26 |Unexpected Visits II

"What the fuck are you doing in her room?" Danji snarled, his threatening tone reeked with distrain.

"Whose? Oh, Kamy's?" Leviathan chose to play ignorant.

"Don't you dare call her by that name?"

"And what if I do?" Leviathan slowly rose to his feet, thrusting his hands into his pockets. "It's easier to moan".

Danji took a step forward, "Just who the fuck do you think you ar—!" Kamyla immediately stepped in front of him, "Danji! Stop!"

His body stilled abruptly, with Kamyla's weight holding him back as his daggering glare narrowed at the hellish embodiment.

"Short temper, I see", Leviathan smiled, "No bother, it must hurt to find her affected by irrelevant things", the words rolled off his tongue in a form of mockery, mimicking Danji's words said from the earlier hours of the day.

Danji clenched, "Get out..."

"Stupid of you to demand".

Again, Danji attempted to close the distance between them, forcing Kamyla's body to press against him in resistance. Kamyla bit her lips, struggling to balance the tray in one hand while holding Danji with the other.

"Danji..." She called softly, trying her best to shun the demon's presence. "Danji, look at me!"

He refused.

"Danji!" She called again, forcing him to lower his gaze to her. Watching her doe brown eyes coo at him with a worried grimace, Danji's eyes couldn't help but catch a glimpse of her slightly exposed bosoms squeeze through the rim of her towel as she pressed her weight against his chest.

His blood boiled, feeling the brewing irk of just the thought of how much the bastard hell prince had snuck a peek before he arrived.

He looked back at Leviathan, "You better leave... Now!"

Leviathan tilted his head, "I prefer not. Especially after how much of her I've seen so far".

Danji's patience snapped like a threat.

Losing not a second of thought, he raised his hand to push Kamyla aside, pacing up to the stagnant irritant — Kamyla staggered to the side, losing the balance of the tray of food in her hand as the tray slipped to meet the carpet floor.

Just a moment before Danji reached a few feet from Leviathan, Kamyla's scream pierced through the tensed air, seizing their gazes with immediate effect.

Danji paused.

Standing with her hands on the wall for support, Kamyla's eyes remained fixed on her left leg; covered in the hot content of the steaming soup that spilled over her sheen.

She leaped back on one leg, whimpering in the agonizing pain of the burn.

"Kamy!!" Danji was the first to move in instinct, darting in her direction to wrap his arms around her. She then rested against his chest, clinging to him with clenched jaws.

"Shit!" He tutted, carefully lowering her to sit on the floor with her back against the wall. Taking a panicking moment to glance at her injured leg and back, Danji simply cradled the side of her face.

"It's alright... I'll take you to Mama Enh—"

"You have such an unpleasant temper".

Danji's words creased to the taunting voice of Leviathan, whose feet hadn't moved from the spot he stood on ever since.

"You seem to prove more harmful around her, than me". Leviathan chuckled.

Danji's eyes slowly gazed over his shoulders, gulping down his wrath with utmost self-control.

Grinding his teeth to find the calmest words to threaten him, Leviathan then added, "And you wonder why I was in that position with her instead of you—"

"You fucking son of a—!" He bolted up.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!" Kamyla's harshen voice hushed the atmosphere, forcing all eyes to fall on her.

Her head was left hung down and her hands circled at the knee of her sore leg. Kamyla's jaws locked.

"Leave..." She snarled.

Danji's expression softened as he turned to face her, "Kamy, I'm sor—"

"Prince Leviathan! Get out! Now!!!"

The two men paused as they silently observed the scorning young girl in her burnt plight.

Danji's face fell deeper into a remorseful expression.

Unlike Leviathan, whose face carried the exact opposite of concern and bother as he watched her with bored stoic eyes; transparent to the disappointment he felt of her ruining the fun of the moment.

He rolled his eyes, turning to the bed with a tsk.

The sudden sounds of ruffling fabrics seized Danji's attention as he turned to sight only the fading black mist that dissociated in the air.

He blinked twice, darting his eyes around for the missing demon that was just there moments ago.

Kamyla suddenly drew out a long sigh, throwing her head back to gently meet the wall. "Finally", she muttered.

He was finally gone... Her eyes pulled shut.

• • •

Moments later...

"Woah..." Echoed the voice of Ajefe within the silent tension in the room.

Seated on the chair next to Kamyla's bed, Ajefe had his hands out over Kamyla's injured leg as he gently applied the yellowish ointment on her wound.

Kamyla hissed under her breath, clutching onto her blanket as she remained seated on the bed; now dressed in a casual loose gown with multiple colored markings drawn on it.

With Ajefe carefully tending to her wound, the third person in the room, Danji, stood behind Ajefe with his thumbnail between his teeth as he watched Kamyla with wistful eyes.

"I let you go out on your own this once, Dan... And all these happened?" Ajefe gazed at his friend over his shoulder.

Danji remained silent, unable to look away from Kamyla, who had her eyes fixed on her bedsheet.

He then pulled down his thumb before exhaling softly, "Like I said... It was that Devil Prince that caused all of this!"

"Oh, the Prince?" Ajefe chuckled, looking back at Kamyla's leg. "But according to the story, he wasn't the one who pushed Kamy down and caused hot okro soup to pour over her leg".

Danji dropped his head in shame, gulping down softly.

Ajefe scoffed, "I've told you severally to mind your temperament—"

"But he was the one that provoked Dan!" Kamyla abruptly defended.

"Oh, of course you will support Dan. You always make excuses for his excesses".

