Page 82 of Two Thousand Blades

“You said that the sword was a special gift from Huangdi because of a great deed you did. Its importance to you made it the heart of your hoard, and that’s why it has power over you.” Chen paused and smirked at Xiang. “However, I would argue that its level of importance in your life has changed over the past several weeks. Especially recently. What if you had to choose between Xiang and your sword?”

“Xiang,” Kai blurted out. “I would choose Xiang.”

Chen shrugged and dusted his hands off against each other. “I’m convinced she won’t be able to control you any longer. At least not to the point of putting your life in danger. The real threat is if she gets her hands on Xiang, which is unlikely to happen. First, she’d have to know that Xiang has usurped the sword’s power. And second, she’d have to catch him. With Kai there to protect Xiang, it won’t happen. Plus, Xiang is somewhat skilled. He should be able to protect himself better than a sword.”

“Screw you,” Xiang snarled, looking around as if he wanted to find something to throw at Chen’s head.

Kai’s heart frantically thudded in his chest while his thoughts raced in his brain. It was a struggle to round them up and analyze Chen’s logic, but he could find no fault in it. “No, he’s right. I would give up all of my hoard to keep you. My every desire is to place you in my hoard and keep you safe. You are the heart of my hoard now.” After sucking in a deep breath, he turned to Xiao Dan. “Chen is right. I am going.”

“What? No!” Xiang shrieked.

“I am going, and that is final.” Another crash of thunder punctuated that sentence.

And to make sure Xiang couldn’t argue with him further, Kai disappeared from the room and reappeared in the center of his hoard. Of course, he could still hear what was happening in the meeting room, particularly Xiang.

“Where did he go?” Ming Yu gasped.

There was a moment of silence before Xiang growled. “I bet he went to his hoard.” Above Kai’s head, he could hear the stomp of a foot on the wooden floorboards. “Get back here, you freaking dinosaur! We’re not done arguing!”

Dinosaur!

Kai was more than happy to show the vampire what this dinosaur could do.

1 Mantou – steamed bun that doesn’t have a sweet or savory filling

2 Baozi – steamed bun that contains a meat, vegetable, or meat and vegetable filling

Chapter 28

Li Xiang

Xiang blinked, and his clan was gone.

He wasn’t in the meeting room any longer. It took only a second to recognize the heavy congestion of antique furniture, the wall of weapons, and the giant mound of pillows. A haunting scent of incense drifted past his nose, and the warm flicker of candles cast a pleasant and familiar glow. Kai had magicked him to the hoard.

“Kai!” he bellowed. This was not how they dealt with an argument. One person could not storm off and then use magic to steal the other away.

“You called me a dinosaur.” His stubborn mate’s voice drifted out from the far corner of the hoard in the direction of the canopied bed on the dais. At least Kai was in the hoard with him. He hadn’t simply trapped Xiang here while he went off to pout somewhere else.

Xiang marched toward Kai’s voice, his hands balled into fists at his sides. “Kai.”

“I’m not a dinosaur. I’ve never even seen one.”

He didn’t know whether to shake or strangle his lover. He was focused on something entirely unimportant.

As he reached the bedroom area of the cave, he found Kai seated on the end of the bed with his arms folded over his chest and a sour expression on his face. Something about seeing Kai in his cave made Xiang’s heart stutter and skip. It was as if he could feel the dragon’s power wrapping around him, blanketing and protecting him. When they’d been living with the clan, Kai had felt more human and fragile to him. Especially as wonder had filled his face as he’d experienced new human things for the first time.

But here he was in his domain.

He was the true dragon emperor.

A near-god.

And Xiang had hurt his feelings.

Yeah, his ancestors were not pleased about that. He could hear every one of them clucking their tongues at him and cursing his stupid head.

“I’m sorry for calling you a dinosaur. I was frustrated, but I shouldn’t have given in to name calling,” Xiang apologized as he moved closer.

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