Page 4

“What have you done?”

The spear almost slipped from his fingers at the sudden screech that ricocheted off the walls of the cavern. It had been so long since he’d heard another person’s voice, he’d almost become convinced he was the last person left in the world.

Xiang spun and spotted Kai standing on the other side of a towering stack of furniture, hands gripping the sides of his head, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open.

“Why have you moved things?” Kai demanded.

“I needed space to practice.”

“Practice?” Kai’s normally deep voice cracked as his fingers curled in his dark hair.

Xiang sighed and leaned the spear clutched in his right hand on a bookcase before walking to Kai. It took an extra minute or two to climb over a few things without causing them to topple over. At last, he was at Kai’s side. Smiling, he took Kai’s hands and pulled them out of his hair.

“Practice,” he repeated. “I was bored, and I haven’t worked out in a while. The dragon has an amazing collection of weapons. I thought I would borrow a few for a workout, but that requires space.” He released one of Kai’s hands and motioned to the surrounding cave. “And as you know, things are so tightly packed in here. If I’d started swinging a sword or spear in here, something would have gotten damaged. So, I moved things.”

“But…but…everything in here is an antique. It’s a one-of-a-kind.”

“That’s why I had to move it out of danger. Nothing was hurt.”

Kai huffed and jerked his other hand from Xiang’s grip. “Martial arts practice,” he said through clenched teeth as if Xiang had announced that he was filming porn in the dragon’s lair.

“Of course. I’ll give you that I’ve had two thousand years to become a master of my craft, but practice occupies the mind and stretches the muscles.” Xiang poked Kai in the shoulder and added with a wide grin, “Plus, you’re going to need me in top fighting shape for our escape.”

Judging by Kai’s expression, that did not help. Not that he’d expected it to. Kai didn’t think he’d stick to his word and protect him when the time came, and Xiang didn’t blame him. He couldn’t imagine he was the first person to be stolen by the dragon. Maybe the others had escaped or died trying to escape, and yet Kai was still here. Alone.

Even if they didn’t get along all that well, there was no way he was leaving Kai behind. Nope. The grumpy stickler for everything in its proper place was coming with him. He was going to be free to live a real life again.

“If you’re bored, why can’t you read a book? The dragon has ample books in countless languages.” Kai shook his hand toward the rows of overloaded bookshelves filled with leather-bound volumes of classics from around the world. “There has to be something there that can entertain you.”

Xiang winced and scratched his head. “Yeah, I can read in a few languages, but I’ve never been much of a reader. Most of my brothers are big readers, but I’ve always wanted to be out doing things. Exploring and wandering the woods. Fighting. Training. Sitting still is…boring.”

Kai scrubbed a hand over his face, which was the international sign of being pushed to his very limit. “Can we move it all back to its proper place?” Kai’s voice was strained as if he were attempting to not break down or strangle Xiang. It was a tone he’d heard many times from Shifu?1 when Xiang had been a young, headstrong disciple.

“Sure. If you give me a hand, we’ll have everything where it belongs in a few minutes.”

It definitely took more than a few minutes. Rearranging the furniture in the first place had taken him at least an hour alone, but it went faster with Kai at his side. The grumpy man complained and ordered Xiang around, making sure each piece didn’t get a single scratch or tear in the old fabric.

“If you’ll give me some time, I will try to figure out a place for you to train without needing to rearrange the dragon’s treasures,” Kai stated the moment they put the last jeweled dish on the center of an end table.

Xiang smirked and lifted an eyebrow at his companion. “You don’t think the dragon would mind?”

“I would wager that the dragon would mind less than if he were to see his precious possessions stacked precariously in the air.”

“Thanks!” Xiang lightly slugged Kai in the shoulder, which earned him a brief glare. The man wore a pair of black slacks and a charcoal-gray shirt that only made his eyes more silvery today. His thin lips were pressed into a line, but if Xiang squinted, he was sure that one corner was a little higher than the other. Almost like a smile.

Almost.

