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)
“Oh! Oh!” Rei’s head whipped about to see Xiang standing with his hand raised in the air, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I get to tell Huli! That’s my job! I get to tell that annoying fox. How much blood do we need? A lot, right? Several liters?”
Zelda snorted. “Half a liter at most, I’m sure. Enough to cover the stone completely in a bowl.”
“Nah. We can get more.” Xiang hit Chen’s shoulder and grinned broadly at the vampire. “We should drain him. Just to be on the safe side.”
“Hey! Huli isn’t that bad. He’s been helpful!” Moon argued.
The bickering continued, but it all became white noise as his brain struggled to process what he’d been told. He could stay. He had a way to remain here, near his Yiyi.
Except what about his people?
And did his Yiyi even want him to remain here?
Chapter 13
Wu Yichen
Rei was being too quiet.
Ever since Zelda had laid out how he could remain within the human realm, the elf hadn’t made a single noise other than to thank her for the information.
Armed with at least a rough plan of what they needed, they left the nightclub after Chen told Rafe that they’d be in contact with King Aiden about dealing with the fae king and his army. As they walked to the SUV parked in a lot nearby, Yichen slowed his steps so he was at the rear of their group with Rei.
His companion was shuffling along as if in a daze, his eyes locked on the ground and a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. Knots were tightening in Yichen’s stomach as Rei’s silence stretched. Sure, they hadn’t discussed for a second the notion of Rei remaining in the human realm after the door shut. This blood-soaked sandstone was just a backup plan in case everything went horribly wrong.
And things very much had a habit of going wrong where they were concerned.
Besides, Rei didn’t need to know that Yichen wanted him to remain behind more than anything else in the world. Or that the idea of Rei leaving was giving him nightmares. Who was going to protect him in the fae realm when they separated? Who was going to listen to Rei’s rants while combing his hair? His servants wouldn’t know how to handle him. Who was Rei going to tease? The elf couldn’t go five minutes without teasing or taunting someone, and his favorite target was his Yiyi.
Logic said that Rei needed to remain in the human realm, and now Yichen had a way of making it happen.
Okay, maybe not logic.
Definitely his heart was demanding it. Logic said that Rei had to go home to rule his people. Why would he give up his chance at power for Yichen?
Giving in to impulse, Yichen pressed his thumb into the line between Rei’s brows, trying to smooth it out. Rei started, his head snapping up. He blinked twice at Yichen as if waking to the outside world.
“What are you thinking?” Yichen asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.
“Everything Zelda told us. It’s a lot to take in.”
That didn’t help to dissolve the growing knot twisting in his stomach. “Look, you don’t need to worry about staying here. I know you’re eager to return to the fae realm. I wanted to have a failsafe in place in case things went wrong and you got stuck on this side of the door. That way, you could at least live somewhat comfortably here for a century while you waited for the door to reopen. Think of it as a backup plan. That’s all.”
Rei looked at him as they walked along, those green eyes like piercing daggers staring straight into his soul. Part of him didn’t want to know what Rei could see, but he held that gaze all the same without blinking.
“Do you not want me to stay here?” Rei inquired, without an ounce of inflection in his voice.
Yichen tripped. He didn’t know over what. A rock. A crack in the sidewalk. Possibly on the air. Why did Rei have to be so blunt? A person can’t just come out and ask that!
He stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance. Sadly, that was not enough time to get his brain working.
What was he supposed to say? How was he to answer that impossible question? Other than…
Yes! Yes, I want you to stay! Yes, I want you right by my side for the rest of my days, so that all of your smiles and smirks and frowns remain mine. I want to be the first person to hear all your thoughts. Even the dirty ones. Especially the dirty ones.
His fingers twitched, and he had to ball them at his sides to keep from reaching out to cup Rei’s cheeks.
“What I want doesn’t matter,” Yichen replied. “I…this…this is your life. It’s what you want. You’ve always talked about how you didn’t care for the human realm. Too messy. Too noisy. I would think that you’d be eager to return to your own realm the first chance you got.”