Kai was speechless.

It was true that seeing him happy was rare. True that today was supposed to be a good day— as he had gathered all the requirements to make the Ambrosia Pact. But he wasn’t insistent on making today a good day.

He was fine if Talitha had told him about this.

Rather than hiding it from him to preserve his day, he would prefer knowing this.

Ever since he had become an Angel, survival had consumed him—the academy, its students, shadows with knives in every corner. Today, nothing had happened. No attack. No threat. And that stillness unsettled him more than any bad news.

Something big was coming. He could feel it.

Had Talitha told him about this, he would feel much safer.

At least he was only dealing with a student from the academy, not someone really dangerous.

However, what’s done is done.

"I don’t need to be coddled, Talitha. I can handle things like this without a problem," Kai said with a stern voice, trying to make sure she understood that it’s not okay for her to hide things from him like this. He didn’t like it. "If anything happened, you tell me. If someone harassed you, you come to me. Can you do that?"

"Yes..." Talitha answered; her voice came out meek. But she didn’t avoid his gaze. "Next time, I won’t do this again. I’ll tell you everything."

Hearing her voice made Kai remember how Abigail acted back in the Blood Rite.

Both of them are sisters, that’s for sure.

But compared to Abigail, Talitha, as the big sister, knew how to communicate more instead of shutting down as Abigail did. And for that, Kai decided to cut her some slack, as in the end, she wasn’t hurt that badly.

Abigail was there to heal her.

"I’m sorry for yelling in your room," Kai turned to Abigail and apologized.

"It’s okay," She replied in understanding. "Your emotions are high, and I can understand."

"Hmm... How bad was it?"

"She has a few broken ribs, bruises on her face and body, and a cut on her forehead."

"That bad?" Kai’s brows furrowed into a frown.

He knew that Talitha used her body to protect the buckets of flowers, making sure that they weren’t ruined. But for her to suffer that many wounds meant the student responsible did not stop after the first kick.

"Who is this student?" Kai’s eyes settled back on Talitha. "If you don’t know who the student was, describe what this person looked like. I’ll find and bring whoever it was to you, and you will tell me if it’s the student."

"I..." Talitha’s voice trailed with reluctance. "I don’t thi—"

"Talitha, if the next words that came out of your mouth are not the appearance of that student, I will not let you sleep in the room. Do you understand?" Kai’s eyes narrowed. "In fact, I will be searching for this student right now. So, answer my question."

Moments later.

Good begets good; Bella had taught him that.

Since Talitha had been nothing but helpful throughout the length of her being his servant, he wasn’t going to let someone hurt her slide. If Talitha made the mistake, then as her master, he would take the punishment and apologize.

But she didn’t make a mistake.

All she did was bump into this student, and she was beaten badly because of it.

It was unwarranted—especially since Kai was certain that Talitha would’ve apologized almost instantly when she realized she’d disturbed a student. He could accept her being scolded. A harsh word. Even a slap. He could stay quiet if it was only those things.

But this was way more than that.

Beating her black and blue, on the other hand, is too much.

Kai needs to make sure this student knows that he went overboard.

Other students had witnessed her being beaten; Talitha had told him as much. If Kai did not act now. If he let this slide without consequence, it would only invite worse in the future. He can’t let that happen.

Impunity bred cruelty.

And without repercussions, the bullying wouldn’t stop. It would only multiply.

Besides, he wasn’t afraid of any Angel.

Chester is the strongest of the freshmen, and Kai faced him head-on without fear.

Against a regular Angel, he’s practically fearless.

But I can’t make it seem like I care about Talitha. But can I do that? Can I be that person?

Kai’s blood was boiling after learning that a student—had beaten Talitha badly, even though she had such a sweet and caring personality. It made him want to protect her. So, he wanted to return the beating for her.

As much as he wanted that, he knew that it wouldn’t be good for him.

Not because he was afraid of the punishment that came with it, but because he was afraid the people who wanted to drag him down would know that Talitha mattered to him. And that’s infinitely worse.

If he’s going to do this, then he would need to make it seem like he was doing this for himself.

And he knew exactly how to do it.

Just that he would need to act the part to make it convincing.

Sleek green hair and tall, she said... That can only be one person, and I think I know what happened.

Kai exited the dormitory through the back door and stepped into the backyard. His eyes were fixed on the group of students right outside the back yard, gathering around a street chair as nature surrounded them from all sides.

