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more now.
On impulse, he took Zongxian s hand, offering silent comfort and
understanding. Zongxian entwined his fingers with Tomas s and
offered him a small smile. Anyway, that doesn t matter now. They
won t trap me again. Not now. He squeezed Tomas s hand in an
almost painful grip.
Dragon s Bloodmoon 79
The other men stared at them for a few seconds, as if not
understanding what was going on. As the silence threatened to turn
awkward, Yoshi finally spoke out, All right, he said. We ll take
care of the other two pieces while you go speak with Xiao Shen.
Maybe I should go with you, Tomas said. He felt reluctant to let
Zongxian go alone in a dangerous situation. He d already made that
mistake once with Jared. He refused to do the same thing again.
He almost thought Zongxian would refuse, but in the end, the man
nodded. Okay. We go together then.
Tomas s heart fluttered as the word together slipped into his
consciousness. Perhaps he couldn t yet figure out why this was
happening, but after living so long, he knew better than to question
his instincts and his heart.
He turned toward the other shifters, knowing how important their
task was, as well as how much the vampires involvement in their
lives hurt them. Be careful. Jared wouldn t want any of you to get
hurt.
Flame nodded, for once not looking hostile. You too, he said.
Zongxian let go of Tomas s hand and he started murmuring an
incantation in Mandarin under his breath. Energy started
accumulating in front of them, molding into two red doors. As the
doors opened, Zongxian took Tomas s hand once again. Here we
go, he said. He pulled Tomas toward the portal. Trusting Zongxian
to lead the way, Tomas followed.
* * * *
The portal left them in front of Xiao Shen s room in the Long
Dynasty palace. Zongxian scanned the hallway for guards. He
couldn t see any immediate threat. Good. He had a few minutes to
talk to his nephew.
80 Scarlet Hyacinth
Tomas looked a little green, but that wasn t uncommon when
people weren t used to traveling through portals. It s been a while
since I ve done this, Tomas said, confirming Zongxian s guess.
Zongxian suppressed a smile, feeling grateful that Tomas had
offered to join him. Come. My nephew should be here.
He rapped his knuckles against the wood of the door. Two
seconds later, a wide-eyed Xiao Shen opened it. Uncle, what are you
doing here? he asked in a shocked voice. Come in, hurry.
Zongxian stepped inside, gesturing for Tomas to follow. This is
Tomas, he told Xiao. He is helping me with Jared s rescue.
You found him then? Xiao Shen asked.
Yes, but the vampires refuse to return him if we don t give them
all the pieces of The Spirit.
That s why you re here, Xiao Shen said, because you need my
piece.
Zongxian nodded. He knew he was asking a lot of his nephew, but
he had to try.
Isn t there another option? Xiao Shen asked.
Not really, Tomas replied. If the clan leader doesn t get what
he wants, he ll kill Jared. We could try to bust him out, but they d
find us eventually. Vampires have a well-developed information
system. We can find out pretty much anything we like.
Xiao arched a brow. We? You re a vampire?
Tomas nodded. I am, but Jared is more important to me than
that.
Xiao made an ah sound. He glanced from Tomas to Zongxian,
his expression thoughtful.
Zongxian knew what his nephew was thinking. In the time Tomas
had been gone, he d had a little time to consider things, to rationalize
what he knew and what he felt. When Viktor had called Kaiden and
the others, Zongxian remembered that Jared s brother, Loren, had two
mates. He d then recalled the prophecy written in one of the
Dynasty s ancient tomes, a prophecy that spoke of the age of deadly
Dragon s Bloodmoon 81
mates when three souls could be united as one. Zongxian had never
thought it possible. He d always considered himself strictly
monogamous, but now that he knew Tomas and Jared, that had
changed.
Xiao Shen sighed and undid the first few buttons of his shirt. The
Spirit piece hung at his neck by a golden thread, bound into a solid
encasing. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding onto the
amulet part tightly.
What is he doing? Tomas whispered.
I think he s trying to figure out what s the right thing to do,
Zongxian replied. In a sense, he understood Xiao Shen. Being the
guardian of The Spirit meant both a great honor and a great
responsibility. Xiao Shen couldn t let himself be swayed by personal
emotions, not in such issues.
Unfortunately, before Xiao could give them a reply, the door burst
open. Jùnrén and Yao Niang walked inside, followed by maybe a
dozen guards. Hold it right there, Jùnrén said.
Zongxian cursed to himself. They must have felt the magic faster
than Zongxian had expected. He pushed Tomas behind himself and
bowed his head ever so slightly in front of Jùnrén. Greetings, My
Lord, My Lady.
Spare me the polite platitudes, Zongxian, Jùnrén growled.
You ve disappointed your people and fled your punishment. You
can t possibly think you re welcome here.
He came to get the amulet piece, Yao Niang said coolly. He s
a coward and a traitor.
Zongxian is neither of those things, Tomas shot back, surprising
Zongxian. He is a very brave, caring person.
Yao Niang arched a perfectly defined dark brow. Oh? How do
you know him so well? Who are you anyway?
Tomas mockingly bowed. Tomas Medina y Hernandez, at your
service.
82 Scarlet Hyacinth
Zongxian wondered if Tomas s aggressiveness just made things
worse, but he simply couldn t hold it against him. If anything, it made
him happy that Tomas wanted to defend him. Zongxian was by no
means a weakling, but he d learned from birth to respect the elders.
He didn t know what he d do now, when faced with their obvious
hostility toward him.
Why did you bring an outsider here, Zongxian? Jùnrén asked.
Wasn t your previous misdeed enough? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
more now.
