Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Kai froze. He couldn’t think. How easy it would be to lean into Xiang’s presence and agree to let Xiang become his guide in the human world.
But he wasn’t returning to the human world.
He was the reason Xiang was trapped there.
Besides, Xiang didn’t mean what he was saying.
Clenching his teeth together, he put his hand against Xiang’s side and shoved the vampire away from him. “Stop! Just…just stop. I don’t believe any of your nonsense. You don’t care about me. You have no intention of protecting me or being my friend. The only reason you’re saying any of those things is because you want me to help you escape. I mean nothing to you.”
He stomped off, winding his way deeper and deeper into the hoard while Xiang shouted at him. The vampire was fast, but the thick cluster of treasure spread about the cave forced him to move more slowly, giving Kai the chance to find a place where he could disappear without Xiang seeing him perform magic.
When he reappeared in the corridor outside the treasure room, he was in his natural form, his long, scaled body filling the underwater cave. A roar erupted from his lips and echoed off the stone walls.
No more visits to the vampire.
At least, not for a while. Li Xiang of the Zhang clan was his captive, and he wasn’t going anywhere. The queen had ordered him to take the vampire, and that was what he’d done. If she said to release him, he would. And if she said to kill him, he would.
From now on, he would only check on Xiang to ensure he didn’t need anything. These little conversations were growing too dangerous. If they continued, he might be tempted to help him. But he couldn’t.
No, it was better if they both kept a low profile for now.
It wasn’t likely Queen Belladonna was going to forget that she had a dragon at her beck and call, though. No, eventually she was going to gather the strength she needed to issue another command. He could guess that it was going to be one of two things: Kill Xiang. Or kill someone from Xiang’s clan.
Chapter 3
Li Xiang
“What have you done?”
The spear almost slipped from his fingers at the sudden screech that ricocheted off the walls of the cavern. It had been so long since he’d heard another person’s voice, he’d almost become convinced he was the last person left in the world.
Xiang spun and spotted Kai standing on the other side of a towering stack of furniture, hands gripping the sides of his head, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open.
“Why have you moved things?” Kai demanded.
“I needed space to practice.”
“Practice?” Kai’s normally deep voice cracked as his fingers curled in his dark hair.
Xiang sighed and leaned the spear clutched in his right hand on a bookcase before walking to Kai. It took an extra minute or two to climb over a few things without causing them to topple over. At last, he was at Kai’s side. Smiling, he took Kai’s hands and pulled them out of his hair.
“Practice,” he repeated. “I was bored, and I haven’t worked out in a while. The dragon has an amazing collection of weapons. I thought I would borrow a few for a workout, but that requires space.” He released one of Kai’s hands and motioned to the surrounding cave. “And as you know, things are so tightly packed in here. If I’d started swinging a sword or spear in here, something would have gotten damaged. So, I moved things.”
“But…but…everything in here is an antique. It’s a one-of-a-kind.”
“That’s why I had to move it out of danger. Nothing was hurt.”
Kai huffed and jerked his other hand from Xiang’s grip. “Martial arts practice,” he said through clenched teeth as if Xiang had announced that he was filming porn in the dragon’s lair.
“Of course. I’ll give you that I’ve had two thousand years to become a master of my craft, but practice occupies the mind and stretches the muscles.” Xiang poked Kai in the shoulder and added with a wide grin, “Plus, you’re going to need me in top fighting shape for our escape.”
Judging by Kai’s expression, that did not help. Not that he’d expected it to. Kai didn’t think he’d stick to his word and protect him when the time came, and Xiang didn’t blame him. He couldn’t imagine he was the first person to be stolen by the dragon. Maybe the others had escaped or died trying to escape, and yet Kai was still here. Alone.
Even if they didn’t get along all that well, there was no way he was leaving Kai behind. Nope. The grumpy stickler for everything in its proper place was coming with him. He was going to be free to live a real life again.