24. Li Xiang

“Xiang! Xiang! I don’t think he’s conscious anymore!” Rei was shouting and Xiang couldn’t disagree with him.

Kai was not in good shape at all. He shouldn’t have been flying, but as long as he was in his dragon form, it was the only way they were getting him away from the fae. As soon as the dark memories of finding Kai trapped by the queen crept into his mind, he shoved them aside and focused on getting the dragon on the ground. There would be plenty of time later for payback on Kai’s behalf. No one was touching his dragon ever again.

“Kai! I need you to open your eyes, baobei. Just land. We’ll get you home from here,” Xiang coaxed, attempting to shout over the racing wind and the frantic flap of his clothes.

The dragon must have heard him, because taloned fingers tightened on his waist, and he brought both Xiang and Rei close to his chest. The elf’s blond hair danced around his hair and his features were pulled taut on his very pale face. Rei did not appear good, but Xiang had a feeling this was more from a fear of crashing rather than an injury or fear of heights. Still, he had to ask.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rei shrieked. “We’re above the fucking clouds with a dragon who looks mostly dead. He’s going to get us killed!”

Xiang opened his mouth to argue, but the words left him along with his stomach. Kai shifted from flying flat across the sky into a nosedive. The one plus—and it was a small one—was that Kai had rolled in the air so he would hit the ground on his back rather than crushing him and Rei into the dirt.

Curses rolled off Rei’s tongue as fast as he could spit them out as they sped toward the ground. There was nothing they could do to stop him. Xiang squeezed his eyes shut and held on to Kai as best he could, praying to his ancestors that his poor dragon would survive the impact, and to please let them fall somewhere away from the humans. They were still struggling with the idea that something magical might be attacking them. They were not ready to deal with the concept of dragons. Let alone dragons falling out of the sky.

Xiang’s teeth rattled in his head. Dirt, trees, and other plant life flew into the air as Kai plowed through the ground for several meters before slowing to a stop. It was only then that Kai’s grip on his waist loosened enough for Xiang to climb free.

Rei shoved away from the dragon, stumbled a few feet, fell to his knees, and threw up. The elf was not happy, but at least he was alive.

Ignoring his own queasiness and aching bones, Xiang scrambled on hands and knees over the churned-up earth to Kai’s head. The dragon’s gold eyes were closed, and his breathing seemed too rapid and shallow. They needed to get him somewhere safe so he could start healing.

“Kai,” he forced out past the lump in his throat. With a trembling hand, he pushed away some of his long hair from his eye, not knowing what he should even do for a dragon. He was so big. It wasn’t like he could move him. He’d need one of those giant flat-bed trucks and even with that, his tail would drag on the ground off the end. “My sweet dragon, I need you to open your eye and look at me.”

“Holy shit! He did it!” Rei cried out.

Xiang’s head snapped up to where the elf was now standing several feet in front of Kai’s head. His gaze followed to where Rei was pointing to see they were a few meters away from a familiar smooth gray wall.

“It’s the wall around the Zhang manor!” Rei cackled.

Whoa…Kai had gotten them home, even though he’d seemed unconscious for most of the flight.

“Run to the house. Get the front gates open. Tell them Kai’s hurt and we need…need blankets and medicine and soup. I—” Hell, he didn’t even know what would work to help his dragon, but Rei didn’t require more directions than that. The elf had recovered from the rough landing because he was off like a shot, disappearing between the trees as he ran toward the house.

Alone with his dragon, Xiang dropped his head against the side of Kai’s massive snout and let panic overtake his body. This was worse than the last time he’d fought the queen. He was hurt and not responding. He’d used the last of his strength to get him and Rei somewhere safe. But Xiang refused to lose him now.

“Kai, my sweet perfect dragon, I know you’re so tired and hurting, but I need you to do one more thing for me. You gotta change into your human form. It’s the only way I can get you inside the walls of our home.”

He pressed a kiss to one of Kai’s cold, pale scales as tears leaked down his cheeks. Kai didn’t move. Xiang clenched his teeth. There was one thing he could do, and he hated himself for it.

