Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Xiang leaned in close enough that the tips of their noses nearly touched. “Who said I’m not?” He let Kai hang there for a few heartbeats. At least long enough for the dragon to swallow hard enough for Xiang to hear it. But he couldn’t hold on to his false, angry demeanor. He sat back and let his smirk tip up one corner of his mouth. “I was angry at first, but you were still unconscious from your fight with the fae, so it wasn’t like I could shout at you. I had two entire days to think about it, and I figured that the entire reason you were hurt in the first place was because you were protecting me. At that point, it was impossible to stay pissed at you.”
“Well, you were probably ninety percent of the reason,” Kai mumbled.
“And the other ten percent?”
“Pure rebellion.” Kai narrowed his eyes at Xiang. “I’m older than all the fae combined. No one should be able to control me! I’ve fought armies and monsters. I’ve brought rains that saved the crops of entire villages, keeping them from starving to death. Emperors bowed to me, and a god gave me a sword.”
Xiang’s heart gave a giddy flip in his chest. Yes, he’d guessed a few days ago that the man who’d been spending time with him was the same dragon who’d kidnapped him, but it was different actually hearing it from his own lips. Here was a living creature from his childhood stories who’d seen more of the world than he’d thought possible. He’d earned the gratitude of a god, even.
And now he bickered with Xiang over a weiqi board and allowed Xiang to rest his head on his chest while playing on his phone. It didn’t seem real. How could be lucky enough to be here with such an ancient creature? His first instinct was to protect Kai at all costs. He was both precious and incredibly rare. Not some errand boy or battering ram for the fae. He was a priceless treasure.
It was easy enough to guess what Kai’s thoughts would be if Xiang were stupid enough to tell him he needed to be protected, though. The grumpy dragon would roar, snap, and pout.
“It won’t be for much longer,” Xiang reassured him.
Kai paused in the middle of trying to get the covers untwisted and smoothed out around him. “Why do you say that?”
“Because now that I know the truth, you can take me to my clan when you’re all healed up.”
“No.”
That was it. A single word in a flat tone stomping on his hopes. No explanation. Nothing. Just a grumpy dragon and his unmovable will.
Xiang clenched his teeth and drew in a couple of calming breaths through his nose before asking, “Why? Did the queen use her magic and the sword to order you to keep me here in the hoard?”
“No.”
“Then we can go to my clan and figure out a plan to steal back your sword, so you don’t have to worry about the fae issuing commands anymore.”
“No.”
“You can’t just keep saying no!” Xiang shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “If we go to my clan, we’ll have more help.”
“It’s not safe.”
That was at least more than a single word, but it wasn’t exactly helpful.
“Of course it’s safe. My clan will protect us both. We—”
“It’s not safe! The only place that is safe is my hoard. I can protect my hoard. I can’t promise to protect an entire clan outside of my hoard.” Kai’s voice trembled slightly at those last words. He stopped and clenched his fists in the blankets. When he spoke, he didn’t lift his eyes to meet Xiang’s. “The only safe place for you is here. We are not leaving my hoard.”
Part of Xiang wanted to keep pressing Kai, to convince him he didn’t need the dragon to keep protecting him. They could rely on his clan to keep them safe.
But he bit his tongue and truly looked at the man lying in bed next to him. This human was a dragon, who was supposed to be near invincible. Yet right now, he was sickly pale, with dark circles under his eyes. He wore out quickly and was clearly still in pain. Kai had almost died fighting the fae to keep Xiang safe. It made sense that if a dragon couldn’t defeat the fae and nearly died before escaping, what could a small group of vampires do?
If anything, Kai was hurting, and he was scared. Pushing him now wouldn’t help either of them. He would get back to his clan, but convincing Kai that they could be safe outside the hoard would come in a moment he wasn’t feeling weak and in pain.
“Okay.”
Kai flinched like Xiang had lifted his fist to hit him. “What?”
“Okay,” Xiang repeated. “We’ll stay in the hoard. It’s safe here.” Xiang snagged the edge of the thick blankets and pulled them higher, so they covered Kai’s chest as Xiang slipped out of the bed. “You rest, and I’ll go make that tea for you.”