Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
His mate narrowed his eyes on him as if he could read Huli’s naughty thoughts, but he said nothing.
Huli cleared his throat and gazed at the rest of the clan. “The only other thing is what Kai mentioned. We can condense our magical powers into a single blast, flung from our tails. However, that uses up a lot of energy. At my peak, I could do it once or maybe twice. After that, I was tapped out—I doubt I could have even shifted into a human for at least two or three hours. With Min, I am guessing she can do it four or maybe five times before she is out of magic. It would even impact her speed.”
“Understood.” Xiao Dan’s hand tightened on Huli’s waist while he frowned at the table in front of him. No one moved or made a sound for nearly a minute, giving their shixiong time to think. “We need to scout out a location. Somewhere we can lead Min that would allow us to trap her in a single spot. We control the entrance and exit. From there, it’s a matter of wearing down her magic.”
“You know, I am a dragon,” Kai reminded them. “I could just…chomp?”
Xiao Dan was shaking his head as he was still speaking. “She hurt Huli, and she threatened me. There’s no satisfaction to be found in letting you eat her.”
“Plus, I’m sure she’d taste terrible,” Xiang added in a loud whisper.
Huli wanted to laugh, but he could only shake his head. “I was wrong. She lied to me. Tricked me.”
Xiao Dan placed his fingers lightly under Huli’s chin and gently tipped his head up so their eyes could meet. “What do you mean?”
“I thought I was being so tricky, planning to use her for her knowledge and then betray her in the end so I could keep you. But I was the fool. She admitted that she only helped me cultivate to become a full jiuweihu so she could later steal my powers.”
“Just another reason for me to destroy her so she can never get near you again.”
He couldn’t help but smile at such a bloodthirsty comment. His vampire wanted to destroy his enemy and keep him safe. How could he not feel so utterly and completely loved?
“We’ll get to work on finding a suitable location,” Chen murmured.
“And I’ll call the Variks,” Junjie added.
Xiao Dan dragged his gaze from Huli to Junjie. “I don’t think we need to involve the Variks in this. We’ve troubled them enough. We can handle this.”
“Exactly, but we’re going to need a babysitter for Erik. Leo and I don’t want to be left out. Ming Yu has said that she wants to take her meat hammer to Min.” Junjie’s fierce look shifted into a softer smirk. “Besides, King Aiden did offer to babysit at any time. This could help him and Ronan decide if they want to adopt a little one of their own.”
Xiao Dan’s lips twitched as if he were holding back a smile. Huli didn’t bother. He grinned at the idea of Erik turning the Varik house upside-down with his cuteness. He was also a fan of Ming Yu chasing Min around with that metal mallet she kept in the kitchen.
“Very well. Reach out to the Variks to see if they can lend us a hand with Erik. Let’s finalize our plans in the next few nights. It will give Huli the time he needs to heal under my supervision.”
Yes, healing under Xiao Dan’s close and very hands-on supervision. That sounded like an excellent idea to him.
Chapter 19
Huli
1923 CE
Luoyang, near Zhang manor
Huli lingered by a thicket of trees near one of the larger buildings on the Zhang estate. Something was wrong. There was a new tension in the air. A heavy silence had settled over the grounds that was almost suffocating. Normally, he would interject himself, sneaking into one of the buildings to locate Xiao Dan, but this time he held back. Xiang seemed sharper and more impatient.
And then there was the crying.
Low, muffled crying had come from Ming Yu and Mei Lian on more than one occasion during the past several hours.
What was going on? Had another one of Xiao Dan’s clan mates met the sun?
No, that couldn’t be. This core group of vampires had been together for centuries. Longer than he’d been alive, even. Yet…
He ran through the list of them, counting each one he’d seen in the last twenty-four hours, and the only one who came up missing was Wu Yichen.
A door opened and Huli’s ears perked up. Xiao Dan stepped outside at last, but he didn’t look around. He closed the door behind him and hurried in the direction of the plum orchard. Huli’s heart skipped, and the worry that had gnawed on his nerves evaporated. Gege was going to their meeting spot.