"Oh, hey..." Marco is half on his feet when Kai slams the glass down and he can feel the fear rising. "Listen, I have no intentions of reporting back to your family or anyone else for that matter. I did talk with Merlin, but I didn't mention your name even to him. Or any description of you, or your family."

He's talking in a low, soothing voice, slowly lowering himself back onto his seat and leans forward a little, over his glass to try and catch those dark eyes with his own.

"I know you have no reason to trust me, but whatever reason you have to shun those folks, I'm not going to tell you to do otherwise or advocate for any approach you should take. I'm merely curiously about you simply for personal reasons."