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Thin, tiny blades sliced through the air, becoming little more than a flickering silver blur before slamming into the witches. Where the hell had Sean been keeping all those knives? The vampire had to have thrown more than a dozen in the blink of an eye, sending the witches scurrying for cover.

They couldn’t keep up this onslaught. The witches outnumbered them. His protection ward was weakening. A few more hits and it would shatter. Unfortunately, he’d not come into the woods expecting a fight. He needed a couple of seconds to search his brain for some offensive spells, or at least a better protection ward.

“Run!” Moon shouted.

Sean grunted and turned back the way they’d come. However, his retreat wasn’t exactly what Moon expected. The vampire wrapped an arm around Moon’s waist as he passed by and hefted him easily onto his hip as he ran.

A very undignified squeal of surprise escaped Moon. He was being carried by the vampire.

Whatever. He could take advantage of this. As they raced from the camp, Moon redirected a fireball flying toward them, slamming it into a table covered in spell supplies. The ingredients went up in an angry whoosh of black smoke with tinges of orange and green. It wouldn’t be enough to stop them, but it might set them back a bit.

But this encounter answered one question: would they be facing only the fae when the door opened?

No. There were witches in the woods, and they were planning to protect the fae. They had to warn the clan.

Chapter 16

Chen Bo Cheng

He should have been sleeping.

It was late in the afternoon and there was nothing useful he could do. He should have been sleeping to regain his energy for the fight that was looming ahead of them.

But he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t even close his damn eyes.

Moon was out in the woods with Xiang. What if the fae had arrived early? Was it possible for them to send scouts ahead of time? What if there was something else waiting for them in the woods?

It wasn’t that he doubted Moon’s abilities or that he thought Xiang wouldn’t protect the witch. It was just that he wasn’t out there to protect Moon.

Thunder crashed hard enough to rattle the house. Rain lashed the roof and the tree limbs swayed under the unrelenting force of the wind. The storm that had hovered low in the sky all morning had broken loose less than half an hour ago. Were they stuck out in the rain?

“I just got a text from Moon on Xiang’s phone.”

Chen’s heart leaped into his throat at Xiao Dan’s words. He spun to see his shixiong walking silently down the hall toward him, his phone still in his hand.

“They’re on their way back now. Less than ten minutes away.”

He clenched his teeth. Why the hell didn’t Moon text me?

But the anger dissolved into embarrassment. It didn’t matter that Moon didn’t text him so long as he reached someone. Irrational jealousy was making him stupid.

“Did they run into trouble?” Chen asked.

“He didn’t say. I don’t want to call and distract them while they are driving in this.” He tipped his head to the window, where they could see the storm raging in the small courtyard beyond.

“Mn. Makes sense.” Except the suspense was slowly killing him. What if Moon was hurt?

Okay, so maybe he was slightly worried about Xiang. But the vampire had survived other fights and injuries over the last two thousand years. He was durable. Moon, though a witch, was still fragile. He needed to be protected.

“Ming Yu is making some congee.1 She thought both of them might appreciate something warm in their stomachs after being out in this storm.”

Chen folded his arms across his chest and wandered to the window, frowning at the rain that was likely slowing Moon and Xiang’s progress. “We would have been lost centuries ago without Shijie to watch over us.”

He could feel more than hear Xiao Dan crossing the room to stand next to him. When he spoke again, his voice was a low, warm hug. “Bo-di, Moon will be fine.”

Sucking in a breath, Chen opened his mouth to deny that he was worried about the blood witch, but the words stalled in his throat. What was the point of denying it? Xiao Dan always knew him best. “I’m worried that he’s getting dragged deeper and deeper into our fight. When I grabbed him near the nightclub, that was not my intention. His help has led us to the location of the door. But now, he is out in this.” Chen waved a hand at the storm roaring in front of them.

“He’s safe.”

“For how long, Da-ge?” Chen turned his gaze away from the rain to his brother. “Will he stop with this scouting mission? Or will he insist on being in the woods with us tonight? Will he put his life in danger, staring down the edge of an elven blade?”