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At least, it was foul to his body now.

Prior to being captured by the fae, he’d survived on it for two thousand years. Now his body rejected it. Seems it had become pickier in his preferences, and that was a problem.

“You need to stop this,” a cold, flat voice just behind his shoulder stated.

His fingers curled, digging into the tree bark. He wanted to snap at Rei, tell him that he wasn’t giving up. He would force his body to obey his command. But he couldn’t say any of that until he stopped dry heaving.

“Shut up,” he finally managed, his voice low and ragged. He shoved from the tree and tried to walk away from the elf, but Rei grabbed his elbow and pulled him to a sharp halt. When he turned to face the fae, Rei released a soft sigh as his eyes skimmed over Yichen’s face.

“Stop,” Rei ordered as Yichen attempted to walk away a second time. He drew a small square of silken fabric from his jeans and captured Yichen’s jaw between his thumb and forefinger. While his grip was almost painful, Rei was incredibly gentle as he wiped the blood from around Yichen’s lips. “This isn’t working. Even as stubborn as you are, you have to acknowledge that this route is a failure. You’ve drank from three humans in as many weeks, and immediately thrown up the blood.”

Yichen kept his eyes leveled on a spot just over Rei’s shoulder, refusing to meet his vibrant green eyes. He didn’t need the elf to tell him these things. The first time, he’d told himself it was a fluke. But the second time, it was no longer a fluke. And this time…now it was fact.

He could no longer feed from humans.

“If this is about hunger, I am happy to—”

Yichen batted Rei’s hand away and stomped in the direction he’d been heading before Rei stopped him. “This isn’t about hunger, and you know it. This is about survival. It’s about making sure we’re able to go our separate ways when the time comes.” He stopped and glared over his shoulder at the elf with the single long braid of blond hair down his back.

Gone were the intricate braids he’d once worn, interwoven with sparkling gems and silver bobbles. Several had been sold to pawn shops and jewelry stores so they had money to afford second-hand clothes and a place to stay during the daylight hours. The more concrete around them the better.

“You don’t want to be stuck with me for an eternity, right?” Yichen snapped.

Rei stared at him with that same unblinking gaze, not a single emotion showing on his sharp, angular face. His pale skin seemed to almost glow in the faint light. A plain black baseball cap was pulled low to hide the tips of his pointed ears. It was either that or a knit hat, and the weather had turned too hot for that nonsense.

That face. He’d spent a century staring at that face, memorizing every harsh line and the few soft curves. Even when that face was utterly blank, he could read the emotion roiling deep under the surface. Right now, Rei was annoyed.

Fine with him. He was feeling more than a little annoyed right now.

“Of course I don’t wish to be stuck with you,” Rei said.

Yichen’s stomach twisted and his throat tightened. Probably just his body throwing a fit after he subjected it to what it was now claiming to be poison.

Rei walked toward him, his movements the epitome of grace and elegance. Or at least they would have been if he didn’t now have a permanent limp in his left leg. A gift from his loving father. But then, it matched the missing pinky on his right hand. A gift from his equally loving mother.

Or maybe he should call them rewards.

Rewards for standing against them when they’d tortured Yichen to the very threshold of death.

Rewards for his attempts to protect Yichen over the long years.

Fuck King Ash. Fuck Queen Belladona.

Let them both rot in the lowest levels of hell for a million years. Let them be boiled in oil. Peel their flesh and fry them like youtiao.1

“But don’t you think it’s time to contact your clan?”

Yichen clenched his teeth to hold in his snarl. He turned away from the elf. He’d follow or he wouldn’t. What did it fucking matter anymore?

Of course he wanted to contact his clan. It was the only thing he wanted in all of this world. Walking away from Chen that night in the woods had been worse than all the torment he’d endured for a century. His heart ached to be wrapped in the loving bosom of his family. To hear all their voices. He wanted to taste Shijie’s cooking and walk through the halls of the place he’d called home for almost all of his existence. He wanted it so bad, the pain threatened to break open his chest to reveal how hollow he’d become on the inside. Returning home to his clan had been the one thing sustaining him through the pain.