Page 77 of Two Thousand Blades

Xiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was a very stark reminder that at his core, Kai was not human.

“But I didn’t eat any of them out of hunger,” Kai urgently declared, pointing another tot at him.

“Why did you eat them? They get too close to your hoard?”

“They pissed me off,” Kai mumbled. “Some of them wanted to cut me up and harvest my organs for medicines. They always want to steal my horns.” As he spoke, a pair of golden horns similar to a young stag’s appeared on Kai’s head. He waved one hand at them, looking very distressed. “They’re very nice horns, right?”

“Are they made of actual gold?” Xiang reached out but pulled his hand away as soon as he realized how rude he was being.

“Oh, no!” Kai lowered his head and moved it closer to Xiang, inviting him to touch. Xiang quickly wiped his fingers on a paper napkin before sliding his fingers along one of the smooth horns. “They’re horns, not technically antlers, so I think they are the same material as your fingernails.”

“Amazing,” Xiang breathed. Even if they weren’t made of gold, they were gorgeous, even coming out of the head of a creature that looked human. “You have beautiful horns.”

The dragon across from him sat up straight, his head held a tiny bit higher, as he mumbled a rather regal, “Thank you.”

Xiang returned to his meal. If Kai got any more adorable, Xiang would have to leap across the table and eat him up instead. Right now, they were enjoying a private meal together that Kai had organized for him. His dragon was an excellent provider. Sure, he might have kidnapped a couple of people to get the job done, but he was a born problem solver. When he wanted something, he figured out how to get it done.

Which made it a little surprising that Kai hadn’t figured out how to steal his sword from the fae yet. Was there something else holding him back? Fear? A sense of failure considering the fae had invaded his hoard and stolen it from him in the first place. Whatever the reason, Xiang was determined to fix this problem for Kai. His days of being harmed by Queen Belladonna were over.

“Just so you don’t worry, I don’t actually care for the taste of human,” Kai continued as if he were trying to reassure Xiang. “They made me angry, and I had to take care of them. Do you like the taste of blood?”

Xiang almost choked on his hash brown. He could follow the logic of Kai’s mind. He hadn’t expected the words to come out of his mouth so quickly or bluntly.

“I…I…don’t mind the taste,” he stammered at first, his brain rushing around to organize his thoughts. “I didn’t much care for it at first, but when you’re a young vampire, you need to feed every night. You learn to crave it, which then teaches you to appreciate the taste. I guess I like it more when I’m hungry.”

“And you’ve never tasted dragon blood?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

A strange expression flitted across Kai’s face that left Xiang believing that the dragon was pleased with that information. Possessive little monster.

Not that he didn’t want to take a nip from Kai. He longed for that connection between them. They’d shared their bodies, their lives, and now his clan. It felt strange as a vampire not to have tasted his lover’s blood.

But there were dangers and consequences that came with drinking the blood of a powerful creature. Bel had reported that vampires got drunk from the blood of shifters. Chen had received a temporary magical boost drinking blood from a blood witch. Who knew what would happen if he drank the blood of an ancient dragon? With his questionable luck, it would probably make him sick, but it would be cool if it gave him the ability to fly like Kai.

Xiang ate as much as he could while Kai picked at things here and there. Clearly, fast food would not be something he was a fan of. They cleaned up the wrappers together and Xiang placed the leftovers in the refrigerator. Moon would demolish them later.

When he returned to the bedroom, Kai had turned down the lights and poured them fresh cups of tea at the table, which he sat frowning at. That didn’t seem to be a good sign. Was the greasy human food not sitting well with him?

“Your stomach bothering you?” Xiang inquired after shutting the door.

Kai shook his head, but didn’t look up at him. At a guess, the dragon had something to tell him.

Sitting on the opposite side of the table, Xiang folded his hands in his lap and waited. His lover would not speak his mind any faster with prodding. If he’d learned anything during their time together in the hoard, Kai had to work up to things at his own pace and figure things out on his own.

“I have spoken to Xiao Dan and Yichen about this matter, and they have explained that I need to speak plainly with you. To not be subtle or rely on hints,” Kai began.

Xiang pressed his lips together, cursing Shixiong and Didi. Okay, so maybe picking up on subtle cues was not his strong point, but he would never have considered Kai’s style as being subtle.

“I also spoke with Junjie this morning. He caught me when I was intending to leave.”

That wiped away the lingering embarrassment and kicked his heart into racing. “What do you mean leave?” Xiang snapped.

“I had intended to leave you and this clan. My tie to the fae has made it clear that I’m a danger to you and your family. I don’t want that for you.”

“That is fucking bullshit! I—” Kai held up one hand, cutting Xiang off midroar. He froze, breath stuck in his throat, balanced on his knees while waiting for Kai to continue. The dragon was going to fix this or throw more fuel on the fire.

“Junjie explained it was disrespectful of me to not value your wishes and skills. My need to protect you from danger could not overshadow your wants and desires. You wish for me to stay. You also have the strength and skills to protect yourself. Even if I am not happy about this threat to you and your desire to fight the fae, I have to respect it.”

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