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 sniffed. “Not everyone can be a dragon.”
Xiang choked on a laugh, but Junjie’s voice coming through the speaker on Moon’s phone cut it short. “Moon, what have you heard?”
“Nothing more since the initial call. I’m hoping they haven’t been overrun yet.” Moon sucked in a ragged breath and shoved his free hand through his white-blond hair. “What I know is that both Bel and Winter have houses close to a thick section of forest land that separates them from the land that belongs to the local wolf pack. The wolf pack has been in the process of moving in with another pack who lives farther west. Fox wasn’t clear, but I think the fae have attacked the shifters. They’re the family of Bel’s mates, so Bel has also jumped into the fight.”
“And, naturally, Winter and Fox joined in to help their clan mates,” Xiao Dan murmured.
“Fox called us first because we’re closer than the rest of their clan. But I talked to Ethan as we were grabbing weapons. Aiden, Marcus, and the rest of the Variks have been contacted and are on their way,” Moon continued.
Xiang grunted. “But we’ll be the first to arrive. We’ll give Bel a hand, push the fucking fae back.”
“Kai…” Xiao Dan began, but his voice cut off as if unsure what to say. “Do you have any…concerns about joining this fight?”
“None. I don’t foresee the queen being able to use the sword against me so soon. I am happy to assist in this matter.”
Xiang nearly rolled his eyes. Assist in this matter. Kai made it sound like they were heading over to the Variks’ to hang curtains, not kill as many members of the fae as they could.
No, Xiang was excited to cut down their enemy at last. Over the last several months, he had met all the Variks and their various mates. They were an interesting, bickering clan who clearly cared for each other as well as the humans. They only hoped to live in peace with the humans. Not to mention, they’d helped the Zhang clan when they’d had no stake in the matter. It was time they repaid the Variks for the risks they’d taken on behalf of his clan.
“Very well. Everyone, please pay attention to any information or instructions from Rei. We don’t know that we face. I—” Xiao Dan’s voice cut out, and Xiang thought Moon’s phone must have dropped the signal.
But as he lifted his eyes to the front windshield, his brain was wiped clean. Black, acrid smoke filled the night sky, tickling their throats and burning their eyes. They wouldn’t have been able to see it if it weren’t for the fire consuming a long string of homes. What had been a quiet residential street was now filled with cars and people running on foot, faces twisted in fear, as they fled their homes. Xiang’s heart tripped and his hand tightened on Kai, some urge driving him to protect the dragon.
Thankfully, reason kicked in. Kai was a dragon. As long as Queen Belladonna wasn’t there to stir up trouble, Kai was going to be just fine.
Chen jerked the SUV up onto the curb and slammed the vehicle into Park. “We travel on foot from here. Grab weapons. Protect the humans. Slaughter the fae.”
“Bel and Winter have homes at the end of the block closest to the woods,” Moon instructed.
Meimei snorted as she jumped out of the car. “They’ll be the easiest to find. They’ll be the ones in the middle of the fight.”
Xiang moved to follow her out of the back seat when a powerful hand clamped on his arm, holding him trapped. He jerked around to find Kai glaring at him, his brow deeply furrowed and his face pale in the flickering light. Gone were the soft gray eyes, replaced with a sparkling gold. Dragon’s eyes.
“I am allowing you to enter this fight because I respect your skill and years of training,” Kai bit out, sounding as if saying these words were killing him by bits and pieces. “But I do not give you permission to become injured. Do you understand me?”
Something inside of Xiang melted into a puddle. What was this dragon doing to him? If anyone else had uttered those words, they’d be chewing on the end of his sword. But Kai—a dragon who placed him in his hoard and saw him as his own property—was trying so very hard to let him be his truest self. This was as bad as Kai fighting the commands of the heart of his hoard to keep him safe.
Xiang wrapped his hand around the nape of Kai’s neck and pulled him forward, slamming their mouths together in a brutal kiss that held a bevy of promises for the future. They would survive this and continue that kiss later.