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Chen spun on a hiss, but his face was already burning. Naturally, Moon had to make it worse with his low chuckle.
“I thought you wanted to watch the show,” he teased.
“No, I want answers.”
“After what we did last night in my front yard, I think you can turn around.”
Chen huffed. Last night was…he didn’t know what he’d been thinking. He still didn’t know what he was thinking. Everything was such a mess. The only reason for him to be in the US was to rescue Yichen. This…this thing with Moon was only clouding his judgment.
And yet, here he stood in the bathroom, the panic over seeing Moon bloody and leaning on Xiang for support still receding. The only way he could get his feet to carry him from the bathroom would be if Moon demanded he leave. It was likely he’d only step into the hall if that happened.
“What happened in the woods? Were you able to find the spot where the door is to open?” Chen asked. Yes, he was being a coward, avoiding Moon’s mention of last night, but he didn’t care. Saving Yichen was the only thing that mattered. The only thing keeping him sane.
Moon made another sound like an amused sigh, but he at least continued, dropping the subject of last night. “We found the spot. It’s a large circular area that’s filled with oak trees that don’t look indigenous to this region. Makes me wonder if this spot has been used for the fae door in the past.” As he talked, Chen could hear fabric moving and little noises from Chen as he stripped out of his wet clothes and put on dry.
“What about the witches?”
“Yeah, the fucking witches,” Moon muttered. “We came upon a group of them. Probably close to twenty. All of them earth witches, from what I could tell, and they didn’t appear to be part of the same coven. They’d set up in the clearing with a shit-ton of spell ingredients, camping gear, and one very large cauldron.”
Chen placed a hand on the wooden door right in front of his face to steady himself. “What are they doing there?”
“I think they mean to protect the opening, or provide some protection for the fae when they come through. We didn’t get the chance to ask them, unfortunately. The second they spotted us, their ringleader ordered the others to kill us.”
“What?” Chen spun around without thinking. Luckily, Moon had already pulled on a pair of soft gray jogging pants that hung obscenely low on his hips. The waistband looked so loose that Chen could shove his hands into his pants with ease. Chen ripped his eyes up to Moon’s face to find the wicked man grinning at him as if he knew exactly what Chen had been thinking.
“They tried to kill us rather than bothering to talk. They didn’t even try to fabricate some story about camping. Nope, just wanted to kill us.” Moon shook his head as if amused with it all now. “We ran. Well, Xiang picked me up and ran. But he’s much faster than I am.” Moon cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes. “Though not faster than some of their spells. He had to drop me to draw a blade. Some thorny vines had jumped out to grab us. I slipped when I got up to help. We didn’t suffer more than a few cuts, bruises, minor burns, and a twisted ankle. They finally stopped chasing us after about half a mile. Of course, by then, the rain was really coming down, and it was a miserable walk to the car.”
“Why? I don’t understand.” Chen stepped closer so that he was practically standing between Moon’s knees. “I thought you said that the earth witches were afraid of the fae. That the fae only wanted to use their magic or kill them. Why would they want to protect them?”
“I have no fucking clue.” Moon reached up and threaded his fingers through Chen’s wet hair, smoothing it from his face. He carefully wiped away the drops still standing on his forehead and cheeks.
Each caress of his fingers sent a tingle of warmth through his body and left him aching for more. They were so close now. It would be nothing to lean in and capture Moon’s mouth.
Chen began to do just that, but Moon surprised him by placing a hand against the center of his chest, stopping him.
“What are we doing?” Moon whispered.
A hot flush rushed across his cheekbones and lit the tips of his ears. He tried to step back, but the hand that held him at bay now twisted in the front of his shirt, holding him captive. Moon stopped them from proceeding, but he also wasn’t allowing Chen to pull away.
“I know for a fact that you’re smarter and more logical than I am. You have to have thought this was fucking insane,” Moon continued.
