Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
But time still passed in the fae realm, even if it didn’t look like it on their faces. Of course, the vampire didn’t age, but his hair grew. When it brushed his shoulders, Rei found himself having more questionable thoughts about the man, most of them revolving around plunging his hands into those beautiful silken locks.
As the years passed and Yichen became Yiyi, he trusted Rei to brush hair, offering him an ounce of comfort in a world that was trying to kill him. Surprisingly, Yiyi returned the favor. Mostly after Rei had suffered his gravest injuries and betrayals.
He enjoyed the feel of Yichen running his fingers through his hair, but the vampire had little skill at braiding hair. That was fine. Rei derived more joy out of giving his friend this comfort.
“Let’s dispense with the nonsense that this is about the safety of your clan,” Rei began as he dragged the brush through Yichen’s hair, scraping over his scalp with just the right amount of pressure. “You’ve been growling and snapping at everyone since you walked in the door. If you were a skunk, you would have sprayed them all several times already.”
Yichen turned to glare at him over his shoulder, but Rei pressed his fingers into the top of Yichen’s head and turned it forward again.
His companion bent his legs and rested arms on his knees. “I don’t like how they treated you.”
“You mean your clan—your family—is suspicious of an elf when it was an elf who kidnapped you and stole you away from them?” He snickered. “I’m impressed that only one of them tried to kill me. I was expecting far worse.”
“But I told them we’re friends. That you saved me. Why don’t they believe my word?”
“Because they weren’t there for all those years. They didn’t see or experience what we did. Unless you’re willing to provide them with every gory detail…” Rei paused, staring at the top of Yichen’s head. It was unnecessary, though. He knew Yichen had no desire to tell his family everything that had happened to him, and Rei didn’t blame him. There was plenty he wanted to forget as well. “Then you’ll have to give them time. I don’t mind proving to them that I don’t mean you any harm. Besides, if roles were reversed, and I was your shixiong, I would have killed the elf the second he appeared and asked questions later.”
“This is why I worry about you taking your parents’ place on the throne,” Yichen muttered.
“I can be benevolent…when I’m in the mood.”
“Uh-huh.”
Rei tugged his hair before resuming the soothing path of the brush. “I can be, but when it comes to getting revenge for those I care for, I am understandably less benevolent.”
“That’s assuming you care for anyone other than yourself.”
Rei rolled his eyes. “You say this as I allow you to draw me from my comfortable bed and safe sleep to brush your hair.”
“You find playing with my hair as relaxing as I do.”
At least he admitted that this little act was relaxing. Rei was content to let go of Yichen’s silliness. “The point is, your clan wishes to protect you from pain and harm. For now, all elves and fae are bad in their minds. I’ve done nothing to distinguish myself as different from King Ash, who has harmed a member of your clan.”
The vampire sat in silence for several minutes as Rei finished brushing his hair. Setting aside the brush, he picked up the hairpin and used the long, smooth stick of jade to separate a chunk of hair for a braid. Rei’s nimble fingers wove the strands of hair together with a practiced ease. He was setting that aside and starting another braid when the truth tumbled, fractured and jagged, from Yichen’s lips.
“They’ve changed.”
Rei bit his bottom lip to hold in his initial reaction of a chuckle.
“I know what you’re going to say—a century has passed and everything changes. Even vampires. But I’ve been with my clan for over two thousand years. They barely changed in all that time.”
“However, the second you disappear for a teeny tiny century, everything changes,” Rei finished for him.
The vampire threw up his hands. “Yes! It’s not just that Chen is smiling and in love. We never permitted that damn huli jing so close. We spent so much time chasing him off when he would try to get near Shixiong, and now he’s hanging around as if he were a member of the clan. Meimei has changed her hair and style of dress. The only thing that feels the same is that Xiang-ge is still picking fights with everyone and Shixiong is holding us all together.”
“And what about Ming Yu? Has her cooking changed? You talked about her food almost as much as your clan.”
Yichen reached both hands above his head, swiping them through the air to hit Rei. “Don’t you even breathe those words! Shijie is an angel, and her cooking will always be perfect. The one thing that’s changed is that her and Meimei seem to bicker more.”