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It was a water dragon.
And it had just stolen Xiang.
The next several minutes were a blur of blood and shouting. He jumped to his feet and attempted to attack the queen. The soldiers moved in to protect her, but it was only half of her forces as she beat a hasty retreat into the woods. He thought maybe Trin’s forces helped. Or maybe they ran. He didn’t know.
The only thing that kept repeating over in his head was Xiang soaring through the air in the dragon’s clutches.
Was it too late to save him?
Chapter 30
Wu Yichen
The return trip to the clan home was a quiet one. Yichen imagined the car ride home after their attempt to free him from the fae had been much like this—they won and yet still felt like they lost.
King Ash was dead. They had beaten the fae back. The human realm remained in the hands of the humans for a little while longer, even if the fae had carved out a new chunk for themselves.
But Xiang…
Was he still alive? Could they even dare to hope?
It felt foolish to, and yet Yichen couldn’t stop his heart from clinging to the single frayed thread in his mind that Li Xiang was still alive. The dragon hadn’t eaten him. Just carried him off somewhere. There was still a chance he could escape.
Yet, there was only one way they could get an answer to at least one of their questions.
Zhang Junjie.
The cars had barely parked on the grounds when Jun-Jun threw open his door and ran across the driveway, stumbling twice in his haste to get inside. Xiao Dan called after him and followed at a jog until he disappeared into the house.
“Yiyi?” Rei’s voice dropped to a tight, anxious whisper.
Yichen grabbed Rei’s hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay. They’re anxious to know if Xiang is still alive.” He was too, but he was also scared to know the truth beyond a shadow of a doubt. After too many years, he was home. His heart couldn’t stand the idea of losing yet another member of their sect.
“I don’t understand. How?”
“Let’s join the others. I’ll explain.” He released Rei’s hand and climbed out of the car, but he hurried around to wrap an arm about Rei’s waist. The elf had recovered from most of the injuries he’d suffered in the final push against the queen’s army, but he had lost a lot of blood. It was going to take some time to get to his full strength again.
“Yichen?” Rei prodded when they were at the front door.
“Junjie’s vampiric gift,” Yichen answered. “He can see the length of a person’s lifespan.”
Rei stopped walking and leveled wide eyes at Yichen. “Like looking into the future? He can see what’s going to happen in their lifetime?”
Yichen winced. “I think he can sometimes see major events in a person’s life, but he can feel a person’s thread of life as it’s woven into the greater tapestry of existence. He can see where that thread ends.”
“So…he’s going to check his powers to see Xiang’s life has ended?”
Yichen nodded. “They would have done the same after I disappeared to confirm that I was still alive. It’s how my family was able to hold on to hope. They knew I hadn’t died yet.”
The elf lifted his eyes to stare at the closed door in front of them. “That…is a harsh gift.”
“Mn. Jun-Jun saw the deaths of many of our clan members well before they happened, but there was nothing we could do to stop them. After a while, he stopped using his gift. It was too painful.”
Rei placed his hand on Yichen’s chest and rested his forehead on Yichen’s head for a second. “Xiang isn’t dead. He’s stubborn like the rest of you. He’d carve his way out of the dragon’s stomach if he had to.”
A sound escaped Yichen that was half snort and half choked laugh as the image filled his mind. Yes, that was what Xiang would do.
He reached for the door and pushed it open. “Come on. Junjie needs us.”
