Kai's glass of whiskey is brushing his lips when Marco finishes talking, and Kai sets it back on the table with a force that rattles the glass and table both. The spike of fear that fills him would drive him to his feet if he didn't feel frozen in his chair with it. He wants to run, he wants to draw his gun and be ready for whatever's going to walk through the door now.

But he feels at ease for the first time in weeks , body relaxing from a tension that Kai knows damn well he's been carrying but can't quite drive back into his bones, even at Marco's words. It's like Kai's body won't accept what his mind knows, that getting close to any unsidhe will just lead to pain.

"I don't have family," he says, eyes darting between Marco and the door, expecting Valin to walk through at any moment. Kai fights the very strong temptation to dive under the table to hide. "Did you tell him I'm here?" There's an urgency in Kai's voice, and his whole body language would be radiating fear even if Marco couldn't read it from him.