14. Kai

This was a disaster waiting to happen.

Kai’s stomach churned and knotted during the entire flight from his hoard to the Zhang clan. He took it slowly, hiding up among the high clouds so he couldn’t be spotted drawing closer to the vampires. The sun was sinking below the horizon, and they would arrive just as full dark descended on Connecticut. He expected them to greet him with swords, spears, and arrows.

Why wouldn’t they?

He’d stolen away one of their brothers. They probably thought he’d eaten him or ripped him to shreds after that one phone call Xiang had made during his hunt. Even if they didn’t believe that, they had to hate him for fighting at the side of their enemy.

But even aside from their loathing, it was the idea of releasing Xiang forever that was chilling him to the bone. The vampire belonged in his hoard. He was happy there, and Kai always knew he was safe from any kind of harm. The moment Xiang returned to his clan, he was going to leave Kai behind. There would be no more quiet conversations while Xiang attempted to not burn whatever he was cooking. No more snuggles on the cushion mound. No more games of weiqi and crazy stories from Xiang’s younger years.

No more Xiang.

Yet as much as his every instinct screamed to turn around and take Xiang to the hoard, Kai continued on. The vampire wasn’t a thing to be collected. He couldn’t continue to live within the hoard. Life and adventure beckoned. His family needed him. It was time for Kai to let go.

The only thing that made the flight tolerable was the hoots and cries of pure joy from Xiang. The vampire sat on his back, his hands twisted in his long hair as Kai cut through the air hundreds of meters above the earth. He’d never carried a person like this and Xiang’s happiness squeezed his heart, leaving him wanting to keep flying for the rest of the night.

All too soon, they arrived at the expansive manor that belonged to the Zhang clan. A little smile teased his soul as he took in the upwardly curved eaves tipped by dragon sculptures. The courtyard glowed with lamps, echoing of a place and time so very far away from where they were. Surprisingly, it made him homesick for a region he hadn’t realized was important to him.

As soon as Xiang’s feet touched the ground on the driveway, Kai turned into his human form and stood beside Xiang, ready to accept whatever fate threw at him.

“Huh,” Xiang said, his shoulders slumping as they stood out in the middle of the driveway for several seconds.

“What’s wrong?” He knew this was the right home. He’d visited it once to check on Xiang’s clan. There were soft noises coming from the interior, voices drifting out through open windows, so people were home.

“Is Moon’s protection ward not set on the grounds any longer? I thought an alert would sound the second you set down.”

Kai snorted. “Do you think I can’t find my way around a witch’s ward?”

Xiang cracked a grin at last and rolled his eyes. “Silly me. Forgot I was with an imperial dragon. Of course you can get through spells and wards.”

It was tempting to give Xiang a shove, but he was afraid that if he did, it would be the exact moment someone peeked out a window and saw him abusing their brother. Not the first impression he was going for.

Xiang placed his hands together and rubbed them. His smile turned into something worthy of a comic strip villain. “But that means I might get to surprise them.”

Kai followed as the vampire hurried up the front stairs and slipped into the house. He was barely a step behind when a woman’s scream cut through the peaceful evening, followed by a loud crash. Footsteps from multiple people thundered across the wood floors, but Kai’s eyes were locked on the young woman who threw herself into Xiang’s open arms.

“You idiot!” she cried as she wrapped up Xiang tight enough to choke him. “What took you so long?”

“Well, you know escaping from a dragon’s lair isn’t the easiest of things,” Xiang countered, as he tossed a playful wink in Kai’s direction.

Kai was content to retreat a step and fade into one of the elegant paintings that graced the walls of the foyer. The anxiety in his stomach grew worse as the young woman—who Xiang called Meimei—was joined by the rest of the clan. Kai recognized two faces from that fateful night in the woods, but they were all strangers.

Each of them greeted Xiang as they reached the foyer. Many gave tearful hugs, while others gripped his neck and touched their foreheads together. Only the elf seemed to hang back. His eyes left Kai to welcome Xiang home, but they returned, loaded with questions and possible speculation.