One particular student stuck out.

A student with clean-cut green hair who was playing a guitar while others sang along.

Just as Kai walked out of the backyard, the student lifted his gaze.

His eyes flicked toward Kai, and a slow smirk curled across his lips, almost like he had been expecting this visit all along. "Well, well, well..." His fingers stilled on the guitar strings. And without looking away, he passed the instrument to the student beside him and stood. "What brings you here so late, Lesser Angel?"

"I heard your beat, my servant," Kai stopped a distance away.

Due to the stretching shadow, half of his face was completely shrouded.

"And what if I did?" Alex raised a brow tauntingly. "A mere servant didn’t use her eyes while she walked and bumped into me, and I beat some sense into her. To make her more obedient. To make her more careful. You should thank me for teaching your servant some manners.

"Don’t tell me... Are you here to avenge your servant?"

He turned to his friends, and they snickered in response.

Also finding the situation hilarious.

"Come on, Angel Alex. Have some balls to tell the truth."

"What did you say to me? Did you forget the beating I gave you?"

Kai didn’t respond; instead, he took out a bucket of flowers from behind him.

Its purple hues shimmered against the shroud of the night beautifully.

"Oh... There it is," Kai leaned his head forward a little—noticing that Alex’s face turned grim at the sight of the bucket of flowers. "Beautiful, isn’t it? As a Lesser Angel, the academy gave me little to no privileges—so I tried getting along with those in a similar position. Those who are more... down to earth. That’s how I get this.

"Do you know the person I’m planning to give this to?" He asked with a small grin.

Alex didn’t answer.

But both his hands were balled hard beside him as he held back his anger.

"You do know..." Kai chuckled, and at this point—the other students were beginning to grasp the situation. "In truth, my servant didn’t bump into you. You’re the one who bumped into her to ruin this beautiful bucket of flowers. Because I’m planning to give this to Bree. Sadly—my servant is too determined, and you failed to destroy it."

"You’re crossing the line... Lesser Angel," Alex whispered warningly. "Careful."

An attempt to intimidate.

In Kai’s eyes, however, he looked as harmless as a chihuahua.

"An Angel being threatened by a Lesser Angel, that’s not a good look for you now—does it?" Kai shifted his gaze to the group of students. All of them already stood, ready to defend their friend if the need arises. "Aren’t you guys disappointed? Your friend is a coward who doesn’t even have the confidence to beat a Lesser Angel fairly."

"You’re talking to us rather loosely, Lesser Angel."

"Who are you to judge Alex?"

Hearing them still defending Alex, Kai let out a chuckle that dripped with condescension.

Of course, he wasn’t expecting them to be on his side.

Just that it’s funny to see them talk like parrots, exactly as he imagined them would.

"Be a man," Kai finally settled his eyes back on Alex, and his words cut deep—like a serrated steel through the heart. The words cut so deep that even Alex’s face, which was usually full of arrogance, had turned red like a tomato. "If you want to win Bree over, then focus on her. Don’t focus on me. After all, it’s her decision in the end, not mine."

Once he said that, Kai turned around to return to the dormitory.

Not because he had his fill already; this was a performance.

A theatrical flair to bait Alex.

It was bold for him to turn his back against several furious Angels, but he did it anyway.

Attacking a Lesser Angel from behind would be really embarrassing for them, so Kai wasn’t that worried they would attack. Besides, he wasn’t really planning on leaving. He still had a bit more for Alex.

"Oh," Kai stopped after only a few steps and turned around, remembering something really important to tell. "I almost forgot to mention. Just earlier, I visited the professor’s headquarters. I registered my new group, the Ambrosia Pact." He let the name hang in the air. "A new group needs five members to be officially recognized. Five members."

Kai raised his hand and began counting on his fingers, "Myself. Matilda. Dorian. Bryan." He paused, letting the silence stretch as a slow smirk curled on his lips. "And Bree... That’s right. Bree is going to leave the Auric Cabal and join my group, Alex.

"And I’ll have all the time in the world to get closer to her."

Deep inside, Alex could feel his heart throbbed painfully when he heard the news.

He didn’t want to believe this.

Judging from Kai’s face, he knew that this was only a bait for him to attack.

But he couldn’t help imagine how it would look if Bree really did join Kai’s new group.

And that imagination made his blood boil like lava coursing through his veins.

He went wild. Rage-filled.

"Lesser Angel!" Alex roared and charged. "You bastard!!"