Page 11 of Two Thousand Blades

From now on, he would only check on Xiang to ensure he didn’t need anything. These little conversations were growing too dangerous. If they continued, he might be tempted to help him. But he couldn’t.

No, it was better if they both kept a low profile for now.

It wasn’t likely Queen Belladonna was going to forget that she had a dragon at her beck and call, though. No, eventually she was going to gather the strength she needed to issue another command. He could guess that it was going to be one of two things: Kill Xiang. Or kill someone from Xiang’s clan.

Chapter 3

Li Xiang

“What have you done?”

The spear almost slipped from his fingers at the sudden screech that ricocheted off the walls of the cavern. It had been so long since he’d heard another person’s voice, he’d almost become convinced he was the last person left in the world.

Xiang spun and spotted Kai standing on the other side of a towering stack of furniture, hands gripping the sides of his head, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open.

“Why have you moved things?” Kai demanded.

“I needed space to practice.”

“Practice?” Kai’s normally deep voice cracked as his fingers curled in his dark hair.

Xiang sighed and leaned the spear clutched in his right hand on a bookcase before walking to Kai. It took an extra minute or two to climb over a few things without causing them to topple over. At last, he was at Kai’s side. Smiling, he took Kai’s hands and pulled them out of his hair.

“Practice,” he repeated. “I was bored, and I haven’t worked out in a while. The dragon has an amazing collection of weapons. I thought I would borrow a few for a workout, but that requires space.” He released one of Kai’s hands and motioned to the surrounding cave. “And as you know, things are so tightly packed in here. If I’d started swinging a sword or spear in here, something would have gotten damaged. So, I moved things.”

“But…but…everything in here is an antique. It’s a one-of-a-kind.”

“That’s why I had to move it out of danger. Nothing was hurt.”

Kai huffed and jerked his other hand from Xiang’s grip. “Martial arts practice,” he said through clenched teeth as if Xiang had announced that he was filming porn in the dragon’s lair.

“Of course. I’ll give you that I’ve had two thousand years to become a master of my craft, but practice occupies the mind and stretches the muscles.” Xiang poked Kai in the shoulder and added with a wide grin, “Plus, you’re going to need me in top fighting shape for our escape.”

Judging by Kai’s expression, that did not help. Not that he’d expected it to. Kai didn’t think he’d stick to his word and protect him when the time came, and Xiang didn’t blame him. He couldn’t imagine he was the first person to be stolen by the dragon. Maybe the others had escaped or died trying to escape, and yet Kai was still here. Alone.

Even if they didn’t get along all that well, there was no way he was leaving Kai behind. Nope. The grumpy stickler for everything in its proper place was coming with him. He was going to be free to live a real life again.

“If you’re bored, why can’t you read a book? The dragon has ample books in countless languages.” Kai shook his hand toward the rows of overloaded bookshelves filled with leather-bound volumes of classics from around the world. “There has to be something there that can entertain you.”

Xiang winced and scratched his head. “Yeah, I can read in a few languages, but I’ve never been much of a reader. Most of my brothers are big readers, but I’ve always wanted to be out doing things. Exploring and wandering the woods. Fighting. Training. Sitting still is…boring.”

Kai scrubbed a hand over his face, which was the international sign of being pushed to his very limit. “Can we move it all back to its proper place?” Kai’s voice was strained as if he were attempting to not break down or strangle Xiang. It was a tone he’d heard many times from Shifu?1 when Xiang had been a young, headstrong disciple.

“Sure. If you give me a hand, we’ll have everything where it belongs in a few minutes.”

It definitely took more than a few minutes. Rearranging the furniture in the first place had taken him at least an hour alone, but it went faster with Kai at his side. The grumpy man complained and ordered Xiang around, making sure each piece didn’t get a single scratch or tear in the old fabric.

“If you’ll give me some time, I will try to figure out a place for you to train without needing to rearrange the dragon’s treasures,” Kai stated the moment they put the last jeweled dish on the center of an end table.

Xiang smirked and lifted an eyebrow at his companion. “You don’t think the dragon would mind?”

“I would wager that the dragon would mind less than if he were to see his precious possessions stacked precariously in the air.”

“Thanks!” Xiang lightly slugged Kai in the shoulder, which earned him a brief glare. The man wore a pair of black slacks and a charcoal-gray shirt that only made his eyes more silvery today. His thin lips were pressed into a line, but if Xiang squinted, he was sure that one corner was a little higher than the other. Almost like a smile.

Almost.

Kai wasn’t a bad-looking guy. Way too serious. Too prim and proper. He reminded Xiang of Chen, which was not a good or bad thing. Their love-hate brotherhood over the years veered closer to hate most of the time, but Xiang took full responsibility for that. He couldn’t help it. Chen was so easy to torment.

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