31. Kai
Kai ached to keep flying. Just soaring higher and higher. Let the wind caress his scales and whisper joyous songs. Up here, he could smell the rain and the freshness of all the world. He longed to keep going on and on, with his mate and sword in his arms, but they couldn’t.
Without being told, he knew Xiang was eager to get back to his clan. They might have retrieved his sword and witnessed the death of Queen Belladonna, but the fae problem was turning into a hydra. As soon as they lopped one head off, another popped up with the same maniacal glee for death and destruction. Plus, Xiang needed to be reassured that his family was all safe and well.
Theirfamily.
Yes, the Zhang clan belonged to him now. They’d welcomed him as Xiang’s mate. They were family, and he needed to get to them to ensure their safety from this Jiang Chong and the fae.
Rolling across the sky, Kai shifted direction slightly and dove toward the earth, wringing excited laughter from Xiang. The vampire was finally learning that Kai would do nothing to harm him, especially while they were flying. They circled the property once to find all the vampires were exactly where Kai had placed them—in the center of the driveway. He shifted while he was still a few meters in the air, using his magic to put Xiang’s feet on the ground before joining his side.
Mei Lian squealed and bounced over to his side, grabbing his arm with both of her hands. “Next time, can I go flying with you and Xiang? The magic zap was nice, but I want to fly,” she begged.
“Of course. We’ll plan a flying trip,” Kai agreed happily.
Xiang moved from person to person, looking them over. “Everyone is okay? Nobody was hurt? We all got out?”
“As if I would have forgotten anyone!” Kai gasped.
Chen snorted while Moon outright cackled. At least Xiao Dan had the good grace to clear his throat to keep the laughter out of his voice. “We are all here. I think the worst sustained are some minor bruises and abrasions. Nothing serious.”
“Is that it?” Junjie demanded with a jerk of his chin toward the sword in Xiang’s hand. “Is that the sword Kai received from Huangdi?” All eyes snapped to the sword and even Xiang appeared to stare dumbfounded at it, as if he’d forgotten he was holding it at all.
“Yes, it is,” Kai murmured.
“Shit! Sorry.” Xiang held the sword out laid across his palms, and Kai hesitated for a heartbeat to pick it up. It was as if his brain expected it to disappear if he so much as reached for it.
A smile trembled on his lips as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt and lifted it from Xiang’s hands. A familiar energy buzzed through the sword and jumped into his own body as if it were excited to be in his possession. With it came a roll of thunder through his mind and the soft whisper of Huangdi’s voice thanking him for his service to the people.
His eyes inspected every millimeter of the blade, from the tip to the pommel. Nothing seemed out of place or damaged despite being in the fae’s care for more than a century. It still appeared as sharp as the day it was forged. Huangdi’s blessing had protected the sword while it was out of his reach.
“It’s an exquisite sword.”
Xiang’s soft words jerked Kai’s gaze from the blade to his smiling face. His heart picked up to look at those warm brown eyes and his wildly windblown hair. Blood smeared that beloved face from the battle past, but it didn’t detract from his perfection.
Kai glanced at the sword and…felt nothing. Maybe a trace of sadness and frustration, but nothing compared to the joy that rose when he gazed at his mate.
“It is a lovely sword.” With a push of magic, the sword disappeared, returning at last to its rightful spot in his hoard. “But it is just a sword.”
“What?” Someone squawked. He wasn’t sure who because he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Xiang, who had some new pink tint rising in the apples of his cheeks.
“Maybe we should go in the house and discuss the return of Jiang Chong and the new problem of the fae,” Xiao Dan suggested.
Ming Yu sighed. “I had hoped I’d imagined you saying he was back.”
Huli bounded ahead of them, tails flying. In a blink, he shifted fully into his human form, all tails gone. “No! He was there and as scary as Gege said he was! Disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye. Just like that Varik.”
“Actually, I think he might be faster than Winter,” Rei murmured. Yichen was instantly at his mate’s side, wrapping a supportive arm around his waist, coaxing Rei to lean on him as they both appeared battered and exhausted.
Once they were inside, Ming Yu mentioned something about tea followed by Rei mumbling something about snacks, which caused Kai’s stomach to rumble. Before they knew it, all eleven of them were shuffling down the hall to the kitchen. Thankfully, it was a large kitchen. The vampires were content with tea, while Kai was more than happy to join Rei and Moon in raiding the pantry and refrigerator for bits of food that had been tucked away.
