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Yichen glared at Chen, but his clan brother didn’t even flinch as he returned the stare. Sometimes, Chen was such a pain in the ass.
Naturally, Yichen cracked first.
He threw up his arms. “I don’t know what happened! First, we had that stupid meeting with that meddling witch. Then he put his damn life in danger again, standing on that car. He could have gotten killed falling off or having one of those dogs tear out his throat. The damn elf does that shit all the time. He jumps in without planning things out, trusting too much in his own skills and magic when he needs to have someone protecting his back.”
“Sounds like he has become accustomed to you protecting him,” Chen murmured.
“It was too much! He could have died tonight! And when he was in my arms, he looked so pale and vulnerable, like he was about to shatter. I wasn’t thinking. I-I-I wasn’t thinking.”
“So, you kissed him.”
“Yes!”
“A one-time thing.”
“Of course!”
“And you want him to stay here in the human realm after the door closes.”
“Gods, yes!” he moaned before he could stop the words. He slapped both hands over his mouth the second the last syllable left his tongue. He hadn’t meant to say that.
No, he meant it. He’d just never meant to say it out loud.
Chen smiled, happy as an oriole who snagged himself a mantis. He took a long sip of his tea, still not saying a word. He didn’t need to.
“Fuck! I forgot what it’s like talking to you sometimes,” Yichen snarled after lowering his hands to his lap.
“Considering we are fighting a clock to defeat King Ash and push the fae back to their realm, I thought it wise not to let you continue to lie to yourself,” Chen stated as he poured himself some more tea.
“How long do you think I’ve been lying to myself?”
“Quite a while.” Chen looked up at him, his smirk softening into something tender and a bit sad. “I saw it that night we found you and Rei. Even though we’ve been separated for a century, I still know you, Didi. When you protected Rei from me, I saw it in your eyes. It wasn’t only fear and desperation. There was a fire. The same fire that burns in me for Moon. If I would have taken another step toward Rei, you would have tried to kill me. That is more than friendship you feel for him.”
“Ge, I don’t know what I’m doing. Rei, he’s…he’s been this constant in my life for years. I don’t want to let him go. Don’t want him to get hurt. But what if I’m simply accustomed to having him at my side? That it’s not really about attraction.”
Chen lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Kiss him again. If you feel no attraction to him, it was fear you were reacting to. You have only brotherly affection for him.”
Yichen groaned. “I don’t think kissing him a second time is a good idea. Right now, I’m praying he doesn’t remember the first kiss.”
“Even if he doesn’t remember the first kiss, you will.”
“I know.”
“What if you kiss him and discover that there is more than fear there?”
He rubbed his eyes with one hand while wishing that Chen had brought in a bottle of wine rather than tea. “What you mean is, what if I realize I love him? What am I supposed to do with that if I do love him? He needs to kill his parents and steal the throne. It’s the only way to protect this realm from the fae. He can’t stay here, and there’s no fucking way I’m going back there. I can’t…I just can’t.”
“Zelda proved he can remain here. There’s a way to provide him with the magic he needs to survive. And if I recall correctly, he didn’t appear to be opposed to the idea of remaining here with you. So, assuming he wishes to remain with you, the problem we face after the extermination of King Ash and Queen Belladonna is finding someone to seize power who will take the fae to their own realm.”
Ridiculous.
What Chen was saying was that Rei would choose to give up the throne. Rei would choose to give up the chance at power for Yichen.
Impossible.
His own father had chosen the throne and power over his son. Why would Rei do something that his father could not?
Yichen narrowed his eyes on Chen, who continued to sit with such a serene expression on his face. “This is not as easy as you’re trying to make it sound.”