“If you don’t change, I’ll have to stay out here with you. The fae are going to find you, and I’ll be the only one who can protect you while the sun is up. I’m happy to die protecting you…”

There was no need to finish. One of Kai’s massive eyelids twitched but didn’t open. Magic tingled and sparked in the air around his long body. A bright glow encompassed him. It was easily the slowest he’d ever seen Kai shift. Usually it happened in the blink of an eye. While he couldn’t see the actual change, Kai let out a pained roar that stretched into a human cry. The ugly metal shackle fell aside with a heavy thud. When the dragon was gone and the naked, blood-covered man was left behind, Xiang quickly and carefully gathered up Kai in his arms.

For a moment, he didn’t have the strength to carry him. He could only clutch him, his face pressed to the cold skin of his neck. Kai’s pulse was weak and thready against the tip of his nose. Everything about him radiated exhaustion and pain.

“Never again,” he choked out. “I’m never allowing her to touch you like this again.”

Clinging to the new fire that burned in his soul, Xiang placed Kai’s longer body on his back and jogged to the open front gates. As he reached the front stairs, the doors flew open. On one side stood Xiao Dan, his eyes filled with worry. On the other was Ming Yu, her expression stern and assessing.

“We have everything ready,” Ming Yu stated confidently. “Take him straight to your chambers.”

And with those simple words, it was like the weight on his chest lifted, allowing him to catch his first deep breath since they’d spotted Kai in the center of the courtyard.

As soon as he laid Kai on the clean sheets, he was happy to hand Kai’s care over to Ming Yu and her centuries of experience. He followed her instructions to the letter, washing away the blood and getting him wrapped up in the warm blankets to bring his body temperature up. He held Kai’s head as he fed him a pale, restorative broth while healing incense filled the air.

A couple of hours passed before his eyelids fluttered and opened. His gaze seemed unfocused, and his face scrunched up as if he were in pain.

“Xiang?” he asked in a rough voice.

He moved closer, sitting right on the edge of the bed so that his hip pressed against Kai’s. The dragon frowned and pulled one of his hands free of the blankets, lifting it to his head. “She wanted to take my horns.”

Xiang captured that wandering hand in both of his and pressed kisses to his knuckles. “I didn’t let her take your horns. They’ll be right where you left them when you turn into your dragon form. I promise. We need you to stay human until you heal.”

Kai’s frown deepened, and his eyes closed. “Promise?”

A little noise escaped Ming Yu, and she lifted her hand to cover her mouth, as if she were trying to hold in a laugh. Even though he was hurt, it was a good sign that he was at least talking.

“I promise. No one is going to take your horns. I’ll kill anyone who tries to get near you.”

That was an easy promise to make. He would never let anyone hurt him like this again. It was stupid to think that just because Kai was an ancient dragon, he was impervious. No, his dragon needed protection. It was the same way that his clan of vampires needed protection while the sun was high. He’d been gifted with the ability to walk in the sun, and he used it to keep his family safe.

Now fate had given him a dragon who was vulnerable to the evil power of the fae queen. It was time to take her down so that Kai would always be safe from attacks like these.

Ming Yu climbed to her feet from where she’d been kneeling on a cushion. She gathered up some of the healing supplies she’d prepared. “I think you’ve got everything in hand with him for now. I’ll leave you to watch over him as he sleeps. When he wakes, I’ll have a nice soup ready for him that will replenish his strength.”

Xiang caught her hand as she moved past him to the door. “Thank you, Jiejie. I would have been lost without you.”

A warm smile spread across her pale-pink lips, and her dark eyes twinkled at him. “I’m always happy to help. You remember to get some sleep as well. You can’t help him if you’re exhausted.”

“I will, Jiejie.”

Ming Yu leaned forward to press a kiss to the top of his head, just like she had a thousand times before, but she paused. They both looked over to find Kai half sitting up and one of his hands on her shoulder, holding her away from Xiang. The dragon’s eyes were still closed, but there was a deep frown on his face while his brows furrowed together in a pair of black slashes.

