Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Of course, living with the Zhang clan hadn’t been a bad thing for the past several days. The tension that seemed to fill their frames had dissipated. Xiang’s “keeping an eye on him” during the daylight hours felt less like a jailor guarding a prisoner and more like friendly hanging out. Su Ming Yu hummed softly as she kept him fed and introduced him to all kinds of new foods. Meimei was familiarizing him with K-dramas while Moon was teaching him about BLs.
But he passed most of his days in the gardens.
The vampires gave him a little space while he was walking through nature, as if they thought he needed it. He was just happy to give them some much-needed space away from him.
There was one person he didn’t want any space from, though.
Yiyi had been stuck with him for a century. He would be relieved if Rei walked off among the trees and never returned. Wasn’t his presence a constant reminder of what he’d suffered at the hands of his parents? The sooner Rei disappeared, the sooner Yichen could move on with his life and heal from his ordeal.
Space between them was a good thing. Since returning from Moon’s old home, the desire to lean in and capture Yichen’s perfect lips was overwhelming his common sense. He daydreamed of tracing those soft, pink petals with the tip of his tongue until they parted to welcome him inside. Their gasps would mingle and twist together, allowing Rei to swallow them along with the moan of delight that followed.
He sighed, and he felt an answering sigh from the pair of maple trees he’d passed.
Distraction. A distraction was most definitely needed.
Smiling up at the trees, he lifted his hand and caressed one long branch. “There’s no need for us both to be sighing.”
An answering warmth and happiness radiated from the tree, and soon the others were calling out for his attention. All the trees and plants were conscious creatures with feelings and desires. Most of them were simple desires, such as a desire for the warm sunlight or water from a quenching rain. Some wanted a strong wind to rattle their leaves and give their limbs a good stretch.
Without the fae around to feel their needs and desires, the trees and plants fell into a deep slumber, forgetting they could reach out. He’d always thought this was why the fae had to return to the human world once every hundred years—to wake up the flora from their slumber.
But his parents and the Silver Court had become obsessed with tormenting the humans every time the door opened and less concerned with stirring up the old earth magic to wake the world. Maybe he was the last one left who cared about such things.
That was fine. He could at least give this garden a good drink of magic.
Stepping into a small circle of trees, Rei held out his hands to either side, palms up. With little effort, the ancient earth magic bubbled up, racing into his body from the soles of his feet and through his limbs so that it overflowed. A laugh escaped him as he spun in place, throwing his hands over his head as if reaching for the sky. The magic surged out and rained down on all the trees, kissed the tiny flowers, and caressed each blade of grass.
He spun again, opening his eyes to take in the faint white sparkle that fell from his fingertips to spread out through the wooded land that belonged to the Zhang clan. The earth magic poured through him, picked up a bit of his own fae magic, and soared out with each turn and wave of his arms.
It was an old dance that most believed they were born knowing. Each step and graceful sweep of the arm ingrained in their bones before they took their first breath.
Nature gave life.
The fae were supposed to be protectors of that life.
King Ash and his queen had forgotten that. But not him. This plot of ground offered him sanctuary and solace for a short time. The least he could do was provide it with some nourishing sustenance.
He didn’t know how long he danced. He filled the air with so many silvery sparkles it was as if he’d set free an entire colony of fireflies. The green of the leaves and blades of grass were lusher. Flowers had opened their petals, shucking their evening sleep in favor of a fae feast. Even the splash of the koi in the nearby stream seemed louder, as if they wanted to leap from their home to bathe in the magic.
Sweat trickled from his temple and he panted softly, trying to catch his breath as he ended the dance. All the grounds within the stone walls were now saturated with fae magic. Nothing special. Just a light feeding for all the flora and fauna. A smile played on his lips to where he almost reached up to touch it. The dance had been for the trees, but there was a lightness in his own chest that hadn’t been there earlier. Maybe he needed this as much as the plants.