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)
“Love?”
Kai huffed and shifted his head to rest his chin in the palm of his hand, his glare now directed at the garden in front of them. He had no experience with that emotion. He wasn’t entirely sure any dragon understood love. They were creatures of power, duty, and obsession. Where was love supposed to fit into that?
He knew Xiang was his and belonged in his hoard. The crown jewel of his hoard, really. As much as he wanted to keep him within his hoard, he couldn’t. He couldn’t protect Xiang, and if he truly valued him, he needed to remove the danger from that precious item. In this case, he was the danger to his precious gem.
“Leaving will protect Xiang and all of your clan,” Kai stated after a lengthy silence. “My last two encounters with Queen Belladonna have proved to me that I’m not strong enough to defeat her. It is only a matter of time before she summons me again. I will give up my life rather than follow her orders, but what if I don’t die in time? I don’t wish to harm any of you.”
“And you believe that if you leave us now, you’ll be able to stop her from ordering you to kill Xiang or anyone in our clan?”
Kai said nothing as he watched the wind stir the leaves in the trees. The faint light from the garden lamps and the glow from the house caught on raindrops clinging to the leaves, causing them to glisten and wink in the darkness. At first, he thought about flying around the world, to return to China and put as much distance between himself and the fae. Maybe that would weaken the power the sword held over him.
But running would still leave the Zhang clan and the humans with the problem of the fae. Was he not the same dragon who ended the drought and saved the village at the request of Huangdi? Had he not kept the rivers full and flowing so the traders could move their goods from town to town, feeding countless humans? He might always keep apart from the humans, but he never turned a blind eye to their suffering when he could help them.
So, he was forming a new plan where he would attack the fae stronghold, catching them by surprise and hopefully defeating the queen before she could regain her full strength. If he could kill Queen Belladonna, maybe the Zhang clan and the others would have an easier time of forcing the fae from this world. Even if he died in the fight, he’d be happy knowing that Xiang was safer.
“Did you know Xiang killed his own father?”
Junjie’s softly spoken words jerked Kai from his thoughts. He sat upright, blinking at the vampire, waiting for him to continue.
“Xiang is a jerk,” Junjie said, and Kai bristled. The cat in Junjie’s lap rolled over and growled at Kai as if it could sense his growing anger, but Junjie ignored them both. “Xiang joined the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect at the same time as me. He was loud, obnoxious, and constantly challenged anyone he encountered to a fight as if he needed to prove himself to the world. His father was a powerful politician in Emperor Wu’s government. He sent Xiang to the sect with the goal of Xiang becoming a general in the emperor’s army.”
“Is that not what Xiang wanted?”
One of Junjie’s slender shoulders lifted in a careless shrug. “I don’t think he ever thought about what he wanted for the future. His father was the type to make declarations, and everyone would follow his orders without thinking. The only thing he instilled in Xiang ahead of their parting was that Xiang needed to protect the emperor.”
The orange cat stretched in Junjie’s lap with a couple of scratches to one ear, but he was now keeping a very close eye on Kai. No matter. Kai ignored the strange creature, all his focus on this little snippet from Xiang’s past.
“After we became vampires, the emperor commanded us to kill some conspirators. When we arrived at the manor that night, we discovered Xiang’s father meeting with two of the emperor’s brothers and another nobleman. Emperor Wu was sick and dying. They were concerned with who he would choose as his heir to the Dragon Throne. After two thousand years, I’m still not convinced they were truly conspiring against the emperor. Their concern was for the well-being of the nation. I don’t believe Xiang thinks his father was a traitor, either. But the emperor ordered him to dispatch all suspected conspirators, and his father taught him to always protect the emperor.”
“So, he killed his father…” Kai whispered.
Junjie grunted, his hand stilling in the cat’s fur. “He followed his training. But ever since then, Xiang has grown even more brash and obnoxious. He’s trying to keep everyone at arm’s length, so he never has to suffer such a pain again. I believe he feels he’s tainted from that night. He now hides his true feelings from even his clan.” Turning his head to Kai, Junjie lifted one corner of his mouth in a small smile and seemed to light a spark of hope within Kai. “Except that has changed since he returned from being your prisoner. When he laughs, you can feel his happiness. It’s no longer edged with harsh bitterness. The shadows have left his eyes, and I no longer see him brooding alone. It’s as if he’s shed centuries of self-loathing and embraced this light that you’ve brought into his life.”