On impulse, he took Zongxian s hand, offering silent comfort and
understanding. Zongxian entwined his fingers with Tomas s and
offered him a small smile. Anyway, that doesn t matter now. They
won t trap me again. Not now. He squeezed Tomas s hand in an
almost painful grip.
Dragon s Bloodmoon 79
The other men stared at them for a few seconds, as if not
understanding what was going on. As the silence threatened to turn
awkward, Yoshi finally spoke out, All right, he said. We ll take
care of the other two pieces while you go speak with Xiao Shen.
Maybe I should go with you, Tomas said. He felt reluctant to let
Zongxian go alone in a dangerous situation. He d already made that
mistake once with Jared. He refused to do the same thing again.
He almost thought Zongxian would refuse, but in the end, the man
nodded. Okay. We go together then.
Tomas s heart fluttered as the word together slipped into his
consciousness. Perhaps he couldn t yet figure out why this was
happening, but after living so long, he knew better than to question
his instincts and his heart.
He turned toward the other shifters, knowing how important their
task was, as well as how much the vampires involvement in their
lives hurt them. Be careful. Jared wouldn t want any of you to get
hurt.
Flame nodded, for once not looking hostile. You too, he said.
Zongxian let go of Tomas s hand and he started murmuring an
incantation in Mandarin under his breath. Energy started
accumulating in front of them, molding into two red doors. As the
doors opened, Zongxian took Tomas s hand once again. Here we
go, he said. He pulled Tomas toward the portal. Trusting Zongxian
to lead the way, Tomas followed.
* * * *
The portal left them in front of Xiao Shen s room in the Long
Dynasty palace. Zongxian scanned the hallway for guards. He
couldn t see any immediate threat. Good. He had a few minutes to
talk to his nephew.
80 Scarlet Hyacinth
Tomas looked a little green, but that wasn t uncommon when
people weren t used to traveling through portals. It s been a while
since I ve done this, Tomas said, confirming Zongxian s guess.
Zongxian suppressed a smile, feeling grateful that Tomas had
offered to join him. Come. My nephew should be here.
He rapped his knuckles against the wood of the door. Two
seconds later, a wide-eyed Xiao Shen opened it. Uncle, what are you
doing here? he asked in a shocked voice. Come in, hurry.
Zongxian stepped inside, gesturing for Tomas to follow. This is
Tomas, he told Xiao. He is helping me with Jared s rescue.
You found him then? Xiao Shen asked.
Yes, but the vampires refuse to return him if we don t give them
all the pieces of The Spirit.
That s why you re here, Xiao Shen said, because you need my
piece.
Zongxian nodded. He knew he was asking a lot of his nephew, but
he had to try.
Isn t there another option? Xiao Shen asked.
Not really, Tomas replied. If the clan leader doesn t get what
he wants, he ll kill Jared. We could try to bust him out, but they d
find us eventually. Vampires have a well-developed information
system. We can find out pretty much anything we like.
Xiao arched a brow. We? You re a vampire?
Tomas nodded. I am, but Jared is more important to me than
that.
Xiao made an ah sound. He glanced from Tomas to Zongxian,
his expression thoughtful.
Zongxian knew what his nephew was thinking. In the time Tomas
had been gone, he d had a little time to consider things, to rationalize
what he knew and what he felt. When Viktor had called Kaiden and
the others, Zongxian remembered that Jared s brother, Loren, had two
mates. He d then recalled the prophecy written in one of the
Dynasty s ancient tomes, a prophecy that spoke of the age of deadly
Dragon s Bloodmoon 81
mates when three souls could be united as one. Zongxian had never
thought it possible. He d always considered himself strictly
monogamous, but now that he knew Tomas and Jared, that had
changed.
Xiao Shen sighed and undid the first few buttons of his shirt. The
Spirit piece hung at his neck by a golden thread, bound into a solid
encasing. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding onto the
amulet part tightly.
What is he doing? Tomas whispered.
I think he s trying to figure out what s the right thing to do,
Zongxian replied. In a sense, he understood Xiao Shen. Being the
guardian of The Spirit meant both a great honor and a great
responsibility. Xiao Shen couldn t let himself be swayed by personal
emotions, not in such issues.
Unfortunately, before Xiao could give them a reply, the door burst
open. Jùnrén and Yao Niang walked inside, followed by maybe a
dozen guards. Hold it right there, Jùnrén said.
Zongxian cursed to himself. They must have felt the magic faster
than Zongxian had expected. He pushed Tomas behind himself and
bowed his head ever so slightly in front of Jùnrén. Greetings, My
Lord, My Lady.
Spare me the polite platitudes, Zongxian, Jùnrén growled.
You ve disappointed your people and fled your punishment. You
can t possibly think you re welcome here.
He came to get the amulet piece, Yao Niang said coolly. He s
a coward and a traitor.
Zongxian is neither of those things, Tomas shot back, surprising
Zongxian. He is a very brave, caring person.
Yao Niang arched a perfectly defined dark brow. Oh? How do
you know him so well? Who are you anyway?
Tomas mockingly bowed. Tomas Medina y Hernandez, at your
service.
82 Scarlet Hyacinth
Zongxian wondered if Tomas s aggressiveness just made things
worse, but he simply couldn t hold it against him. If anything, it made
him happy that Tomas wanted to defend him. Zongxian was by no
means a weakling, but he d learned from birth to respect the elders.
He didn t know what he d do now, when faced with their obvious
hostility toward him.
Why did you bring an outsider here, Zongxian? Jùnrén asked.
Wasn t your previous misdeed enough? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]