Page 40 of Two Thousand Blades

Groaning, Xiang finished preparing his tea even though he’d lost his appetite for it. His temper continued to simmer at Kai for jumping to conclusions and not giving him even a sliver of a chance to defend himself, but at least he could see Kai’s point of view.

There, Shifu! See? I am learning.

It might have taken him about two thousand years to get the lesson down in his thick skull, but he’d caught on at last.

Kai would never trust him without proof that he could. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if Kai was ever going to give him the opportunity to prove he was trustworthy.

Xiang had another two hours to stew in his frustration before Kai reappeared in the treasure room. The dragon in human form walked over to him with a look of expectation on his face, but Xiang turned away, stomping over to a little-used corner of the hoard to flop onto a very uncomfortable divan. He glared at his phone, refusing to lift his eyes from the game of Solitaire he was playing. He would not be the one to apologize for that ridiculous blowup. Kai hadn’t even given him the chance to explain anything.

Kai made a disgruntled noise as he followed Xiang. “Why do you keep fighting my efforts to keep you safe? Don’t you understand how dangerous the fae are?”

His teeth ground together so hard and tight, it was a wonder they weren’t pulverized to dust. The damn dragon was missing the entire point, but he wasn’t talking to him. Nope. Wasn’t even going to look at him. Just keep his eyes on the game until either Kai apologized or left the hoard.

“Xiang!”

“Take a hint. I’m not talking to you.” Xiang swung his legs off the divan to stand, and Kai dropped into the empty spot. He grabbed Xiang’s ankles and pulled his legs across his lap, trapping him on the divan.

“We are talking!”

Xiang struggled against Kai’s firm hold before giving up to growl at the man. “What’s the point? You have no interest in listening to anyone but yourself. You jump to conclusions and then storm off so you don’t have to hear how fucking wrong you are. No, I didn’t want to spy on the fae, and I wasn’t using that as an excuse to return to my clan. I really did just want to fly with you.”

Kai jerked, his face clouding as if his brain was struggling to take in Xiang’s words. But after less than a second, his brow was furrowing and his lips dipped into a hard frown. “Fine, but don’t deny that you still want to return to your clan. Maybe not that time?—”

“No, I won’t deny it! I want to go home. I need to go home. My clan needs me, and I need them. Sure, you’ve made me comfortable here, but that doesn’t change the fact that I have to return.” Some of the burning anger had faded from his chest at being able to get the words out, but it did nothing to get rid of the urgency he felt to see his family.

“The fae are going to kill you.”

“I know how dangerous the fae are. I’ve seen the humans and vampires they’ve killed. My didi and his mate have told us stories of their cruelty. I’ve seen both their scars. But that changes nothing. Going home means stopping the fae from hurting any of my clan again.”

A bright-red flush filled Kai’s cheeks and his eyes glittered with a mix of rage and unshed tears. He leaned in close, placing one hand on the back of the chair beside Xiang’s head. Each breath broke from his parted lips in short pants. “This is where you belong. You are mine.”

Xiang’s brain didn’t have a chance to process those words. Kai placed his other hand behind his neck and pulled him forward. Their lips slammed together in a violent kiss that was more pain and desperation than anything. Xiang’s hands came up to rest on Kai’s chest, but he stopped himself from trying to push the dragon away.

Instead, he turned his head a little to ease the pressure and pain. That movement seemed to wake Kai from his burst of possessive rage and he jerked away on a horrified “No!” as he broke off contact. But that wasn’t what Xiang had wanted at all.

Balling his fists in Kai’s shirt, he pulled the dragon in close and captured those parted lips in a softer, tender kiss that sent fire racing through his veins. Unfortunately, Kai was now stiff in his arms, not returning the kiss, but he also wasn’t pulling away, as if this sudden turn of events had frazzled his brain. Welcome to the club.

Xiang smiled against his mouth and sneaked his tongue out to sweep across Kai’s lips before pulling away. Maybe it wasn’t the best kiss of his life, but it worked to calm Kai. The dragon stared at him, eyes wide and not breathing. One hand drifted up to hover above his lips as if he still couldn’t believe what had happened. Xiang wanted to laugh. Kai was the one who had started it. Obviously, he’d not expected Xiang to get with the program.

“Are…are we still fighting?” Kai inquired, as he lowered his hand.

“I don’t know,” Xiang admitted. The kiss had worked at getting them both to stop shouting, but that didn’t mean the air had been cleared between them in the slightest.

Kai released a huff that sounded irritated, if not frustrated, with Xiang. The man slipped out from underneath Xiang’s legs and zipped across the hoard, shifting into his dragon form. Well, that put a serious damper on any more kissing coming Xiang’s way. But maybe that was the point. They needed to work this out.

With a sigh, Xiang shoved to his feet and walked over to where the dragon was wrapped around the giant mound of tassel and silk cushions just like earlier. As Xiang was attempting to climb over Kai’s long tail, the dragon shifted positions and slipped his hand about Xiang’s waist. A little yelp escaped Xiang as he flew through the air and settled onto the cushions right next to Kai’s body. Someone wanted the cuddles they always enjoyed.

As Kai released him, Xiang caught the massive hand that was bigger than his entire face. Not to mention black talons that resembled scythes. Kai froze, allowing him to inspect each finger and even trace the claws. Such strength and power. With a single swipe, Kai could eviscerate any creature he wanted, and yet he’d held Xiang with the same care a person might show when cradling a newborn.

He released Kai’s hand and gazed at the dragon’s long body to stare at one of his feet. “You have five toes!” Xiang turned to grin up at Kai’s face as he watched him. “You’re an imperial dragon.”

Kai grunted and settled his head on some cushions. Bunch of nonsense, he grumbled in Xiang’s mind.

It had been a rule established during the Han dynasty that while others, such as nobility and government officials, could wear dragons on their clothes, only the emperor could wear dragons who possessed five toes. The rest of the world was relegated to three-toed dragons. The five-toed dragon was the imperial dragon.

“Are you the reason five-toed dragons were the exclusive realm of the emperors?” Xiang teased as he dropped onto the cushions.

I might have spent some time playing weiqi with a few of the Han Dynasty emperors, but just one or two saw me in this form.

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