21. Kai

Xiang had tricked him.

Kai wasn’t sure how it happened. It was an honor to be a guardian of Xiang’s clan, but he was also trapped inside this house when he was positive he should be at Xiang’s side, keeping him safe. The fae were devious and evil—aside from Rei, of course.

It appeared he was still devious and evil, though. It was just that those qualities worked in favor of the Zhang clan rather than against them.

Maybe he had been away from the human world for too long.

When the hell was Xiang coming home? Things made more sense with Xiang at his side.

“How long have they been gone?” Kai demanded as Yichen paced to the front door to glare out.

The vampire turned and frowned at him. “Three minutes.”

“What? That can’t be right.” Kai marched over to scowl at the sun that refused to set and the man who refused to return to his side faster.

“Sucks being left behind,” Yichen mumbled, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Kai had a feeling this was the part where he was supposed to say something reassuring about how Xiang and Rei could handle the fae on their own and that they wouldn’t find any trouble. But those words were trite, and he didn’t believe them. Xiang was very good at finding trouble, and Rei seemed as capable on that front. Xiang needed Kai at his side to keep him safe.

“They will not return faster with you two hovering at the front door.” The gentle voice with a hint of laughter had Kai and Yichen turning at the same time to find Xiao Dan standing in the foyer watching them. “They’ll be fine.”

“Shixiong, did we disturb you?” Yichen inquired, his shoulders slumping.

“I couldn’t sleep.” With his admission, Xiao Dan’s smile wilted on his lips as if he couldn’t keep his weariness at bay. Yet he drew in a deep breath and pressed the corners of his mouth higher. “I heard everything from when Xiang swallowed a weiqi stone. Come with me to make some tea, and we’ll talk.”

Yichen nodded and started after Xiao Dan as the older vampire turned toward the kitchen. Kai hesitated. Was he supposed to accompany them? This was the first time he’d been left alone with Xiang’s family. He was an outsider. No! Worse! He was still Xiang’s kidnapper.

He was still debating what he should do next when Yichen stopped and walked back to his side. Grabbing Kai’s elbow, he motioned for the dragon to precede him. “That was an invitation for both of us. Shixiong’s ‘we’ll talk’ really means that he’ll listen while we explain why we’re pouting at the front door like a pair of sad golden retrievers.”

“Oh,” Kai murmured, allowing Yichen to lead him through the house to the kitchen, where Xiao Dan was placing a kettle on a stove burner. Yichen motioned for him to sit on a stool at the center island before he moved to pull down some cups and a container of tea leaves.

“I feel I should begin our talk with an apology,” Kai stated. Both vampires stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at him, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open without making a sound. “I never apologized for stealing Li Xiang and keeping him.”

Xiao Dan and Yichen shared a look that Kai couldn’t quite interpret. At the very least, Xiao Dan didn’t seem angry. Bemused, maybe?

Clearing his throat, he tipped his head to the kettle while holding Yichen’s gaze and then turned his full attention toward Kai. He walked over to stand opposite of him with the island between them. The vampire was very handsome, with neatly trimmed short hair and a clean-shaven face. He’d been older than the others when he’d been changed, looking to be a man in his early thirties.

“I appreciate your apology, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Queen Belladonna didn’t give you any choice but to take him. We’re grateful that you kept him safe for us,” Xiao Dan said.

“Rather than eating him,” Yichen chimed in from the stove.

Kai grunted, dropping his eyes to the countertop where his hands were folded together. “Yes, I had considered it, but I thought maybe that was what the fae wanted, and I was in no mood to follow her orders. But I didn’t return him quickly.” Kai raised his head and stared at Xiao Dan in earnest. “He wanted to return to his clan much sooner, but I thought if I kept him in my hoard, the queen would forget about his existence. I thought he’d be safer with me. Xiang convinced me that if I helped you to defeat the fae, you would help me regain possession of my sword.”

“Yes, we are going to help each other,” Yichen agreed as he moved the steaming water off the hot burner and poured it into a ceramic teapot with the leaves already in place.

Xiao Dan threw Yichen a look. It disappeared as soon as he turned his gaze to Kai. “I’m glad we can help each other on this matter. However, I have to say that it feels like you’re not too eager to release Xiang from your hoard even now. Do you think he won’t be safe with his clan?”

