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But it was their dingy, rundown apartment. A nest hidden away from both vampires and the fae. A place where he could close his eyes and, for a second, pretend that they were two lovers making a home for themselves.
“Rei,” Yichen grumbled.
Then the second would be over, and the cold bite of reality would pop his daydreams. He could put up with dingy and smelly if it meant he could keep Yichen a little while longer.
But pining for his “roommate” did not mean he was a pushover for the vampire. Rei didn’t stop walking at Yichen’s command but continued into the ugly egg-yolk-yellow kitchen, where he plucked an open bag of baby carrots from the fridge. Turning to where the vampire was standing in the middle of the room, his arms folded over his chest, Rei hid his smile by stuffing a carrot into his mouth. Loud, crunchy things had stopped other things from slipping out of his mouth more than once. He leaned a shoulder on the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, contenting himself with staring at Yichen’s beautiful but grumpy face.
“We agreed we wouldn’t turn to my clan until we figured out this mess. They have suffered enough under the burden of my disappearance,” Yichen said over his crunching.
“And we have figured it out. We need a blood witch to do a spell and set you free.”
“But—”
Rei waved a carrot at him, cutting him off. “There is no but to this. It makes little sense to avoid them if your gege knows a witch. We do not.” He pushed off the wall and crossed the grungy brown carpet. He poked the tip of the carrot at Yichen’s lips, forcing the vampire to clamp it between his teeth with a snarl. “It will take us longer to find a witch who might help us than it would to simply go to your family.”
A loud snap cut through the silence of the room as Yichen bit through the carrot. He shuffled the poor vegetable to the side of his mouth so he could continue. “And what about your parents? We haven’t figured that part out yet. What’s the grand scheme you’re withholding from me? That you’ll get the blood bond broken between us and then disappear in the daylight hours to face the queen, king, and the army alone? I’ll tell you the result of that shitty plan—you dead and everyone else left here to battle the fae army without an insider’s help. Don’t be a dumbass.”
Rei had to only lift one eyebrow at his companion to get Yichen to let out a derisive snort. Wasn’t there a human saying about pots and kettles?
Yichen shoved his hand into the bag Rei was holding and snagged a couple of carrots. Turning to the sofa, he tossed aside Rei’s hoodie and threw himself onto the piece of furniture. “Shut up,” he mumbled.
Well, at least Yiyi knew he was acting like an idiot.
Rei popped one more carrot into his mouth and placed the bag on the wobbly folding table near the sofa. He slipped into the open space next to Yichen and shifted to face him, resting his elbow on the cushion.
Rei spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “They will not reject you.”
It was not the first time he’d needed to tell Yiyi this, and it probably would not be the last.
“Rei…do you even understand where I’m coming from? If I were to go back—”
“When you go back,” Rei corrected.
A noisy rush of air left Yichen, but he didn’t repeat Rei’s words. “They’re going to look at me like I’m broken. They’re constantly going to wonder how I was tortured. I won’t be the same person to them, and I want to return to how it was. I want to be their wu-di1 again. Being unable to drink any blood but yours only makes it more obvious that I’m broken. I…I can’t do that to them. They’ve suffered enough.”
What about what you’ve suffered?
Through luck and stubbornness, Rei held in that question. He understood why Yichen was so terrified of going home to his clan, but he couldn’t imagine the people he’d told Rei about for the past several decades being anything other than completely welcoming to him. Etched into Rei’s mind was the memory of Chen Bo Cheng clinging to Yichen when they’d found each other. That vampire had felt nothing but soul-deep joy at holding Yichen.
“Your clan loves you. You are their younger brother. Their beloved wu-di. Nothing is ever going to change that. They traveled thousands of miles to find you and bring you home.”
“But…” Yichen whispered. He was stubborn, but Rei could hear his resolve crumbling.
“A hundred years have passed. Even if you’d been with them all that time, you’d still be a different person. Time changes everyone. They’re going to be different from the people you knew, but they are still your clan. Your people.” Rei clicked his tongue and frowned at Yichen. “The only one keeping you apart is you and this shame you cling to. The king didn’t give you a choice with the blood bond.”
“I did have a choice!”
“Between life and death? You chose life. That is what your family would have wanted.”
“No.”
A frustrated growl rumbled up Rei’s throat. “Fine! If you’re desperate to hand out blame, blame me. It’s my fault you’re in this mess. When I found out you were hurt, I rushed in. I knew you needed blood, and I jumped in there to flaunt mine. Just like that.” Rei snapped his fingers right in front of Yichen’s face. “I caught you in my trap.”
“Flaunted your blood?” Yichen repeated in a dull voice. He rolled his eyes and batted Rei’s hand away. “If you won’t take this seriously, I’m not talking to you. I still feel like there had to have been another choice. I should have…”
Rei launched himself off the sofa and strode through the apartment to Yichen’s bedroom. He could hear Yiyi calling for him, but he ignored it as he snagged the cell phone Chen Bo Cheng had given him from under Yiyi’s pillow. He returned to the living room and held it aloft for Yichen to see. “Shall we call your er-ge now? Ask him which he would have wanted you to choose?”
Yichen pushed from his seat and closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. He made a grab for the phone, but Rei jerked his hand out of his reach at the last second.