Kai wasn’t a bad-looking guy. Way too serious. Too prim and proper. He reminded Xiang of Chen, which was not a good or bad thing. Their love-hate brotherhood over the years veered closer to hate most of the time, but Xiang took full responsibility for that. He couldn’t help it. Chen was so easy to torment.

His new companion presented almost the same target, and yet he didn’t feel the need to tease and torment him the same way. Probably because he was already stuck as a dragon’s captive. Did he need Xiang making his life more unbearable?

No, the actual goal that had formed in his head was getting Kai to smile. How would that even look? What would it take? What things did the man find amusing? He’d yet to see Kai even crack the tiniest of smiles. Getting a full-blown grin to spread across his face seemed impossible. That only made the goal all the more enticing. Xiang loved accomplishing impossible things, and getting Kai to smile had to be at the top of that list.

“Oh, I brought you something,” Kai announced, tearing Xiang from his wandering thoughts.

“Really?” All daydreams about an irritated Kai learning how to smile evaporated.

Kai said nothing as he shoved his hands into his pockets and wound his way through the collection. Xiang jumped after him, following as close as he could without stepping on his heels.

“What is it? Did the dragon capture a new playmate for me? Or how about someone to feed from? You realize I’m going to need to feed soon. Vampire, remember?”

“Yes, yes, you’re a vampire. You’re also a very old vampire. The dragon has reassured me that you shouldn’t need to feed that often, thanks to your advanced age.”

Xiang rolled his eyes at Kai’s back. “Thanks for making me sound like a white-haired senior citizen.”

Not that he cared. No, the key problem was that all his ideas for an escape attempt centered on the dragon taking him outside for a hunting excursion. Escaping a dragon wouldn’t be easy, but it had to be a hell of a lot easier than escaping this room. He’d already spent countless hours attacking the one door he’d found in the treasure room, and the damn thing had yet to budge or even jiggle in the frame. Unless Kai forgot to close it one day, he wasn’t getting out that way.

His companion stopped walking and stared at him with an expectant expression, as if he were waiting for Xiang to say something.

“What?” Xiang demanded.

Kai groaned. “You are the most infuriating man I have ever met. It’s a wonder your clan hasn’t ended your life.”

“Trust me, it’s not for a lack of trying on their part,” Xiang countered with a smirk. “I—” His words stopped in his throat when the loud ticking broke through the clutter in his brain. His head snapped back around and he noticed the ridiculously tall and beautifully carved grandfather clock standing in front of them with its pale face and elegant gold hands as they moved between the numbers.

A clock.

Kai had brought him a clock.

His heart squeezed, and his throat tightened, making his laugh sound forced. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind. I was thinking a little windup clock I could keep on the bedside table, or even a watch would have been good.”

A delicate snort left Kai, and he shook his head. “In case you have not noticed, you’re living within a dragon’s hoard. That means everything brought into this place is a unique and priceless treasure. The dragon would not permit some run-of-the-mill clock in here.” Kai folded his arms over his chest, his frown deepening. “If you don’t like it, I can tell the dragon. He might be willing to move it to another room while you stay here. He has a lesser treasure room that isn’t as nice as this room. Maybe the clock can be moved there.”

“No!” Xiang threw his arm around Kai’s stiff shoulders and rocked the man back and forth, trying to get him to loosen up. “The clock is gorgeous. It is the most elegant and beautiful clock I’ve ever seen. I will wind it and polish it every day.”

Kai turned his head to stare at Xiang for several seconds, as if he were trying to peer into his skull and read his thoughts. Xiang held on to his smile, his heart hammering in his chest. No matter what Kai said about the dragon procuring the clock, it was sitting there because of Kai. The man had made sure Xiang had a way to mark the passage of time, and he would never forget this.

“Very well,” Kai mumbled. He shifted his shoulders and took a step out of Xiang’s embrace. “For your reference, it is six in the evening on Saturday, the twenty-ninth of July.”

The joy that had filled his chest sank like a stone into the pit of his stomach. If it was Saturday, that meant he’d already been a prisoner of the dragon for four days. In that time, he’d made zero progress on his escape attempts. Zero progress on getting valuable information out of Kai. And zero progress in contacting his clan.

