Page 29 of Two Thousand Blades

With a shout, Xiang stomped to his glittering prison. He paused, his eyes snapping over to the section that housed all the dragon’s weapons. Countless blades of all shapes and sizes glinted in the flickering candlelight, as if calling his name.

He could fight his way out.

If the dragon was going to decimate his entire clan, he could at least try to take his revenge on behalf of his brothers and sisters.

Heart pounding in his throat, Xiang took a step toward the weapons when a horrendous noise echoed through the entire network of caves. A chill rushed along his spine and the hair on the nape of his neck stood on end. Even the rushing heartbeat threatening to choke him stopped.

It had begun as a dragon’s roar, but ended in the anguished cries of a man.

Kai!

That had to be Kai.

Without another thought, Xiang raced forward, the flashlight streaking across damp stone ahead of him, shoving aside shadows where it could. He didn’t know where he was running or how he could even find the man. There were no other sounds. He tried shouting Kai’s name, but there was no answer except for the drip of water and the slap of his shoes on the rocks.

He had to find him. It couldn’t be too late.

As he moved deeper into the cave, he cursed himself for not grabbing a sword. How was he going to fight off the dragon with his bare hands? It didn’t matter. Nothing did. His only thought was to reach Kai before it was too late.

The silence of the cave was driving him mad. There was nothing he could use to locate Kai. Just as hopelessness threatened to choke him, his light flashed across a body stretched out prone. He was wearing the same clothes he’d last seen him in and there didn’t appear to be a single scratch on him, but blood soaked through the garments like he’d bathed in it.

Xiang dropped to his knees beside Kai and, with trembling fingers, touched the side of his neck. A choked gasp broke from his throat when he felt the erratic pulse beat against his skin. Kai was cool to the touch and his breathing was shallow, but he was still alive.

With extreme care, he rolled Kai over.

“Xiang?”

Kai’s voice was low and raspy, as if it took all his energy to say his name.

“I’m here. I’m taking you to the hoard.”

Kai’s eyelids fluttered but didn’t open. “Leave me. Not safe.”

“There’s no fucking way I’m leaving you here,” Xiang growled. “I dare the dragon to show his ugly face to me. I’ll tie his tail in a knot and break off both of his horns for laying a single claw on you.” As he spoke, he draped Kai across his back with his arms dangling over the front of his shoulders. He thought he heard the weak huff of a laugh, but it also could have been an exhale of pain escaping the man.

With his friend settled as best he could, Xiang walked toward the hoard. Or at least, he hoped that was the direction he was headed in. He couldn’t remember any of the specific turns he might have made on his trek to find Kai. No, he’d relied on desperation and instinct, which were the same two things that guided his feet now.

After what felt like an eternity, Xiang at last spotted the golden glow of light pouring out from the entry to the hoard. He let out a fractured sigh of relief to step into that sanctuary. Once inside, he kicked the door shut. The resounding metallic echo gave him a sense of security for the first time. It wouldn’t keep the dragon out, but at least it created the illusion of safety.

Xiang rushed into the bathroom where he ran a warm bath and stripped Kai of his blood-sodden clothes. There wasn’t a single scratch to mar his porcelain skin, but he was covered in blood, as if it had leaked out of his pores. With extreme care, he put him into the water and washed away the blood.

He lifted him out of the tub, wrapped him in the fluffiest of towels, and carried him to the bedroom where he laid him on the bed, covering him in layer after layer of blankets to keep him warm. Even after the hot bath, Kai remained as cool to the touch as a vampire, and that was not normal.

Through all the movement and bathing, Kai never made a sound. His eyelids never flickered. The only proof Xiang had that he was still alive was the pulse he checked repeatedly, and the shallow breaths he drew in.

Xiang sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair to find that it was damp with sweat. “This isn’t fair, you know?” he mumbled. “Tending to injuries and illness is not my forte. That’s more of a thing that Jiejie is good at. She knows how to bandage wounds up so the gauze doesn’t come loose or cut off the circulation. And she has this amazing soup she makes with tofu and radishes.” Xiang held up his hands, as he could see Kai’s answering skeptical look in his mind. “No, I’m serious. I know it doesn’t sound appetizing, but really, it’s wonderful and it would fix you right up. We—” The lump that blocked his throat choked off his words.

The longing for home and family swept in from out of nowhere and left his eyes stinging with unshed tears. He wanted to go home. It had been the one constant in the passing days that never left him, but right now, it was a knife carving away at his heart and soul.

Yet, he didn’t want to go just for himself. He needed to take Kai with him. Su Ming Yu would know what needed to be done to make Kai feel better.

Even after Kai healed, he wanted his new friend to be there with his family. In his heart, he knew Kai would get along so well with Shixiong, and there was some wicked part of him that so wanted Kai to kick Chen’s butt at weiqi. He wanted to see Kai’s reaction to the crazy things that came out of Moon’s mouth and the smile that would slide across his lips at the first taste of Jiejie’s cooking.

For now, there was only one thing he could do to help Kai, and that was to keep him safe. He strode across the room with a practiced ease and stopped when he reached the armory. With lightning quickness and precision, he tucked four small knives on his body and then grabbed his favorite sword from the collection. In his free hand, he snagged a spear before marching to stand at the foot of the bed.

He stood between the doorway and the bed. If the dragon had it in his mind to finish off Kai, he’d have to go through Xiang to do it. Shixiong was a patient teacher. Chen was a brilliant strategist. Both Yichen and Meimei had their sneaky ways that made them excellent spies and assassins. Ming Yu was their healer and heart. But he and Junjie were born fighters.

Gods, I wish Jun-Jun was here.

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