Xiang stood near the back, his arms folded over his chest, glaring daggers at Huli, who had no problem ignoring him. Kai snagged a shaobing?1 from a plate and wandered to his mate. Slipping one arm across his waist to hold him close, he brushed the flatbread bun against Xiang’s flattened lips until he took a bite. The vampire instantly relaxed and let out a happy hum.
“You got a red bean one,” Xiang murmured. Kai swooped in and kissed away a sesame seed that had gotten stuck to his lip.
Do you want me to kill the huli jing?Kai asked using his magic since there was no way he could whisper it in a room filled with vampires.
Xiang jerked in his arms, his eyes wide as they locked on Kai’s face in silent question.
He was very good at protecting Xiao Dan from the fae, but you don’t like him. I will remove this threat from our clan for you.
His lover relaxed in his arms, even resting his head on Kai’s shoulder. “No,” he answered with a sigh.
Kai smiled to himself as he pressed a kiss to the top of Xiang’s head, secretly amused. He didn’t know the full story of why he was so distrustful of the fox spirit, but Huli didn’t seem all bad. Selfish, impulsive, and utterly reckless, but he was dedicated to the safety and happiness of Xiao Dan. For that alone, he should be allowed to remain close to the Zhangs.
“Chen has never told me much about Jiang Chong, other than that this guy turned him and all the clan into vampires. Also, he’s an asshole,” Moon began, talking with a mouthful of stinky tofu.
The Zhang vampires fell silent. Their eyes all dropped to their cups or the food in their hands. Kai could almost feel the swirl of bad memories filling the room with its dark and heavy weight.
“When we first met him, he served as the head of secret intelligence for Emperor Wu during the Han Dynasty.” Each word Xiao Dan spoke was soft and somewhat slow, as if he were still waking from the old nightmare. “He changed Chen and myself in Chang’An before we traveled home to Luoyang, where the clan lived. There, he slaughtered roughly half of the people and changed the rest.”
“We were trapped under his control for several decades,” Chen continued the tale. “He’d been a vampire for more than a hundred years already. He was faster and stronger than all of us combined, so we had no hope of fighting back.”
“And then there was his vampiric power,” Meimei whispered with a shudder.
Xiao Dan grunted. “Like Winter Varik, Jiang Chong can pierce the veil that separates the living world from a type of limbo where ghosts exist prior to moving on to the underworld. It took us a very long time to figure out a way to track his movements when he disappears, and even that’s not much of a warning. Less than a second sometimes.”
“How did you escape him the first time?” Kai inquired. He didn’t want them lingering on these old memories, but focusing on their escape. If they did it once, they could do it again.
A derisive noise escaped Xiang. “It wasn’t even planned. Not really. We all wanted away from him, though we were scared to talk about it for fear of him overhearing. It was one day near sunset that I lost my temper and attacked him.”
“And I jumped in to help,” Junjie added.
“In the blink of an eye, we were all fighting him, most of us getting scorched by the sun,” Ming Yu murmured. “But after so long, it was better to be dead than serve him.”
“Jun-Jun nearly cut out his heart,” Chen stated. “That was what we thought was the killing blow. He staggered back, falling into the dead realm. He closed the door before we could follow.”
“The nights passed, and he didn’t return. The weeks turned to months and then years. We all assumed he’d died from his injury in the dead realm,” Xiao Dan murmured.
“But he escaped and went off to cause trouble somewhere else.” Rei huffed a bitter laugh. “No wonder he’s teamed up with Trin. Sounds like a very fae thing to do.”
“That does lead to a very sticky predicament,” Chen stated, as he lifted his teacup to his lips for a small sip of the steaming liquid.
“I’m sorry,” Rei whispered. “I feel like this is all my fault.”
Yichen grabbed Rei’s slumped shoulders and forced him to face his mate. “What the hell are you talking about? How is any of this your fault?”
Rei lifted his empty hands and stared at them as if he were expecting to find the answer there. “I should have seen it coming. Maybe not Jiang Chong, but I never thought Trin would follow in my parents’ footsteps. I don’t know him well, but he’s never given me any sign that he was power hungry. I was sure he would take our people home. Instead, he chooses the madness of the king and queen.”
“So, he had you fooled. He had us all fooled,” Yichen snapped. “That doesn’t make any of this your fault. We took our shot, and it didn’t quite work out how we wanted.”
“The queen is dead, and Kai got his sword back. They no longer have any chance of sending a dragon to kill us. That’s fucking progress!” Xiang chimed in. Rei’s head lifted, and the faintest smile lifted one corner of his mouth.
“The wall will continue to protect us from the fae. Or at the very least, warn us when they get too close,” Moon said. He paused and tapped his lips with one finger. “The problem is keeping Jiang Chong out. Or some kind of warning system.”
