Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 123477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
After a few more seconds of cuddling, Moon released Chen and moved to sit opposite him with his back against the stone wall.
“We need to get out of here and contact my clan. I don’t know if they made it home safely last night or if Junjie has recovered from his injury,” Chen said.
“Do you have a cell signal?” Moon inquired, patting on the ground until he came up with his phone.
“I don’t.”
The light from the phone cast Moon’s face in an eerie glow, highlighting his almost instantaneous frown. “Me neither. I’ve got a flickering half bar and my battery is getting low. I bet if I go a short distance away from the rocks, I’ll be able to get a signal.”
This time, it was Chen’s turn to frown. Moving away from the rocks meant going out into the woods alone. But Chen couldn’t argue with Moon’s suggestion regardless of how much he hated it. If they didn’t try to figure out a way to get help, they were going to be stuck there all day. It wasn’t so much a big deal for Chen. Just an annoying inconvenience.
The problem was Moon. He’d given up a lot of blood for Chen. The man needed care, or he was going to make himself sick.
“Are you sure you’ve recovered enough to go out there?”
“I think so.” The smile Moon flashed him was crooked while his eyes were filled with worry.
Chen wrapped a hand around Moon’s ankle and squeezed. “Go slow. If you’re light-headed when you stand up out there, return and rest some more. There’s not much my brothers can do during the daylight hours. I don’t want Xiao Dan sending Xiang to come after us alone.”
“Actually, I’ve got another idea about how we might get some help.” Moon patted Chen’s hand, his expression growing more confident. “I thought I’d call the necromancer. He’ll bitch about having to trek through the woods, but he’s pretty damn crafty. He might have ideas.”
Releasing Moon’s leg was one of the hardest things Chen had attempted in a while.
But Sky wasn’t the only crafty witch. Moon was talented and smart. He could avoid the fae, and he would know how to defeat them with magic. It was going to be okay.
It didn’t hurt that Chen enjoyed the show of Moon crawling out of the cave, his jeans cradling his adorable ass.
“Are you staring at my ass?” Moon called out as he reached the entrance and placed a hand on the side of the opening to steady himself.
“Not staring. Admiring,” Chen corrected.
Moon gave the ass in question a shake as he straightened. He groaned loudly, but that was more from muscle and joint aches after being in a cramped cave for so long.
The witch stretched his arms over his head and twisted to the left, then right, loosening up muscles. When he was ready, he turned toward the entrance and ducked down so he could see Chen.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m going to walk a short distance away and try to get ahold of Sky.”
“Wait. Do you have Xiang’s number? Or any of my clan?” Chen scooted to the entrance while pulling up the contacts on his phone. Moon stepped out of the sunlight long enough to copy the phone numbers for Xiang, Junjie, Ming Yu, and Xiao Dan. He promised to try all of them until he reached someone.
“Twenty minutes,” Moon promised. He snagged a hard, quick kiss and then he was walking away, the bright morning sunlight sliding over his body. The poor witch looked an even bigger mess by the light of day. He was splattered and streaked with mud, blood, and sweat from head to toe. God help him if Moon happened across any hikers while he was out. They’d run screaming and probably call the police, reporting a deranged murderer on the loose in the Connecticut woods.
As soon as Moon disappeared from sight, his body hidden by bushes and trees, Chen grabbed his phone and began a countdown timer from twenty minutes.
No panicking until the timer runs out.
At least, that was the plan.
Chen sat near the opening, staring out at the sun dappled leaves as they danced and fluttered in the morning breeze. The day was showing signs of warming up, but the cold stones of his hideaway were keeping the temperature cool.
Now that he didn’t have a witch in his lap, it was a good time to test his power. He didn’t want to discover something had changed thanks to Moon’s unique blood when he needed his powers for self-defense. Tapping into his icy gift, Chen threw out his hand, intending to send a light frost across the ground.
What he got was a winter wonderland.
Shit!
Chen snapped his hand back to his chest and winced. He clenched his teeth together as his eyes ran over snow-covered ground and tree limbs bowed under pounds of ice clinging to branches and leaves.