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)
“Rei and I have been working on this pretty much since we returned to the clan,” Yichen announced. Xiang dropped into his seat, only to scoot to the edge like everyone else as they peered at the map. Kai couldn’t help it. He slid his hand down and threaded his fingers with Xiang’s, hoping to ease some of the anger that still bubbled in him over the presence of the huli jing.
Xiang surprised him. The devilish vampire flashed him a bright smile before lifting their joined hands and brushing a kiss across Kai’s fingers. Right in front of his entire family.
A sound of disgust erupted from Huli. “Really? Li Xiang got a dragon? He should have been mated to one of Moon’s mantou.”
Xiang sucked in a breath and tightened his hand in Kai’s, but Xiao Dan reacted first, lightly bopping Huli on the tip of the nose.
“Be nice, or I will ask you to leave. We will do this mission without you,” Xiao Dan admonished.
Huli’s tear-filled eyes appeared to double in size as he peered up at Xiao Dan. “I want to help. I’ll be nice.”
Rei leaned over to Yichen. “See. I told you—your family is far more interesting than mine.”
“It’s a different kind of crazy,” Yichen muttered. “Anyway…” The vampire lifted his voice above the chaos. “As you can see, the map is incomplete. Rei and I have been drawing it from memory. There were a lot of places within the castle that I didn’t see. Most of my experience was within the outer courtyard.”
“And I didn’t explore as much as I should have.” Rei picked up the explanation. “My primary concern was planning our escape. However, I visited the throne room and the various guard quarters. I also know the location of the private quarters for the king and queen. At least, I’m assuming that my mother hasn’t changed her quarters since the death of her husband.”
“We will have two goals when we go in—to regain Kai’s sword and to kill the queen,” Chen stated. He turned his head toward Rei. “Unless there are other power players in the royal court that you feel we need to eliminate as well. Anyone who you believe will pick up the baton and continue to attack the humans?”
Rei scrubbed a hand over his face and glared at the map. “The fae are sticklers about bloodlines. After Belladonna’s death, I am first in line for the throne. After I renounce, that puts my half brother Trin in the lead. There is possibly a scattering of other half siblings still alive, but they’ve stayed away from the royal court after my father slaughtered most of their ranks. They might cause problems down the line, but I don’t think any of them will be in place to seize power once we take out Belladonna.”
“What about Trin? Will he pick up where she left off?” Junjie asked.
“No,” Rei replied with a shake of his head. “The power might be tempting, but he will need to solidify his claim. That will be better handled in the fae realm, where he will be at his strongest.”
“Not to mention, he would have to likely take on a very pissed off dragon.” Huli cackled.
Meimei snapped her fingers and joined the fox’s cackle. “Exactly! Kai could just crush them all.”
Xiang’s hand tightened in his and Kai glanced over to find his mate glaring at the map, his jaw so tight his muscles were jumping and flexing as if he were grinding his teeth. What could he not like about that statement? Kai was very much looking forward to crushing some fae and tearing apart that castle.
“But not until we gain the god-gifted sword,” Xiao Dan reminded them.
“Where is that likely to be kept? Would the queen keep the sword on her at all times?” Chen inquired.
Rei sighed. “I don’t know. When Yichen and I were still stuck in the castle, I saw it occasionally. My father was the one usually carrying it. He also had a stand for it next to the Dawn Throne.” He shoved a hand through his hair, pushing it back and threading a braid behind one pointed ear. “I swear I never thought much of it. He was always demanding the blacksmiths make him new weapons. I thought this was a new design they’d come up with.”
“It’s understandable,” Kai chimed in. “You were more concerned with Yichen’s safety and your upcoming escape. They didn’t dare attempt to summon me for the first time until that night I stole Xiang away.”
“So, what’s the plan for going after the queen and the sword? Two teams?”
“Actually, I was thinking five teams,” Xiao Dan answered with a broad smile. “Our clan has a great deal of experience sneaking past guards and other security. Huli has been sneaking past their guards for months now. Since we can’t be sure where the queen or the sword will be, I think our best option is to send as many teams as possible to complete our goals. Rei and Yichen will be a team with the goal of taking out the queen. Xiang and Kai will focus on going after the sword.”