Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“Is it normal to make a servant a member of a martial arts sect?”
“There’s nothing normal about it, but normal gets tossed in the trash when your entire clan must choose between death and vampirism. Some of them didn’t get the choice. Our new master deemed them too weak and slaughtered them on the spot.”
Rei lowered his spoon and bowed his head at Xiang. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t have asked such a personal question.”
Xiang shrugged a shoulder as he slurped his soup. “You want to know about Yichen. Besides, I doubt there are many vampires out there who have a cheerful story about the night they were made. It’s not normal to include a servant in the sect, particularly when it’s unlikely she’ll ever study martial arts, but she begged our maker to become a vampire. She wanted to remain close to the only clan she knew and continue to serve and protect the disciples.”
“Such an act certainly made her worthy of joining the sect.”
Rei took a bite of the soup and released a happy sigh as the heat and spices combined to warm his chest in the most wonderful way. The rest in the garden had done much to restore him to his previous strength, but this soup was reaching down to his soul. It was love and compassion wrapping around him. Was it just soup, or was this vampire magic? Maybe a bit of both, though he was reluctant to believe that Ming Yu’s magic could touch him in any way.
“Did you tell him?”
He almost giggled into the spoonful of soup in front of his lips at Xiang’s question. He swallowed it. “That I love him? Of course not. I merely kissed him and reassured him I would not do something so reckless as standing on a moving vehicle again.”
“Crap.”
“What?”
“I wanted you to show me how you kept your balance while shooting. It looks like fun.”
Rei tossed his head back as laughter broke from his throat. “It was fun! Yiyi is a worrywart. He doesn’t trust in my sense of balance. Elves are very light on their feet.” He leaned toward Xiang and grinned. “However, I was wondering if it’s possible to lift the rear door while the car is in motion.”
Xiang’s brow furrowed. “We might need to test that. It would be much safer and more convenient if we sat in the trunk and fired arrows at attackers from there.”
“Exactly!” Rei pointed his spoon at Xiang. “Yiyi couldn’t complain about that.”
Xiang grunted and shoveled more of his soup into his mouth. “We’ll test it later. Get Junjie to drive for us.”
A smile played on Rei’s lips as they finished the last of their soup in silence. At least he knew he had a comrade at his side who liked to be a little reckless. He treasured Yiyi’s cautious nature, but humans had finally made vehicles faster than horses. They needed to be fully explored in regard to the ways they could be used.
“More?” Xiang inquired as he finished his bowl of soup.
Rei shook his head, placing his spoon in his empty bowl. “No, thank you. It was delicious. I shall thank Su Ming Yu properly when she wakes.”
Xiang grunted again as he picked up both their bowls and carried them over to the sink. He quickly washed them and put them on a small rack to dry. As he was wiping his hands with a towel, Xiang turned to face Rei, a scowl twisting up his normally handsome features.
“I’m sure I won’t be the only one to say this, but I’ll at least be the first.” He leaned across the center island, meeting Rei’s gaze with an unwavering icy glare. “If you hurt Didi, if you’re playing with his emotions in some twisted fae game, I swear to you I will hunt you down, even if it takes until the very end of time. When I catch you, I will make what he suffered in your realm seem like a fucking vacation. Do you understand me?”
His heart fluttered, but not out of fear. Mostly a mix of amusement and familial warmth. He loved that Yichen’s clan cared so much for him that they would do anything to protect him. His vampire needed all the love and cuddling he could get. Of course, Rei placed himself to be at the very front of that line to love and cuddle him.
“I would rather die than cause him even a flicker of pain. Wu Yichen is the one person who matters to me. The only person. I will protect him from everything and everyone.” Rei rested his forearms on the counter, smiling coldly at the vampire. “That includes his own family, if I think they mean to hurt him.”
They held each other’s stare unblinking for several seconds before Xiang retreated first with a grunt. “Good. Fine. As long as we both have what’s best for him in mind. I’m guessing that means you’re going to have no problem killing your own father and mother.”