“No. Mine,” Kai grumbled, his tone a mix of jealous and petulant.

“Kai!” Xiang gasped.

Ming Yu giggled as she straightened. “No, no. He’s right, Xiang. You are his.” She pulled free of Kai’s grasp and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Xiang picked up Kai’s limp hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. “Ridiculous dragon,” he mumbled with a smirk.

He placed Kai’s hand under the blanket and stripped to his underwear. After turning off the lights, he slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around Kai’s body, trying to be careful of his injuries while hoping that his close presence could help to put him more at ease.

The darkness wrapped about them, cool and silent, washing away the heat of the battle and the bitter taste of evil so that Xiang could hear Kai’s steady heartbeat and his slow, even breathing. Queen Belladonna didn’t matter. The horrible things she’d done to Kai didn’t matter. Later, he would pull out each image from his mind and use them to fuel his vengeance against the woman.

But for now, he wanted the man in his arms to be healthy. He wanted all the amazing power and strength to pour back into this human frame, making Xiang feeling small and so very protected. Kai’s grumbled and snarky comments needed to fill his ears. He wanted to return to the days of lying on the giant mound of cushions in the hoard, his head resting on Kai’s chest, while the dragon read a book.

“I was scared…”

Kai’s fragile whisper drew Xiang from the happy thoughts he was desperately clinging to.

He lifted his head to find Kai’s eyes had opened and were focused for the first time since escaping the fae.

Leaning up, Xiang pressed a series of soft kisses to Kai’s jaw, moving up to his temple. “There’s nothing to be scared about now. I have you. The fae can’t touch you. We’re at the manor, and they can’t reach us.”

“I was scared…that you’d come for me,” Kai corrected him, and Xiang froze.

He leaned up on his elbow so he could stare at Kai. He was still pale and there was a hollowness to his cheeks, as if he’d lost something in that last fight. With his free hand, he cupped Kai’s cheek, his thumb brushing his too-sharp cheekbone. “You didn’t want me to come for you?”

“The sun was high. You would have none of your clan to support you.” Kai closed his eyes and a single tear leaked from the corner of his eye to streak along his temple. “If you tried to save me, I was sure you would die. I…I…” Kai’s voice grew rough and broke off.

Xiang dipped his head and kissed away that tear. “But I didn’t rescue you alone. I brought Rei and apparently a shit-ton of dynamite.”

Kai’s eyes opened, and questions rested in those light-silvery depths.

“Moon sweet-talked his witch-friend Maddox into giving us some dynamite. Moon says he uses it in his landscaping job, but I think Maddox is more interesting than he lets on. That’s where all the explosions came from. Perfect distraction. Allowed me to free my dragon without them laying a single hand on me.”

Kai’s lips twitched, and he said with a sigh, “Your dragon.”

“Mn. You’re my dragon.”

Kai’s eyes slipped shut, and he released a sigh as if something in him was finally relaxing. “You shouldn’t have come for me. Too dangerous.” The grumpy tone made Xiang smile. It was a sure sign he was on the mend.

“I had to rescue you.” He waited until Kai lifted one eyebrow in query, not bothering to even open his eyes. “I’ve still got this weiqi stone in my stomach, and I need your magic to get it out.”

As he expected, Kai huffed a soundless laugh and then winced. “Don’t make me laugh. Everything still hurts.”

“Sorry. Sorry.” He pressed a couple of gentle kisses to Kai’s lips before settling on the mattress. “Rest. Get your strength back.”

Xiang lay awake, listening to Kai’s breathing quickly even out as he drifted into a healing sleep. With any luck, Ming Yu’s restorative broth and knowledgeable care would bring Kai around faster than the last time.

Because the second Kai was on his feet, Xiang was marching to the fae stronghold, and he was killing the queen of the fae. And he was happy to kill every member of the fae who got in his way. No one was allowed to hurt his love and live.