Page 10 of Two Thousand Blades

Kai nodded. “That’s all. From a distance. None of them knew the dragon was there. He reported that your clan is fine, and they are plotting to rescue you.”

His companion dropped onto the nearby sofa with a laugh. “Naturally! If they knew you were with me, they’d be plotting to rescue you as well.”

Kai lowered his eyes to where his hand rested on the carved arm of the chair as emotions swirled in his chest. As a dragon, the idea that anyone would steal anything from him made him want to snarl and bare his teeth. Yet something else fluttered around his heart when Xiang so confidently spoke of people trying to save him. No one had ever tried to help him before.

At least, not in many thousands of years.

He didn’t know how to reconcile these conflicting emotions, so he did what he always did—buried them deep inside and ignored them. That was always the safest course of action.

To distract Xiang, he said, almost smirking, “The dragon mentioned seeing a huli jing.”

Xiang growled. “Fucking Huli. Why is he still hanging about? I thought he would return to China when we got Yichen from the fae.”

“You don’t like the huli jing?” Kai asked, prodding him as if he were stoking the smoldering embers of a nearly expired campfire.

Xiang slouched on the thick, evergreen cushions and folded his arms over his chest. “No, definitely not! I don’t trust him. He’s pure trouble. He’s been harassing our clan for over a thousand years. The menace is obsessed with my shixiong. We’ve tried chasing him off, but he keeps returning.”

“Why do you think he’s focused his attention on your shixiong?”

“I don’t know. How am I supposed to understand the crazy workings of a fox spirit’s mind?”

Kai held his tongue, enjoying the emotional roller coaster Xiang was riding. The vampire might be bored, but he was proving to be plenty of entertainment for Kai. He’d not known a creature so expressive as this one.

“Okay, so maybe Moon and Junjie would argue that Huli is infatuated with Xiao Dan. Or maybe even in love with him. I don’t know if I believe that. Can a huli jing love someone?” Xiang leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he fixed piercing dark eyes on Kai. “Do you think the dragon has ever loved someone?”

“What?” Kai squeaked, the word escaping him before he could catch it.

“Yeah. Do you think the dragon can love someone? Do you think maybe he loves you and that’s why he’s kept you trapped here for so long?”

Kai was on his feet and pacing through the giant cavern, desperate to put some distance between himself and Xiang, but the damn vampire was fast on his heels. “What are you even talking about? How do you know I’ve been here long?”

“I don’t know. There’s something about how you talk and how you’re so comfortable here. Have you ever noticed that you walk through this room and never bump into anything? Like you know exactly where everything is.”

His feet moved faster as a chill skittered down his spine, but there was no escaping Xiang and his words. He moved so deftly through the hoard because it was his. Who else could know what was in here? However, he couldn’t afford to have Xiang put those pieces together.

While his brain was locked on those thoughts, a powerful arm slung across his tense shoulders and drew him in close. The scent of lotus blossoms and snow drifted past his nose. The vampire had bathed using the soap he’d made using an ancient technique that was a mix of craft and magic. It was a scent he was well acquainted with, a favorite of his for centuries, but there was something different about it now. As it lifted from Xiang’s skin, it left him wanting to turn his face and press it into Xiang’s neck.

Ridiculous.

“Don’t worry. I promise that once I get you out of here, I’ll continue to protect you. I’ll help you get home again. And even if you can’t ever remember your people, I’ll make sure that you don’t feel overwhelmed or lost. I’ve got your back.”

Kai froze. He couldn’t think. How easy it would be to lean into Xiang’s presence and agree to let Xiang become his guide in the human world.

But he wasn’t returning to the human world.

He was the reason Xiang was trapped there.

Besides, Xiang didn’t mean what he was saying.

Clenching his teeth together, he put his hand against Xiang’s side and shoved the vampire away from him. “Stop! Just…just stop. I don’t believe any of your nonsense. You don’t care about me. You have no intention of protecting me or being my friend. The only reason you’re saying any of those things is because you want me to help you escape. I mean nothing to you.”

He stomped off, winding his way deeper and deeper into the hoard while Xiang shouted at him. The vampire was fast, but the thick cluster of treasure spread about the cave forced him to move more slowly, giving Kai the chance to find a place where he could disappear without Xiang seeing him perform magic.

When he reappeared in the corridor outside the treasure room, he was in his natural form, his long, scaled body filling the underwater cave. A roar erupted from his lips and echoed off the stone walls.

No more visits to the vampire.

At least, not for a while. Li Xiang of the Zhang clan was his captive, and he wasn’t going anywhere. The queen had ordered him to take the vampire, and that was what he’d done. If she said to release him, he would. And if she said to kill him, he would.

---