“Thank you for speaking to the dragon and arranging for the clock. It means a lot to me.” Xiang tried to force a grin, but it was hard. “At least now I’ll know how much time passes between your visits.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

“Of course it is. It means you’ll have to visit me more often.”

“Not a good thing.”

Xiang laughed at Kai’s stubbornness, but the chiming of the bells from the clock cut it off, announcing the top of the hour. It wasn’t just that the clock was finely carved, but the delicate chimes were so very soothing, like birdsong on a summer day.

“That’s exquisite,” Xiang breathed. Not only did he have a way of tracking time and day, but he had a genuine work of art to do it with.

“It truly is.”

Xiang grabbed Kai’s arm and pulled him toward the small kitchenette that had been set up. It was the one space within the cavern where he could find somewhat ordinary appliances and even a generator for power. The rest of the place worked on magic.

“Since you’re the one who convinced the dragon to add a clock to his hoard, you have to stay and allow me to cook dinner for you.”

“What? No. You don’t have to. I should be going.” Kai attempted to dig his heels into the thick Aubusson rug under his feet, but stopped when the rug slid across the stone and rumpled.

“Stay. We’ll eat food.” Xiang stopped pulling and leaned in close, eyes narrowed on Kai’s face. “You can eat food, right?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

“You might seem like a human, but no one is as strong or as fast as you. I’m not sure what you are. Not a vampire or a member of the fae.” He began walking again, towing a resistant Kai behind him. “Has some of the dragon’s magic rubbed off on you? Is that why you can disappear from the room? You also talk like you’re older than you appear. You look twenty-five, but I’m willing to bet you’re actually much older.”

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

“But—”

“I will stay for a meal with you, but I’ll leave if you continue this line of personal questions.”

Xiang grinned. He’d find a way to crack this nut, but in the meantime, he was happy for the company. For as long as he could remember, his clan mates had surrounded him. There was always chatter and movement. The only time there was a break was during the daylight hours, when he would run errands or roam the grounds, protecting them from potential attack. But even then, he could always venture a short distance and check on them.

The man being dragged along might not be his first choice for company, but he was still a living, breathing creature with thoughts and opinions. He could at least piece together a conversation. And if he were lucky, Kai might let slip some valuable information about the dragon or the fae the dragon served.

The kitchenette was a tiny thing with a sink, stove, miniature fridge, and a long countertop in the center for mixing and chopping. White and black square tiles covered the floor, while the counter was a pristine white. All the appliances were a dull stainless steel and looked as if no one had ever touched them. Even most of the smaller things, such as pots and pans, were still in boxes or had tags on them. During the four days he’d been captive, Xiang hadn’t cooked or even eaten anything from the kitchen. Out of boredom, he would wander into the space, opening up drawers and the cabinets that held plates and bowls, only to shut them again and wander out.

Now he gathered ingredients together for a stir fry. It was easy and one of the few dishes he was sure he could make without fucking up. Thankfully, the dragon had a rice cooker. As he prepped the rice, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to find that Kai had disappeared.

Instead, the man grabbed a stool that sat unnoticed in the corner and placed it at the edge of the kitchenette before taking a seat. “I promise, I won’t disappear. You can relax.”

Xiang’s shoulders slumped, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Thanks. It’s nice to have someone else around. I’m sure the dragon told you that my house is quite noisy all the time. Even during the day.”

“Has your clan always been this size?”

The knife stopped halfway through the pepper he’d been slicing, his brain seeming to trip over the question. “No.” Xiang blinked and pushed the blade forward so that there was a soft thunk on the cutting board. “No, there were a lot more of us. A long time ago.”

“Was the clan always composed of vampires?”

Xiang shook his head. “Nope. Humans. We were a very human clan and sect. My father sent me to the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect when I was about ten or eleven, I think. The Zhang Clan established the sect several generations earlier and was renowned for training some of the strongest martial artists in all the Jianghu?2. My father wanted me to become one of the emperor’s generals, and he believed training at the sect would give me an edge over others.”

“Did it?”

