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)
The hands holding Yichen disappeared and Yichen moved, closing the distance between him and Rei in a few quick steps.
And then Rei was in his arms. The elf even lifted his legs, wrapping them around Yichen’s waist while placing his arms over Yichen’s shoulders. Lips sealed to lips, and Yichen could feel Rei’s sigh of relief.
Holding him, feeling that rightness in his arms at last, thought leaked into his brain.
“Soooo…” Junjie drawled from somewhere in the hallway. “Apparently, this is happening.”
“Ugh. Just don’t,” Xiang grumbled. “I had to listen to that happening when Rei woke up from his garden nap and again later that night. We need to move them like we did Chen and Moon.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault vampire hearing is so good. Or that Chen’s tongue is so—” Whatever Moon was going to say was cut off.
“That’s enough, baobei,” Chen interrupted. “No one needs to hear you shouting my praises.”
“His shouting is why we moved you in the first place!”
Rei broke off their kiss but kept their mouths pressed together so Yichen could feel his wicked grin. Behind them, Shixiong was clearing his throat and ushering his clan mates off to another room so they could discuss things. Yichen knew he should put Rei down and join them.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he turned in the opposite direction, walking with the elf still in his arms, toward his bedroom. There were private things they needed to discuss first.
Chapter 22
Rei
Yichen’s default emotion was anger.
Whenever the poor vampire felt too much or didn’t know how to express his emotions, his brain routed everything through anger until it could figure out what to do with the flood of happy, sad, relief, panic, fear, rage, helplessness, and more.
So, Rei couldn’t say it surprised him that Yichen began shouting the second they were alone in his bedroom.
“What the fuck were you thinking, attacking the king head on like that?” he demanded as he put Rei on his feet again.
“I was thinking that killing him now would solve two-thirds of our problem,” Rei drawled. Naturally, he had to slip into his own bad habits and be a snarky asshole instead of trying to calm his lover.
Definitely the wrong thing to say.
Yichen’s anger downshifted into frigid, biting words. “How? By getting yourself killed?” His voice was barely more than a whisper, but the tone slipped in like razor blades across Rei’s flesh. “You tell me you want to stay here with me—a little hard to believe that when you throw yourself at King Ash’s blade the first chance you get.”
“Yiyi…” Rei started, but stopped as a muscle ticked in the corner of Yichen’s eye.
The vampire’s footsteps were silent across the wood floor as he closed the distance between them. Only his frantic heartbeat filled his ears as Yichen lifted one hand and slid his fingers across the white bandage circling his throat. Meimei had wrapped the wound, but it was already healed to the point of being just a red, puckered slash. In another hour or so, the cut would be a fading red line.
But he could guess that wasn’t what Yichen was seeing. No, his mind was replaying the stream of blood soaking into Rei’s shirt, the look of surprise and horror on Rei’s face. His brain would be filled with the stories of how Chen and Moon had nearly lost their lives at the end of King Ash’s sword.
If their roles were reversed, Rei would be in the same frantic, illogical state.
No, he’d be worse. He’d lost his mind plenty of times when Yichen had been tortured. There would have been no dragging him out of the forest. He’d rampage, killing every elf he could find.
“I’m sorry, Yiyi. I was reckless,” Rei murmured. He lowered his head to brush his chin on Yichen’s thumb. The rich scent of the woods mixed with the sour smell of sweat and fear that still clung to the vampire. “I saw him in front of me, and he appeared so weak. Like my mother had been draining the life from him. I thought…I thought it would be easy to kill him. Then so many of our problems would be solved.”
Pressing his thumb into the edge of Rei’s chin, Yichen pushed, forcing him to lift his head enough to meet his steely gaze. “Never again. We kill him together. That is the only way we will both survive.”
“Yes, Yiyi. Together,” Rei exhaled. This was a much better plan. As eager as he was to end his father’s life, it was more important to him that they survive the battle with his father and mother. This would all be for nothing if he didn’t get to enjoy an eternity with his vampire.
Yichen pulled him in, capturing his lips in a drugging kiss that wiped away all his thoughts about the fae, his bastard father, and anything else. There was the sweet pressure of that perfect mouth as it moved over his in a series of teasing kisses. The hand on his throat moved around to cup the nape of his neck, angling him so Yichen could deepen the kiss. Fangs scraped across his bottom lip and any hope of them rejoining the others went out the window.