Kai opened his mouth, but the words become lodged in the back of his throat. He pressed his lips together and let out a loud huff through his nose while his body slouched on the stool. “No,” he mumbled. “Xiang is very safe and happy here with his clan.”

He lifted his eyes enough to see Xiao Dan put his forearms on the counter as he leaned forward. His voice dropped close to a whisper as he continued, “So, you maybe want to keep Xiang close to you for more personal reasons? Other than safety.”

Sitting up straighter, he glowered at Xiao Dan and Yichen, who placed a cup of tea in front of him, a broad smile on his face. Steam curled up from the cup, carrying with it a rich, earthy scent.

“Is this what Gao Mei Lian meant when she used the phrase ‘spilling tea’?”

Xiao Dan jerked upright, a flush coloring his cheekbones and a strange sputtering noise escaping him. Yichen had no problem bumping him aside and leaning toward Kai. “Yes, that’s exactly it. We’re gossiping. Right now, the hottest tea is you and Xiang sleeping together. Everyone is dying to know how long this has been going on. Did Xiang immediately jump into your bed? Are you?—”

“Yichen!” Xiao Dan gasped.

“Oh, come on,” he moaned, glancing over his shoulder at his shixiong before grinning at Kai. “You know you want all the tea too. When Xiang was grabbed, we were sure he was dead. If the dragon didn’t eat him, we thought he’d piss the dragon off until he stomped on him.”

“I considered it,” Kai admitted, only to wonder if maybe he should have kept that thought to himself. “He was very annoying in the beginning.”

Yichen snickered. “That’s Xiang’s charm. He’s annoying to everyone. Chen has attempted to murder him several times.”

Xiao Dan smacked Yichen on the back of the head. “He does not mean that seriously. Chen has never attempted to murder Xiang.”

The idea of talking to Xiao Dan and Yichen about his relationship with Xiang was very tempting. They’d known Xiang for centuries. They understood him, were familiar with all the things that Xiang liked and disliked. Information was what he lacked right now, and they had it.

“Very well.” Kai picked up his tea. He took a small sip and sighed as the warmth and delicate flavors danced across his tongue. It had been a while since he’d enjoyed some excellent tea. “I will tell you things, but you will help me. Sleeping with and kissing Xiang is new. First, he was my prisoner. Later, we became friends. I’m not sure when it began. I just know that one day I woke up, and he wasn’t as annoying any longer. Then, I was excited to see him each day. And now…” He paused and licked his lips. “Now I do not wish to ever let him go. I feel he belongs in my hoard, and I want to keep him there, so he’s with me always.”

Xiao Dan and Yichen exchanged another look.

Xiao Dan cleared his throat and took a sip of the tea Yichen placed in front of him. “Ummm…”

“You can’t keep him in your hoard,” Yichen said flat out. “He’s a living thing. Not a sword or a treasure chest of gems.”

This time, Xiao Dan exchanged a glance with Kai before he smacked Yichen on the head again.

“I know Xiang is a living, breathing creature with desires, dreams, and a clan who needs him,” Kai replied as evenly as he could. “It’s just that anything I’ve ever wanted has gone into my hoard. It’s the safest place I can think of. There, Xiang would be surrounded by all the beautiful and valuable things I’ve collected. I would focus all my magical spells and all my power on protecting him.” Kai paused and sighed, feeling he was falling so short of what Xiang needed, and yet he was still unwilling to let him go. “I’m a dragon. I don’t have another frame of reference. How do I keep him?”

Yichen drained his cup of tea and refilled it. “I don’t think you’re going to have much trouble with that. He was playing weiqi with you. He hates that game.”

“Yes, but how do I court him? How do I convince him of my affection and win his? How…how do I keephim?” There had to be more to this than they were letting on. All the anxiety and tension washed out of him like a wave retreating from the shore. “I’ve never done this before. There’s never been anyone I’ve met that I’ve wanted to keep.”

“It’s not hard. I think you need to tell him how you feel,” Xiao Dan said. His hand reached across the island as though he wanted to place it on Kai’s slumped shoulder, but he pulled back and smiled. “I get the impression Xiang cares a great deal for you.”

“No.” Kai huffed. “It has to be more complicated than that. He needs treasures. Maybe his own hoard. Or servants. There are still some rare magical items hidden in the world. I could find those and?—”

“No, Kai. Seriously, just talkto him,” Yichen pressed.