“And it can’t be blood based,” Chen pointed out. “Since his blood runs in all the Zhang vampires.”
Moon gulped. “Even me?”
“No,” Xiao Dan stated firmly. “The line breaks there. You mark the start of Chen’s individual bloodline and family.”
The fledgling released a deep breath and leaned heavily on Chen, his arms tightened on his waist and his head rested on his heart. “Thank God for that.”
“I think I can smell him,” Kai announced, causing every eye in the room to snap to him.
“Crap! That’s what you were talking about!” Xiang exploded.
“While we were searching for my sword, I caught a faint whiff of an odor that seemed familiar. It reminded me of the Zhang clan, but I knew it wasn’t any of you. Something about it was just different enough that I couldn’t place it,” Kai explained.
“Yes! I smelled that too!” Huli stated with a mouthful of the gods only knew what.
Xiao Dan smiled warmly at him before moving another plate of treats closer to the fox spirit. “I think it might be best if you remain close to the clan for the time being. Don’t go searching for Jiang Chong. He’s dangerous, and I don’t want you to be injured.”
Huli bounced up on his toes. “Can I sleep in your room?”
“I think we can arrange your own private room.”
The fox spirit dropped to the flats of his feet, his lips drawing into a frown. That was clearly not the answer he’d hoped for.
Xiang shifted in his arms so he could glare up at Kai. “You’re also not allowed to go looking for him. Even if you are a scary dragon.”
Everything inside of Kai warmed, and he lowered his head to nuzzle the side Xiang’s face and neck. “Anything my mate wishes. I will remain close to keep you and our family safe.”
“Aside from the fact that I am still nauseatingly single,” Meimei moaned, her fingers pressed into her temples as if she were developing a migraine. “Why can’t Kai use his magic to zap Jiang Chong here instead of waiting for him to appear when we least expect it?”
Kai’s head popped up, and his brow furrowed. “Zap? I can zap?”
“She’s talking about how you magically moved everyone from the fight to the clan home,” Xiang explained.
“Oh, I can’t do that with him.”
“Why not?” Xiang asked.
“I don’t know him. I moved the Zhang clan because I am familiar with you all and you are now mine.”
There was a low explosion of murmurs around Kai’s statement that he didn’t quite understand. Why were they so confused? Didn’t they understand they belonged to him and fell under his protection because they had taken him in? They were also his mate’s family, and it was his duty to protect all that was precious to his mate.
Xiang waved a hand at him. “It’s a dragon thing. They’re possessive and protective.”
Everyone seemed to accept that explanation and moved the conversation along. But the talking died down as the tea and snacks disappeared.
“I think we need to hold tight to what Xiang said earlier,” Xiao Dan declared. “We made progress. It might not be what we wanted, but the queen who tormented Yichen, Rei, and Kai is no more. We have Kai’s sword. Yichen and Xiang are home. We have also gained three new members to our clan in Moon, Rei, and Kai. That means we are even stronger now than we were before.”
“Plus, we beat Jiang Chong in the past. We will beat him again,” Ming Yu added.
Xiao Dan nodded. “Yes. I will reach out to Winter Varik. He may be able to tell us more about his power that will give us an edge in dealing with Jiang Chong.”
“Good. Then I’m going to bed and sleeping for a week,” Moon yawned. “If this is normal life for a vampire, I’m going to need to work on my stamina. You guys are exhausting.”
A low growl rumbled from Chen as he dipped his mouth to Moon’s ear. “I’m happy to help you work on your stamina.” It was meant to be a whisper for only his mate, but in a room full of supernatural creatures, there was no such thing as a true whisper.
“Ugh. After all this is over, I’m designing a dating website for vampires. This single nonsense in a house full of mates is bullshit.” Meimei threw up her hands and marched out of the room.
With the meeting dissolving, Kai pulled Xiang away from the group and used his magic to take them away to his hoard. The vampire glanced at his surroundings and chuckled. He turned into Kai’s arms, wrapping his own around the dragon’s waist. “Missed our hoard?”
“Maybe a little,” Kai admitted, his entire body relaxing to feel Xiang snuggled in so close. He closed his eyes and soaked in the affection. There was no getting used to this. It was the greatest thing in all the world, better than all the treasures he’d collected. He would have hoarded hugs if he could have, but only if they were hugs from his mate.
However, this wasn’t why he’d brought Xiang to the hoard. They would need to return to the house soon as the sun rose. After everything that had happened, he knew Xiang wouldn’t be able to relax unless he could watch over his brothers and sisters.