One shoulder lifted in a weak shrug. “I guess. Just not like he expected. Before I could return to Chang’An and join the military, there was a supposed revolt started by the crown prince. The emperor was out of the imperial city, along with a good portion of the royal guard. Shifu and most of the elder generation went to Chang’An to quell the uprising and restore peace. It was a bigger mess than anyone expected. Shifu…and most of my martial uncles died in the fighting. A vampire claimed the sect by order of the emperor shortly after. Our new master further decimated the Zhang clan in the name of keeping only the strongest. When the dust settled and the slaughter stopped, less than a third of us remained.”

The events of those long nights flickered through his mind’s eye as fresh and crisp as the night they happened, despite the passage of over two thousand years. So many shidi?3 and shimei?4 lost in the blink of an eye.

A hand moved into his line of sight and covered the fingers he had tightly wrapped around the knife, to the point of turning his knuckles white. His head jerked up, and he stared openmouthed at Kai as he stood close enough to wrap him in the soft scent of plum blossoms and a hint of sea salt.

“Since you are treating me to a meal, it is only right that I assist,” Kai murmured while his warm touch coaxed Xiang into releasing the handle of the knife.

No, what he was saying was that Xiang was spacing so much over the old memories, he didn’t trust Xiang not to lose a finger as he talked and chopped. This was probably a good idea. That night was not something he’d ever tried to put into words before. He hadn’t expected it to be so difficult.

Clearing his throat, Xiang handed the paring knife over to Kai and took a step back, huffing out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, sure. I’ll check the rice and begin warming the wok.”

They worked in a comfortable silence for several minutes. The only sound in the room being the steady thunk of the knife hitting wood and the movement of pots and pans as Xiang prepared things.

“I’m sorry for your loss. It sounds as if becoming a vampire was not a choice.”

“Eh. Sort of. Being held by the dragon—not a choice. Making the best of it—that’s a choice.” Xiang poured a bit of oil into the wok and sloshed it around, covering the sides as it heated. “That night, I could have chosen to join my martial brothers and die fighting. But I chose to become a vampire and remain with those brothers who were turned. I thought they would need me. Plus, there’s no getting revenge for my murdered sect mates if I’m dead.”

“That is wise.”

Xiang barked out a sharp laugh. “I don’t know about wise. Shixong would say that I’m stubborn. But I don’t want to talk about me. What about you? Do you have any family? Wait…you said you didn’t have any people.”

“I did…once,” Kai admitted, his voice so soft Xiang needed his vampiric hearing to even pick up those three words. “They were more like your martial brothers than blood relatives. I’ve not seen any of them in a very long time. I think…I think they might all be gone now.”

A cold chill wrapped Xiang’s heart. What would he do if he was the only one left now? It was bad enough losing so many of the others that night and then the steady trickle over the following centuries, but Xiao Dan, Chen, Junjie, Ming Yu, Yichen, and even sweet Meimei?5 had been with him for two millennia. To lose even one of them would be devastating.

To lose them all…

Xiang forced the thought aside. “That’s why you’re escaping with me when we spot the right opportunity.”

“I’m not helping you escape,” Kai chimed in, his tone weary but not harsh.

“That’s because you’re scared. You’ve not been out there in a long time.” Xiang left the wok on the burner and returned to Kai’s side to find the vegetables symmetrically sliced and placed into neat individual piles. “When we get free, you’re going to stay with my clan. We’ll take care of you, I promise.”

He scooped up a handful of vegetables and stopped at Kai’s stare, one eyebrow raised in mocking question. “Not because you want a live-in source of blood?”

“Pfft. No. Who wants that?” He returned to the wok and tossed the food in. “That’s like eating tofu for every meal. Blech. Who wants that?”

There was a sound behind him. Like a muffled laugh. Xiang spun around to look at Kai, but the man’s expression was as grim and unsmiling as it always was. Not even a hint of amusement on his lips. But his ears were not lying to him. Kai had laughed. He knew it.

And he was going to make the enigmatic man do it again.

1 ?Shifu – master of a clan or sect

2 ?Jianghu – refers to the martial arts world

3 ?Shidi – junior disciple/brother

4 ?Shimei – martial arts/sect little sister, opposite of shijie

5 ?Meimei – younger sister