That couldn’t be right. Xiang deserved to be showered with all the finest things in the world. He needed to be cared for and protected. There was nothing in all the world more precious to him than Xiang, and he needed to show him.

“Yichen is correct. If you give Xiang gifts, he might think they’re an apology for kidnapping him or a dragon custom. It is better if you tell him directly how you feel,” Xiao Dan explained. He paused and gave a little wince. “I wouldn’t trust Xiang to read subtle signs and fully understand your intent.”

“Yep. Xiang is a great fighter, but he doesn’t possess great people skills. You need to say it plainly to him.”

Was that the problem? Xiang didn’t understand naturally that they belonged together?

Kai nodded. “Got it. I will tell him he is my mate from now on and he may not kiss anyone else or have sex with them.”

A sound like a choked laugh escaped Yichen, and he dropped his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking. Xiao Dan elbowed Yichen and flashed Kai a tense smile before speaking. “Maybe you could give it a softer touch. Tell him how you feel and how important he is to you. That you want to spend more time getting to know him.”

“I want to spend all my time with him.” He paused and frowned again. “But I can’t. He needs to live here with his clan.” And eventually, Kai would need to return to his hoard. He would, of course, keep his hoard close to Xiang if the vampire returned his feelings.

“I’m confused,” Yichen announced.

“So am I,” Xiao Dan chimed in. He cocked his head to the side. “Aren’t you planning to stay with us? Particularly if you view Xiang as your mate. You would leave him here while you lived somewhere else?”

“I don’t wish to leave his side ever, but I don’t want to force my presence upon him or his clan. I don’t belong to this clan.”

He’d never been a member of any clan or sect.

“Kai,” Yichen said as he held his gaze. “If you are Xiang’s mate, you are part of our clan. It’s like you married in. Rei is my mate, and he’s an elf. He’s a member of the Zhang clan now.”

“Same with Moon,” Xiao Dan added.

“Oh.”

For the first time since he’d started this spilling-tea session with Xiao Dan and Yichen, a bright spark of hope exploded in his chest. It steadily grew, warming him. If Xiang returned his feelings, if he wished to be Kai’s mate, they could stay together. They could continue sleeping together in the same bed and sharing all their meals together. So many minutes of his day would continue to be filled with Xiang’s smiling face.

But more than that, he would have a clan. A family. Vampires and an elf would surround him. There would be more laughter and interesting conversations. And Ming Yu’s wonderful cooking! To be able to relish the flavors of home as he remembered them was a dream come true.

He wanted to tell them he accepted this offer to be part of their clan—assuming Xiang wanted him to remain close—but the warmth that had spread across his chest turned into a sharp pain. Pressing his hand to his heart, Kai frowned and searched for the source of this discomfort. He was a dragon. It wasn’t like he could get sick or even suffer a heart attack.

The sharp stabbing struck again, and this time, a distinct pull accompanied it.

“No!” he gasped. He stumbled to his feet, knocking over the stool with a loud clatter.

“Kai? What’s wrong?” Xiao Dan demanded.

His head snapped up and a cold sweat broke out across his skin. He had to leave now. The urge to change into his dragon form was overwhelming, but he couldn’t do it here. The house would be destroyed and the Zhang clan hurt if not killed by the intruding rays of sunlight.

He couldn’t leave. He’d promised Xiang he would protect his clan. That he’d keep Yichen out of trouble.

But staying wasn’t an option.

“Tell Xiang I’m sorry I failed to keep my promise,” he bit out between teeth clenched against another slash of pain. He staggered as quickly as he could manage to the front door with both Xiao Dan and Yichen on his heels.

“What’s going on?” Yichen called out, his question edged with the harsh bite of worry.

Kai grabbed the cool metal handle and pressed his damp forehead to the wood. His breathing was fractured pants, unable to drag enough air into his lungs through the pain. “The queen…she summons me.”

With the last of his strength, he jerked the door open and slipped out into the sunlight. He took one step onto the pavement and launched himself into the air, his body twisting and contorting into his long, sleek dragon form. For a moment, the pain receded and there was just the delicious caress of the wind along his scales.

Then the noose tightened around his throat, and he was dragged across the sky. Called back to the queen of the fae.