“There is something I want to ask you,” Kai continued. He stepped out of Xiang’s embrace and took his hand, leading him over to a dark blue chaise lounge. Xiang sat and Kai took the place next to him. Holding his hands out in front of him, Kai summoned the sword Huangdi gifted him. “Should I destroy this sword?”
“What?” Xiang choked out. He nearly stood, but settled for shifting on the chaise so he was partially turned toward Kai. His eyes were wide, and his mouth bobbed without words coming out. “After everything you suffered and went through? This sword was a gift from a god.”
“But he wasn’t a god when I knew him. Just an emperor, and I have many other gifts from emperors in here,” Kai countered. “It is because of that suffering—as well as what I put you through—that I think I should destroy it. Huangdi was a wise, compassionate man. He did not seek trouble, but always wanted what was best for his people. I don’t think he would be pleased with me and my obsession with this gift. I allowed others to use me for harm because of the sword.” Kai lifted his eyes from the sparkling blue crystal and elegant steel to skim over all the rare items that crowded this cavern. “I allowed myself to become obsessed with material things, drawing away from the human world, when I should have been using my powers to improve their lives. Huangdi would not be pleased.”
Xiang reached out and placed his hands under the sword, lifting it away from Kai. He looked it over slowly, marveling at the expert craftsmanship and elegance of the weapon. “Yinglong answered Huangdi’s request for help, saving many people from floods, but in doing so, he sacrificed his ability to ever fly to the heavens again, leaving him trapped here with the humans.”
The tips of Kai’s ears burned to hear Xiang talk about old deeds with such reverence. “It’s not like I planned to make such a sacrifice. I was only trying to help and screwed myself.”
“And like any of us, you felt honored when a great man showed appreciation for your sacrifice. You didn’t plan for the fae to steal your sword. But when it happened, you did everything within your power to keep me safe from their evil. You’ve also protected my family. I think Huangdi would still be proud of you, Yinglong.”
Now the blush was creeping down to his cheeks. This was horrible. How could anyone make him feel this way? Xiang was more dangerous than all the fae combined.
“From my experience, I’ve learned not to get too involved in the human world,” Xiang continued, seeming oblivious to how he was twisting Kai’s emotions up into knots. “It’s a messy, chaotic place, and magic is no better at untangling their messes than science. There’s no proof to say that humans would have been better off if you’d remained close to help them.” He lifted his gaze to Kai and smirked at him. “Besides, your hoard can compare with the very best museums of the world in preserving parts of the world’s past. If you’re weary of keeping the hoard, donate it to the humans. They’ll be thrilled to have this stuff.”
It was something to consider. His collection was nice, but it didn’t compare to spending time with his mate, seeing him smile and listening to his wonderful voice.
“And the sword?”
Xiang sighed and lowered his eyes to the weapon. “I know it carries a lot of terrible memories for you now. There are more than a few weapons in our collection that I won’t pick up for the same reason. But that doesn’t mean the sword is tainted. It’s still a reminder of a great and valiant deed. A sign of intense gratitude from a great man. With time, the bad memories will fade and the good will shine through. If you want, you can place the sword in our collection, make the Zhang clan the custodians of your sword. Even if it isn’t the heart of your hoard any longer, we would be honored to guard it for you.”
“Agreed,” Kai said with a laugh. He snapped his fingers, and the sword disappeared. When Xiang gasped in surprise, Kai swooped in and captured his lips in a soft, deep kiss. We pulled away to grin at his flushed mate. “If the Zhang clan takes over protecting the sword, I will put all of my attention on being the guardian of the Zhang clan.”
“Mmmm…a dragon guardian for my clan,” Xiang hummed. “I like that idea.”
Kai wrapped his arms around Xiang and zipped them across the cavern to land on the center of the canopied bed with a bounce. The vampire pressed to him barely even reacted as he snuggled closer, peppering Kai’s lips with kisses.
“I love you, my protective, possessive dragon,” Xiang murmured against his mouth.
“And I love you, my crazy vampire. I swear to always keep you and your kin safe.”
Xiang lifted his head and cupped one of Kai’s cheeks. His soft eyes sparkled in the flickering torchlight, sending Kai’s heart soaring as he watched him. “Above all, I want you to be happy.”
“My heart, when I am with you, I am always happy.”
Because with Xiang, he’d stolen the very best treasure of all, and no one was ever going to separate them.
1 ?Shaobing – breakfast or snack food that is an unleavened, layered flatbread. Can be served plain or with a filling such as red bean paste or meat