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)
“Why did the dragon bring me here at all?”
“Because the queen ordered ‘Take,’ so the dragon took you.”
“Except the queen wasn’t pointing at me when she issued that command. She’d been pointing the sword at my didi4, Yichen,” Xiang muttered under his breath. There was no way he could stand by and allow the fae to kidnap Yichen a second time. They’d just gotten him back.
Of course, his actual plan had been to knock Yichen and Rei out of the way. He hadn’t been trying to take Yichen’s place. That was poor planning on his part.
“You should pray that the queen doesn’t realize her mistake and amend her order with something like ‘Kill.’ ”
That was definitely a thought that had occurred to him since he’d woken up in the dragon’s lair.
Xiang scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Look, Kai, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” He dropped his hand and his words died in his throat. He was standing alone in the dragon’s hoard once again.
Well, that answered one question. Kai was not human. At least, not completely. There was no way he could have escaped the hoard that fast if not for magic.
Or—and this was a much scarier thought—Kai was nothing more than a figment of his imagination that he’d made up to keep from going insane from loneliness.
But if that were the case, couldn’t his mind come up with someone more agreeable than Kai?
1 Shixiong – elder martial brother
2 Huli jing – fox spirit, a mischievous spirit that can be an omen of good luck or bad luck. It is believed to be able to change into male or female human form and seduce humans. Different from a nine-tailed fox (juiweihu in Mandarin or kitsune in Japanese or gumiho in Korean – just depends on whether you’re a donghua, anime, or K-drama watcher 😊)
3 Er-ge – second oldest brother. A term of endearment. Referencing Chen Bo Cheng here since he is the second oldest behind Zhang Xiao Dan (AKA da-ge)
4 Didi – younger brother
Chapter 2
Kai
Why am I even doing this?
He stood in the shadows cast by the trees behind the Zhang clan home. There was no way he was going to take a single step closer. Yes, he was a powerful dragon, and every creature should bow before him, but that kind of arrogance had gotten him into trouble in the first place.
It wasn’t so much the vampires he was worried about, though Xiang was proving he could be his own unique brand of tricky. No, it was the fae lurking within those walls. A single elf shouldn’t be a problem, but it was likely that it was one crafty elf who’d stolen his sword.
Bastard.
He would not underestimate the fae again.
There was also the huli jing sneaking about outside the home. They were always unpredictable trouble. In all his long years, he’d encountered plenty of his own kind and even some phoenixes. With some respect and care, those meetings had been navigated with relative ease.
But the huli jings were another story. Every one of them was a ball of furry chaos, and not one of those encounters had been good.
Kai would prefer to avoid the one that had latched on to the Zhang clan altogether.
He mentally sighed. Kai. It wasn’t a horrible name as far as names went. He hadn’t even thought of the name he had been called before in thousands of years. If Xiang wanted to call him Kai, that was fine.
For now, he trained his attention on the house. The sun had set an hour ago, and the sky was growing darker, but the vampires within were moving about. He could hear their voices through the walls as they talked and joked. People were making love, and Kai tried very hard to tune them out.
“Do you think those witches could find the dragon?”
“Which witches?”
“OhmyGod! You didn’t just say that!”
“I’m assuming she means Moon’s witch friends.”
“Sure. Or any witches that anyone knows? There’s a Varik witch, right?”
“Yes, and no.”
“How can it be both?”
“Yes, there’s a Varik witch and no, my friends can’t find the dragon. We didn’t know dragons existed! I’m sure he wouldn’t even know how to craft a seeking spell for a dragon.”
“Besides, if they’re afraid to go looking for the fae, I doubt they’d be willing to hunt down a dragon.”
“Good point.”
“Argh! If we can’t go after the dragon, can we at least beat up the fae again? Sitting here is frustrating.”
“Leaping in without a plan is how you get yourself or your friends killed. We sit, wait for news, and make a plan.”
Kai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. At least someone within their clan possessed a brain. The voice was as calm and even as the still water of a placid lake.
A quick count of heartbeats revealed there were seven vampires and one elf inside. No one sounded injured or even weakened from their recent encounter with the fae. Good. He could return to Xiang and reassure the fidgety vampire that his clan was safe and well. Nothing for him to worry about on that front. Maybe now he would settle into his captivity with quiet dignity and decorum.