Lira didn't move her heel from where it was.
She looked at Kai with narrowed eyes — not hostility.
"Tell me," she said, "what exactly do you plan to do?"
Kai didn't answer.
"Given the state you're in..." Lira closed her eyes completely, head slightly tilted, assessing the situation with so little interest she didn't even need to look at it. "Split lip. Shoulder at a questionable angle. Side that probably protests every time you breathe." A pause. "I find it hard to believe you have what it takes to face a high-class vampire."
She opened her eyes.
Kai wasn't looking at her.
He was kneeling beside Serah.
---
Lira looked at him.
She watched Kai kneeling beside Serah.
She looked at him again.
The expression that crossed her face lasted exactly two seconds before she controlled it.
Kai had one hand on Serah's shoulder.
"The shoulder?" he said.
