"You say that like it’s something wrong," Leon said, golden eyes glinting with mischief. "You’re my wife, it’s your duty to provide soothing for me."

Anna’s left eye twitched. "I’m your wife? It’s now you remember that? Did it mean anything when you held your sword to my throat?"

"You’re still angry about that? It was the past, Princess."

"The past?!" Anna hissed. "Oh, oh, I see. And when you left me on that cliff as a feast for the Mirrors?! Or when you— Urgh! You’re such a horrible person! Why do I even bother with you?"

"Excuse me, cutie. One moment," Kai said from behind Anna, cutting her off. He gently held her shoulder and pushed her behind him.

Before she could ask what he was doing, he sucker punched Leon’s face.

The blow was loud, ringing out through the air. Leon’s face whipped to the side, blood spraying out of his nose. He slumped over the pillows, knocked out cold.

Anna gasped, horrified. "Kai!"

Ray stifled a laugh, making Anna turn to him. He turned away, laughing softly to himself.

"Someone had to shut him up." Kai said with a proud smile, shaking his wrist. "Talking about my wife like you’re married to him alone."

"Violence isn’t the answer, Kai," Tristan cleared his throat.

Kai turned to him, cracking his knuckles. "Could you say that again?"

Tristan pursed his lips and refused to answer.

"That’s what I thought."

Anna rubbed her temples, fighting the smile threatening to overtake her face. "Kai, that was...anyway." She turned to the men. "Please move him to my room. I’ll try and heal his injuries. If I fail, we might need a doctor. Also, I don’t think I’ll be able to fix a broken arm."

"I’ll do it," Tristan offered.

"Don’t forget to put extra pressure on his twisted arm." Kai said. Anna smacked his arm.

"I’ll ask the innkeepers for a doctor." Ray said and left.

Two hours later, some normalcy had returned to their little party.

Leon was knocked out the entire time Anna used her spores to heal him. She was only able to close ten percent of his injuries before she got too exhausted to even lift her arms.

With the threat of Dream Weavers hanging over their heads like a noose, Tristan left to inform the local authorities and set up a defense before the threat arrived.

The innkeepers alerted the doctor, but it would take another two hours for him to arrive, and in the meantime Ray offered to keep watch over Leon. That was his way of saying "I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you."

Meanwhile, Anna, barely able to keep her eyes open and unable to stomach Leon’s presence any longer went to the other room. There she collapsed into Kai’s arms.

Kai caught her easily, his slender arms wrapped around her like she was a fragile flower. "I’ve got you now,"

Anna closed her eyes, letting herself melt into his embrace. He was warm and smelled nice, soft like the breezy ocean with a hint of blood. They collapsed into the bed together, her arms wrapped securely around his waist, her head resting on his chest.

"Cutie?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you soon go back to your world?"

Anna blinked, the question unsettling. "Why?"

"You’re being nicer. It feels like you’re making memories before you leave. Will you leave?"

Anna bit her lip hard. True, she wanted to leave. She believed all that was between her and her normal life was two measly tasks. Until the system dropped the bombshell.

"I don’t know," she replied honestly, her voice bitter. "Why are you asking about this?"

"No particular reason."

She knew it was more than that, but she didn’t pry any further.

But Kai wasn’t done. "Are you hungry?"

Anna thought of the meat and drinks from the previous night. Come to think of it, one of the superpowers of Beastblooms was their ability to never suffer from corruption. Meaning she could eat as much meat as she wanted without fear.

"Yeah..."

Kai started to get up but she held him down.

"Later, we’ll go later. I’m not that hungry now." Truly she wasn’t. Whatever appetite she had was squashed after seeing Leon.

Kai made a noise of disapproval but settled back into the bed. "You know, someone might get the wrong idea and think we’re in love."

"It’s fine. We know it’s not true anyway, I’m just borrowing your warmth."

Kai’s smile flatlined. He stared down at her, his eyes full of disbelief. "What?" He lifted her head and forced her to look at him. Searching her eyes, he didn’t even know what he was looking for. But when he didn’t find it, his frown deepened. "Did that kiss truly mean nothing to you?"

Anna blinked. She didn’t know what to say.

"Tell me. If it was Leon instead of me, would it have still meant nothing?"

Anger sparked in her eyes. "Leon? Please don’t insult me. I’m not so touch starved that I’ll imagine kissing him, talk less of doing it. He tried to kill me!"

"Then what about me?" Kai questioned.

Anna turned her head away. "I don’t know."

"What do you mean you don’t know?"

"What I mean is, you’re not in love with me. That’s impossible. And I can’t be in love with you, that’s simply wicked. I’ll eventually go back to my world and—"

She didn’t finish her sentence.

Kai grabbed her chin, pulled her close, and kissed her.

His lips crushed into hers, hard and full of passion. Anna’s brain short circuited and for a few seconds she didn’t know where she was or what was happening. Then his lips registered. She tasted the hunger, the anger on his lips. Her heart flared and she struggled, hitting his chest and trying to push him away. But he grabbed her hands, pinned them together as he deepened the kiss.

Oh... that feels really good

Anna’s eyes drifted shut. Something deep in her brain activated and she relaxed. She knew that Kai wouldn’t hurt her. She knew it like the back of her hand. So she kissed him back.

He flipped their positions, pinning her into the bed and letting go of her hands. The kiss turned softer, and Anna sighed sweetly.

That was the last sound she made before her body went boneless.

Kai pulled back, confused to see her fast sleep. "What? You...you’re joking." He chuckled to himself. Who falls asleep while kissing?

Shaking his head, he pulled the covers over her and laid beside her, watching every micro shift in her expression.

"You must be exhausted," he murmured, tugging the covers up to her chin. "Just let me eat that stupid lion already."

A shuffle at the door drew Kai’s attention away from Anna. Standing in the doorway was Ray, a furious look on his face. It didn’t take much to guess that he had seen everything.

Kai grinned, a proud and self serving smile. Then he pulled Anna to his chest, never breaking eye contact with Ray.