Kai had plenty of experience hiding and cloaking his true nature from the rest of the world, but the fae were a different matter. They didn’t fully belong in this world and their use of magic differed from how the witches, huli jing, and even dragons used it. If the elf didn’t recognize him as the dragon who stole Xiang in the first place, he at least knew he was not what he appeared to be.

For now, the elf held his tongue, and Kai gave him a silent nod of acknowledgment. At least he was giving Xiang a chance to be happy to be home. Too soon he would have to explain the guest lurking in the shadows.

“Okay! That’s enough!” The young woman who’d initially greeted Xiang stood in the center of the gathering and raised her hands up. “No more kidnapping. I have had enough.”

“What?” Xiang laughed.

“I’m serious.” She spun and pointed at the vampire, who looked familiar. “First, Yichen was kidnapped.” She turned and pointed at the pale-blond vampire. “Then Chen kidnapped you.”

“Rescued,” he corrected with a grin, but she ignored him as she moved on to Xiang.

“And then you were kidnapped.”

“I’m pretty sure I was rescued like Moon,” Xiang stated.

The woman glared at him and balled one of her hands into a fist. Before it could come down on the top of Xiang’s head, Kai’s instincts took over. He darted forward and wrapped his fingers around her slender wrist, stopping her hand. At the same time, he grabbed Xiang’s arm with his free hand and pulled the vampire behind his body, separating him from the rest of his clan.

“Xiang belongs to me. No one harms what is mine,” Kai growled into the silence.

Fuck sitting back and waiting for Xiang to introduce him. To hell with letting his story fall out in a sensible manner. It was hard enough to deal with the idea that he could be seeing Xiang for the last time. While he was present, no one could hurt him in any way.

As he might have expected, his announcement froze everyone on the spot. No one blinked or even seemed to breathe as they stared at him and Xiang. Kai released the woman and took a step away, corralling Xiang further as he put more distance between them and the rest of the clan.

“Aiya!” Xiang cried as he slipped past Kai. He lifted a hand and placed it against his cheek, drawing his glare from the clan to his face. “Meimei isn’t trying to hurt me.”

“She’s a trained warrior, just like you. She can cause you harm if that’s what she wishes,” Kai grumbled, while trying not to lean into his touch. He glanced over Xiang’s shoulder to see that the look of surprise on her cute face shifted into a wide grin.

Meimei retreated to stand with the others, a bounce in her step. “Well, at least he’s right about that part.”

“She won’t hurt me. She’s my little shimei,” Xiang argued.

“Isn’t this typical dragon behavior?” This question came from the elf and it was very effective in getting everyone to fall silent. The group turned as one to stare at the blond man, who shrugged. “What? Didn’t you know? He’s the dragon who stole Xiang.”

All eyes snapped to Kai. Xiang winced, squeezing his eyes shut. The quiet of the room took on a near brittle quality, as if everyone hovered on the edge of exploding. Or possibly attacking. Kai’s brain screamed to wrap an arm around Xiang’s waist and drag him out of there and to the hoard.

But they wouldn’t attack Xiang. No, they were going to attack Kai to protect Xiang from him.

He deserved it. The cut of their blades, their distrust and animosity. All of it. He should have released Xiang weeks ago, but selfishness had driven him to hold on to the vampire longer than necessary. Xiang’s company gave him such joy. He looked forward to his stupid jokes and teasing. Yet keeping him meant denying his family his company, protection, and warmth.

Xiang whipped his head around and glared at the elf. “Seriously? This is your idea of being helpful?” he snapped. Xiang shifted so that he was standing in front of Kai like a flesh and bone shield. “It wasn’t all that long ago that Yichen brought you back to the clan—an elf—after he’d been held prisoner and tortured by elves for a full century.”

The elf flinched. “Yeah, sorry about that. I thought everyone knew.”

