Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“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 Shifu1 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.”