Page 13 of Two Thousand Blades

“What? No. You don’t have to. I should be going.” Kai attempted to dig his heels into the thick Aubusson rug under his feet, but stopped when the rug slid across the stone and rumpled.

“Stay. We’ll eat food.” Xiang stopped pulling and leaned in close, eyes narrowed on Kai’s face. “You can eat food, right?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

“You might seem like a human, but no one is as strong or as fast as you. I’m not sure what you are. Not a vampire or a member of the fae.” He began walking again, towing a resistant Kai behind him. “Has some of the dragon’s magic rubbed off on you? Is that why you can disappear from the room? You also talk like you’re older than you appear. You look twenty-five, but I’m willing to bet you’re actually much older.”

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

“But—”

“I will stay for a meal with you, but I’ll leave if you continue this line of personal questions.”

Xiang grinned. He’d find a way to crack this nut, but in the meantime, he was happy for the company. For as long as he could remember, his clan mates had surrounded him. There was always chatter and movement. The only time there was a break was during the daylight hours, when he would run errands or roam the grounds, protecting them from potential attack. But even then, he could always venture a short distance and check on them.

The man being dragged along might not be his first choice for company, but he was still a living, breathing creature with thoughts and opinions. He could at least piece together a conversation. And if he were lucky, Kai might let slip some valuable information about the dragon or the fae the dragon served.

The kitchenette was a tiny thing with a sink, stove, miniature fridge, and a long countertop in the center for mixing and chopping. White and black square tiles covered the floor, while the counter was a pristine white. All the appliances were a dull stainless steel and looked as if no one had ever touched them. Even most of the smaller things, such as pots and pans, were still in boxes or had tags on them. During the four days he’d been captive, Xiang hadn’t cooked or even eaten anything from the kitchen. Out of boredom, he would wander into the space, opening up drawers and the cabinets that held plates and bowls, only to shut them again and wander out.

Now he gathered ingredients together for a stir fry. It was easy and one of the few dishes he was sure he could make without fucking up. Thankfully, the dragon had a rice cooker. As he prepped the rice, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to find that Kai had disappeared.

Instead, the man grabbed a stool that sat unnoticed in the corner and placed it at the edge of the kitchenette before taking a seat. “I promise, I won’t disappear. You can relax.”

Xiang’s shoulders slumped, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Thanks. It’s nice to have someone else around. I’m sure the dragon told you that my house is quite noisy all the time. Even during the day.”

“Has your clan always been this size?”

The knife stopped halfway through the pepper he’d been slicing, his brain seeming to trip over the question. “No.” Xiang blinked and pushed the blade forward so that there was a soft thunk on the cutting board. “No, there were a lot more of us. A long time ago.”

“Was the clan always composed of vampires?”

Xiang shook his head. “Nope. Humans. We were a very human clan and sect. My father sent me to the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect when I was about ten or eleven, I think. The Zhang Clan established the sect several generations earlier and was renowned for training some of the strongest martial artists in all the Jianghu?2. My father wanted me to become one of the emperor’s generals, and he believed training at the sect would give me an edge over others.”

“Did it?”

One shoulder lifted in a weak shrug. “I guess. Just not like he expected. Before I could return to Chang’An and join the military, there was a supposed revolt started by the crown prince. The emperor was out of the imperial city, along with a good portion of the royal guard. Shifu and most of the elder generation went to Chang’An to quell the uprising and restore peace. It was a bigger mess than anyone expected. Shifu…and most of my martial uncles died in the fighting. A vampire claimed the sect by order of the emperor shortly after. Our new master further decimated the Zhang clan in the name of keeping only the strongest. When the dust settled and the slaughter stopped, less than a third of us remained.”

The events of those long nights flickered through his mind’s eye as fresh and crisp as the night they happened, despite the passage of over two thousand years. So many shidi?3 and shimei?4 lost in the blink of an eye.

A hand moved into his line of sight and covered the fingers he had tightly wrapped around the knife, to the point of turning his knuckles white. His head jerked up, and he stared openmouthed at Kai as he stood close enough to wrap him in the soft scent of plum blossoms and a hint of sea salt.

“Since you are treating me to a meal, it is only right that I assist,” Kai murmured while his warm touch coaxed Xiang into releasing the handle of the knife.

No, what he was saying was that Xiang was spacing so much over the old memories, he didn’t trust Xiang not to lose a finger as he talked and chopped. This was probably a good idea. That night was not something he’d ever tried to put into words before. He hadn’t expected it to be so difficult.

Clearing his throat, Xiang handed the paring knife over to Kai and took a step back, huffing out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, sure. I’ll check the rice and begin warming the wok.”

They worked in a comfortable silence for several minutes. The only sound in the room being the steady thunk of the knife hitting wood and the movement of pots and pans as Xiang prepared things.

“I’m sorry for your loss. It sounds as if becoming a vampire was not a choice.”

“Eh. Sort of. Being held by the dragon—not a choice. Making the best of it—that’s a choice.” Xiang poured a bit of oil into the wok and sloshed it around, covering the sides as it heated. “That night, I could have chosen to join my martial brothers and die fighting. But I chose to become a vampire and remain with those brothers who were turned. I thought they would need me. Plus, there’s no getting revenge for my murdered sect mates if I’m dead.”

“That is wise.”

Xiang barked out a sharp laugh. “I don’t know about wise. Shixong would say that I’m stubborn. But I don’t want to talk about me. What about you? Do you have any family? Wait…you said you didn’t have any people.”

“I did…once,” Kai admitted, his voice so soft Xiang needed his vampiric hearing to even pick up those three words. “They were more like your martial brothers than blood relatives. I’ve not seen any of them in a very long time. I think…I think they might all be gone now.”

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