The vampire with the long dark hair standing next to the elf bumped him. “How could you tell?”

“It’s his magical aura. It’s different, bigger. A lot bigger than anything I’ve ever seen.” He shrugged and motioned toward Kai. “What else could he be but a dragon?”

“Look, everyone relax,” Xiang broke in. “Kai doesn’t mean any harm. Yes, he is the dragon who grabbed me in the woods, but he’s been protecting me from the fae. Plus, he’s already had something stolen from him, so it makes him edgy about losing anything else.”

As he spoke, Kai placed a hand on Xiang’s waist, preparing to pull him behind him or just away from this house if these people seemed like they were going to take Xiang. A heartbeat later, Xiang covered Kai’s hand with his own, but he didn’t remove it. No, he squeezed Kai’s hand, threading their fingers together, reassuring him that everything was going to be okay. It still didn’t feel like it was, but that small touch unraveled some of the tension trying to crush his lungs. For the first time in several minutes, he could draw in a breath.

“Shidi, I don’t understand what’s going on.” This came from the vampire who appeared to be the oldest of the group. The leader of this clan. Xiang flinched, and Kai’s heart sank as he waited for Xiang to release his hold on Kai’s hand. To feel him pull away and return to his people.

“It’s a long story that we’ll get to, but the short of it was that Kai had no choice but to take me. However, he didn’t harm me. He nearly died protecting me from Queen Belladonna when she ordered him to kill me,” Xiang explained.

“It’s okay, Xiang,” he whispered, forcing his fingers to release Xiang when his entire body ached to pull him deeper into his embrace. Just wrap his arms around Xiang’s chest and fly them to the hoard. It was the only safe place in the world.

But it wasn’t. Not really.

If it was so safe, the fae would never have been able to sneak in and steal his sword.

No, the last safe place for Xiang was with his clan. His family.

His heart cracked down the center as he lifted his hand free of Xiang’s waist and slipped it out of Xiang’s grasp. The vampire whirled, confusion twisting up his handsome features.

“What…” Xiang started to demand, but Kai stopped him with a small shake of his head.

“It’s time for me to leave. You are home safe with your clan.”

He took a step back toward the door and Xiang lunged at him, grabbing his biceps with one hand and wrapping his other across the nape of his neck. “No! You can’t leave.”

“I don’t belong here.”

Xiang’s hand moved to cup his cheek, forcing Kai to tilt his head so their eyes locked. “You are staying. We’re going to talk. Fill them in on what happened. Afterward, we’re going to have a big meeting about how to move your hoard here, so you know it’s safe.”

“Here?” The single word broke from Kai’s thought. “You want me to move my hoard here?”

Xiang’s smile spread so wide it twinkled in his eyes. “Of course. That way, you’ll always be close to it while you’re here with me. Plus, you’ll have an entire clan helping to protect it.”

“You want me to stay with you?” Kai knew Xiang had said those words to him more than once, but he’d never allowed himself to believe them. Xiang was supposed to be saying them simply to get Kai to take him home.

Well, he was home now, and Kai was willing to leave him with his clan. No more imprisonment in a cave under the river. Xiang was free, and yet he continued to cling to Kai, pulling him into this clan that meant the entire world to him.

Xiang’s thumb rubbed along his cheekbone in the sweetest caress, sending Kai’s fragmented thoughts scattering to the wind. “I want you to stay. It won’t be just you anymore. You have people now.”

There was no more conscious thought. Only need.

Sweeping his arms around Xiang, Kai pulled the vampire into a tight embrace. Their mouths collided in a kiss that blotted out the entire world. He wasn’t sure who started the kiss. Maybe they met in the middle. It didn’t matter. Xiang was holding on to him as if he were the only person he ever wanted to be with. At the first touch of Xiang’s tongue across the seam of his lips, Kai opened, welcoming him inside.

Clan. Hoard.

No, this was the only place he wanted to be.