She stayed silent, trapping her lips between her teeth.

"Besides", Ajefe continued, "We all know your temper is one of your greatest weaknesses..."

Again, neither of the two said a word. The air was strongly staunched of their embarrassment and inability to look each other in the eye.

Danji then finally spoke, "I know I have a strong fault in this. And I apologize for that. But it doesn't trivialize the fact his actions were inappropriate and disrespectful to Kamyla and her privacy. Who the fuck did he think he was, forcing his way into her hut like that?! Is he mad!!"

Kamyla bit harder onto her lips, feeling the fluttering sensation in her tummy. She turned her face in the other direction as her cheeks heated.

Ajefe's composed expression didn't change as he chuckled, "Well, hero of the day, I won't pretend to say, you actually ended up causing more harm than him, a devil".

"So now you're siding with him?!" Danji frowned.

"I am siding with no one. But just know that the next time you want to protect Kamyla, make sure she actually ends up safe!"

Danji clinched.

Finally done tending to Kamyla's wound, Ajefe placed the bowl of ointment aside before saying, "This should prevent any swelling or peeling of her skin. But to help with the pain, you'll need to go to Mama Enhu for some herb—"

"Okay!" He cut Ajefe short, turning without a thought to pace out of the hut.

Ajefe sighed as he shook his head, "His patience is smaller than an okro seed". He then raised his gaze to the girl seated against the wall with the blanket hugged to her chest.

His lips cracked into a grin, "Queen of hearts!"

Kamyla cringed. "Don't even..."

"I can see you've been busy. Catching the attention of the strongest men around and causing them to duel for your affection".

"Ajefe. I said don't..." She closed her eyes.

Ajefe couldn't hold himself, "How does it feel, though? Being the center of attraction. Human commander and demon prince going head on".

"Ajefe..." She snarled.

"Although it's obvious you want Danji to win—" his words creased by the sudden grasp of his neck in Kamyla's palm. He froze.

Kamyla glared death into his eyes as she tightened her grip. "I said... Don't".

Ajefe immediately nodded with a smile, feeling his lungs were already in need of air.

She released his neck to allow him to draw in a dramatic gasp, rubbing his neck. "Do your admirers know you are this aggressive for a woman!?"

"Shut up", she crossed her arms with a hiss.

Ajefe pouted, turning away to murmur, "And you wonder why Danji pampers Ilo and not you..."

"What did you just say?" Her eyes slitted.

"Nothing!" He immediately stood up, stepping back to save his neck.

Kamyla frowned, kissing her teeth, "Onishey..." She looked away, "You're sounding as if I expected Danji to do what he did. I know he has a snappy and aggressive nature. But that level of outburst? I least expected it".

"What were you thinking then? Danji has always loomed over you since we were kids. No boy in the village had even a glimpse of a chance to approach you. Talkless enter your hut and lay on your bed".

Kamyla's shoulders dropped, "I was honestly confused. I just knew I needed to hold Dan from falling into that bastard's trap to provoke him enough to land the first hit".

"And you did a good job with that. In fact, you did so well, that you got an even better result".

"Meaning?" She gazed at him from the corner of her eyes.

"You made Dan panic. For the first time in a while. Although he has always been rash, he's mostly too proud to admit his mistakes. But today? You should have seen the miserable expression on his face when he ran all the way to find me to attend to you".

Kamyla's lips couldn't help but curve at the edge. "Really?..."

"I swear! I could have charged him anything at that moment and he'd pay without batting an eye. He was so agitated as if you lost a limb, he shunned Ilo completely after he badged in".

"You were at Ilo's house?" Her brows raised.

"Hmm", he nodded, "We all were. He just left earlier to bring your food. Then this happened".

Kamyla took a moment, looking down at her injury and back. "Did he... Really look that bothered?"

"Trust me, everyone in the house wanted to follow us to check up on you. I just insisted we can handle it and they should wait for us to return. Good thing they did".

Kamyla's lips curled into a weak smile as she looked away once more, raising her hand to touch the strands of her loose hair in an attempt to hide her face from Ajefe.

Her smile widened.

Danji actually panicked that much... B

Just because of her? Over a simple burn?... Not to mention to the extent he completely ignored Ilo to place her as a top priority at the moment.

The tingle in her stomach didn't lessen.

She least expected that much of a reaction. She knew Danji always cared for and protected her as her big bother since they were little... But then long after they became warriors, it started to seem that at some point... Danji looked at her as a fellow man instead.

Aside from his usual nag about safety and discipline during battles — which he did the same to the other warriors — he never really showed any more signs of extra concern or shielding like he use to when they were younger...

He instead treated her normally... Like he would to Ajefe and the rest.

It became even more obvious whenever they returned home and Ilo was around him.

Basic activities like opening the door, carrying a light load, farm work, cleaning, and even house chores... Danji would do it all for and with her. Like she was some delicate petal that would tear to the slightest labor.

Which was nothing compared to the way she worked...

"You like it, don't you?"

She snapped her eyes at Ajefe, who held on a cheeky smile.

"His attention", he stated. "You like it, don't you?"

Kamyla delayed her response as her gaze wandered away from his in a nervous manner. "Well... Who would dislike being cared for?"

"Then why stop here..."

"What?" Her head crooked.

"Why stop when you're finally getting what you want? Use the opportunity..."

"What exactly are you pointing at?"

Ajefe grinned with a daring glint in his eyes. "Use Prince Leviathan".

Her brows quirked.