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)
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
After the dragon had grabbed him by mistake and dove into the river, carrying him to this cave deep in the ground, he’d been shown to this magnificent room by the dragon’s servant. At least, he thought the man was the dragon’s servant. He didn’t have a name and was relatively unhelpful in all ways. The bastard had even locked him in this room, leaving him completely alone with no way of contacting his clan.
It wasn’t just that his clan had no way of knowing he was still alive. Or as alive as a vampire could be. But he had no idea what had happened to his clan mates and the fae. The last thing he’d seen was his clan outnumbered. Had they escaped Queen Belladonna and her army? Were they safe? Had the dragon gone back and attacked them after leaving him in the cave?
Restless energy crawled across his skin and left him clenching his teeth as he searched the entire room for the third time. Nothing. The enormous space was loosely divided up into a massive parlor, a sleeping area with a bed on a pedestal, a kitchen, and a bathroom that was too luxurious for words. There were kings who couldn’t boast such opulence in their castles, and he might have enjoyed it if the dragon had given him a choice in the matter.
Xiang flopped onto a pile of cushions and groaned loudly while his body sank into the satin-covered cloud. How was he supposed to get out of here? The door was composed of more than a meter of steel and wouldn’t budge, no matter how much he pulled on it. There were no other doors or windows. His only contact since waking was with Mr. No-Name, but he didn’t know when he would return. If he would return.
No. He refused to be useless. He had to find a way back to his clan.
He—
“You haven’t even been here an entire day. Why are you pouting?”
Xiang tried to jump up at the unexpected sound of that voice, but he’d sunk so deeply into the cushions that he couldn’t do much more than flail his arms and legs in the air like an overturned turtle.
An aggravated sigh reached his ears, and a hand caught one of his, pulling him up enough that his feet could find purchase on something solid. As he rose, his gaze focused on the man who’d “rescued” him from the cave earlier. Except this was the first time he got a good look at the stranger. When they first met, the cave had been pitch black, while his features were partially lost to the bright light and shadows cast by his lantern.
“You!” Xiang gasped as his brain tried to take in dark hair that hung in front of silver-gray eyes. His features were soft and rounded, as if the artist who’d made him had sanded down his hard angles. The one harsh thing about him was the sharp, unyielding line of his lips as they pressed together into a frown.
“Who did you think it was?” Mr. No-Name snapped as he released Xiang’s hand the second he was on his feet.
“I don’t know. You surprised me. That’s all. I didn’t hear you enter.”
The man grunted and walked away, crossing the crowded room with practiced ease, as if he’d spent decades weaving his way through all the furniture and bric-a-brac. “I don’t understand your problem. Why are you so disgruntled about being here? Are you uncomfortable?”
“It’s not about being uncomfortable. I’m a prisoner!” Xiang shouted at his back. “You know what that’s like, right? You’re a prisoner of the dragon, too. Right?”
The guy straightened a wooden box that had gotten nudged on a table. “I don’t have the freedom to move about as I might wish.”
Xiang tossed his arm across the man’s shoulders and pulled him in close. He was only about seven or eight centimeters shorter than the man. Close enough that he could easily gaze into his eyes. “See! We’re practically brothers fighting the same fight. We need to help each other so we can both be free.”
The man’s face twisted up and his eyes widened as he stared at the hand dangling off his shoulder. He pinched Xiang’s wrist between two fingers and lifted it from his shoulder, ending all contact between them. “We are not brothers, and the only help I am to give you is to make sure you are comfortable for as long as you are staying here.”
“And how long is that going to be?”
He gave a small shrug before continuing his path through the cavern, tidying things as he moved. “I have no idea.”
Xiang groaned loudly again. “Can you at least tell me how long I’ve been in here already?”
“About twelve hours.”