Page 20 of Two Thousand Blades

“Only to get his phone!”

“I called Chen so they would know I was alive and wouldn’t worry about me. I wasn’t trying to escape.” He reached for Kai’s arm, trying to get the irate man to calm down.

“I don’t believe you.” Kai threw off his arm and took a step away. His upper lip curled with disgust as he glared at Xiang. “This trip to hunt was a lie. You wanted to escape. Just like all your promises to take me with you when you leave the dragon. You didn’t mean any of it. You wanted to use me.”

His words were a sword plunged straight into Xiang’s chest. It took an extra second to even suck in a breath so he could argue, but he wasn’t giving up. “Yes, I want to escape. And yes, I will use every chance I can to escape, but only if it means I can take you with me. You’ve been trapped for too long, and you’ve given up! You’ve forgotten what it means to be free.”

Kai retreated a couple of steps, heading deeper into the trees. He shook his head once. “I don’t believe you. You will leave me behind.”

Xiang swore and took a step to chase after Kai, but the earth trembled under his feet, sending an echo all the way up to his heart. He blinked, and Kai was gone. But before he could even search for the man, he felt himself falling into darkness.

No, water.

It was like he’d been dropped into the ocean and was sinking into an endless black trench. No matter how he clawed at the water to slow his descent, he could not reach the surface.

Just as he was about to let the darkness take him, Xiang sat up on a harsh gasp that rang in his ears. His eyes shot open, and the darkness was gone, replaced by a warm yellow glow softened by pale rose-colored gauze and embroidered curtains. He was lying in the center of the canopy bed in the dragon’s hoard.

Xiang rolled out of the bed and stumbled to his feet, but his first few steps were on his hands and knees as he tried to get his body working. Nothing hurt, but it was like his brain was still trying to come out of its fog. He hurried through the treasure room, searching every nook and cranny, but there was no sign of Kai. The damn man didn’t even answer his shouts.

But there was one change to the hoard that made his heart pound painfully.

The single metal door that had barred his escape was gone.

In its place stood an unbroken stone wall.

The dragon had taken away his only means of escape.

1 Shijie – older clan sister, opposite of shimei

Chapter 6

Kai

Kai hesitated outside the hoard, fiddling with the small box clutched in both hands. It had been three days since he’d tossed Xiang in with the hoard and removed the metal door. Enough time for his temper to cool and to realize he might have overreacted.

Was it any surprise that Xiang was attempting to escape?

No. If their roles were reversed, he would do the same thing. Ugh. He’d be worse. He would promise the moon and stars, tell any number of lies to be free.

And maybe Xiang did need to feed, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t multitask. Grab a bite to eat and coordinate a rescue with his clan.

Xiang probably was telling the truth about wanting to reassure his family that he was alive and well to relieve at least some of their worries.

But beyond his attempt to escape, what stung was the idea that Xiang had been willing to leave without him. The frustrating vampire had been so adamant over the past few weeks that he intended to take Kai with him. That there was no way he was leaving without him. His words and fierce tone had convinced Kai.

But it had all been a lie to get Kai to help him. The vampire didn’t care about him or whether he ever escaped the dragon’s clutches. He was a fool.

All of which was laughable. There was no escaping the dragon. He was the dragon.

And when Xiang discovered the truth, he was going to be so very pissed. Justifiably so. The fragile friendship they’d built on the back of their mutual lies was going to be reduced to ash in the fury of Xiang’s temper.

A smart dragon would cut his losses now and keep his distance, but he didn’t want to. Ever since their last encounter in the park, Kai couldn’t put Xiang out of his head. His angry words kept ringing in his ears while Xiang’s frantic, desperate face filled his mind.

Fate would have them part on bad terms, but for now, he could at least try to mend the bridge between them.

His mind made up, Kai summoned up the brief flicker of magic needed to reappear within the hoard. A quick glance about the massive cavern revealed nothing out of place, but there was an eerie silence, as if he were the only living creature within it. There was no way Xiang had escaped. He checked the time on the clock and confirmed that it was the normal hour for Xiang to be awake.

“Li Xiang?” he called out, letting his voice carry to the farthest reaches of the cave.

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