bindings around her wrists. "I'm sorry about Kai. He's... rough around the edges."
Just as he reached out to undo the last knot, Anya lashed out, kicking him square in the groin.
Zephyr's face was filled with a brief pain as he clutched his crotch. But, to Anya's utter shock, the pain seemed to vanish as quickly as it had come. He straightened up as if nothing had happened.
Anya didn't wait. She scrambled to her feet and dashed for the door, her mind was solely focused on escaping. But before her hand even touched the handle, Zephyr was already there, standing in front of her, calm and composed as though nothing had happened.
She turned, her eyes shifted back to where he had just been, and then back to him, she was confused. She stammered and was unable to form a coherent sentence. "How... how did you—what...?"
Zephyr tilted his head with his red eyes gleaming with amusement. "That wasn't very nice, was it?"
She swallowed hard. "How... how did you get here so fast? I kicked you in the... you should be in pain. What are you?"
Zephyr chuckled, folding his arms. "Well, let's just say I'm immune to a crotch kick."
She blinked, baffled. "Immune? That doesn't make any sense."
He smiled as he explained. "It's complicated. I'm not exactly immune, no. If someone kicks me, I'd take all the damage like anyone else... but I don't feel the pain, and my body regenerates almost instantly."
Anya stared at him with her mind reeling. "That doesn't make any sense at all!"
Damien, who had been silently observing with a smirk, finally put down his glass and walked toward them. He locked eyes with Anya, his gaze was intense yet indifferent. "Take a seat," he said softly. "Everything you're confused about... all your questions, they'll be answered."
Anya swallowed hard. The smoothness in his voice, the look in his eyes, it all made her feel small and helpless. She nodded slowly, unable to break eye contact, then took a shaky step back and lowered herself into the chair once more.
She kept nodding, over and over again until she was sat. Damien gave a slight nod toward Anya. "Thanks for cooperating," he said.
Zephyr and Kai exchanged surprised glances, though Kai quickly concealed any sign of shock. His face hardened as he moved closer to Anya, who now sat calmly in the chair.
"Listen up, and listen close," Kai demanded with a firm voice.
But Anya, who started to feel more at ease, crossed her arms and smirked at him. "I don't want you to address me," she said coolly.
Kai blinked, he was stunned by her defiance. "And who do you want to address you, then?"
Anya's gaze slid from Kai over to Damien, who stood a few feet away, still watching her with his usual indifferent stare.
Kai turned to look at Damien, his jaw tightened as he tried to suppress his anger. Zephyr, standing between them, shrugged lightly and said, "Give the girl what she wants."
Kai clenched his fists but stepped back, making way for Damien. "Fine," he muttered, his frustration was barely concealed.
Damien, as unbothered as ever, slowly walked over to Anya. He crouched down to her level and his eyes locked onto hers intensely. "You want the truth?" he asked, and she nodded.
"We're vampires," Damien said bluntly. "And we need your help. You have an important role to play in the supernatural world."
Anya's face went pale as his word's sunk in. Before she could even react, her body gave way to the shock. She slumped backward in the chair, unconscious, and the chair made a loud thud as it hit the floor.
Kai threw his hands up in disbelief. "What was that?" he asked.
Damien barely blinked, his face was completely unfazed. "She'll be fine."
Zephyr shook his head in disapproval, his voice was soft. "That's no way to tell an innocent girl the fate of every vampire in the world depends on her."
Damien shrugged. "My bad. I'll just compel her when she wakes up."
Kai nodded in agreement. "Couldn't agree more."
But Zephyr frowned, glancing between the two of them. "I thought we agreed not to use our abilities on the girl."
Damien stood up, stretching his neck lazily before turning to Zephyr. "Look, she's in over her head. The sooner she's on board, the easier it'll be for her... and us."
Zephyr hesitated. He was clearly torn, but he eventually sighed. "Fine," he muttered. "Do what you have to do. But be gentle."
Damien smirked. "Don't worry, I'm always gentle."