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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.”
“And you could move on from your captivity without me around as a constant reminder…” Rei whispered.
Yichen stopped walking and grabbed Rei’s elbow, pulling him so they were facing each other. “That’s bullshit and you know it. You’re not some dark shadow haunting me from the past. Seeing you reminds me that we’re unstoppable. That we can beat anyone, no matter the odds.”
A tiny twist played on Rei’s lips as he lifted his head to meet his gaze. It wasn’t fair how handsome this man was. Even in casual clothes, there was no hiding this creature was born of royal blood. All his features were cut with precision, combining to give him a cold, untouchable air. And yet, when Yichen looked at him, he saw only laughter, compassion, and a dash of mischief. Someone who lived to thumb his nose at anyone who told him he couldn’t do something.
That included diving into dangerous situations and enduring torture for one another for reasons that Yichen didn’t understand to this day. It left him wanting to gather Rei close so he could protect him. Even from himself.
The elf didn’t give a damn about his own well-being, and he needed someone to watch over him.
“This isn’t something that needs to be decided right now. You want to stay here for a century or two? Sure. Great. You’ll stay with my clan, and we’ll spend the next several decades terrorizing my clan mates. You want to return to the fae realm and sit on the throne? That’s fine too. What I want doesn’t factor into this discussion at all.”
Rei’s lips parted, but no words came out. Instead, Xiang interrupted them.
“Hey! You two coming?”
Yichen glanced about to find they’d stopped in the center of the parking lot. Chen, Moon, and Xiang were all standing beside the black SUV, staring at them. He released Rei’s arm while his companion huffed out a soft laugh.
“You’re right. I don’t need to worry about this now. Our focus should be on dealing with the king and acquiring the bloodstone for you. The other will work itself out.” The smile pinned on Rei’s lips didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. Something there squeezed his lungs, making it hard to breathe. What wasn’t Rei telling him?
Later. Just…later.
They climbed into the car, Chen settling behind the wheel, and Moon in the passenger seat at his side. Poor Rei was stuck in the middle, but he didn’t seem to mind too much as he rested his head on Yichen’s shoulder with what sounded like a happy sigh.
“Okay, so we figured out how to fix Yichen and protect Rei. How do we deal with the fae problem?” Xiang inquired after they were on the road for a few minutes, winding their way toward the suburbs. The highway was empty, allowing Chen to sail smoothly along at a good clip. “Umm…no offense,” Xiang tacked on.
Rei’s body moved as if he’d silently laughed. “No offense taken. Most of us are a problem. I’m not, naturally. It’s why Yiyi adores me so much.”
Yichen snorted. There were many reasons he adored Rei, but the elf’s so-called easiness was not one of them.
For all of his strange behavior earlier, Rei was at least sounding more like himself now. Something about the witch must have rattled him. “Whatever,” Yichen mumbled. “We’ll need to talk to Shixiong and start gathering what intelligence we have on the movements of the fae. The king and queen have had more than enough time to plan.”
“Not to mention, human disappearances are on the rise,” Moon interjected. “They’re up to something.”
“Any guesses, Rei?” Xiang asked, nudging the elf with his elbow.
