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His new companion presented almost the same target, and yet he didn’t feel the need to tease and torment him the same way. Probably because he was already stuck as a dragon’s captive. Did he need Xiang making his life more unbearable?
No, the actual goal that had formed in his head was getting Kai to smile. How would that even look? What would it take? What things did the man find amusing? He’d yet to see Kai even crack the tiniest of smiles. Getting a full-blown grin to spread across his face seemed impossible. That only made the goal all the more enticing. Xiang loved accomplishing impossible things, and getting Kai to smile had to be at the top of that list.
“Oh, I brought you something,” Kai announced, tearing Xiang from his wandering thoughts.
“Really?” All daydreams about an irritated Kai learning how to smile evaporated.
Kai said nothing as he shoved his hands into his pockets and wound his way through the collection. Xiang jumped after him, following as close as he could without stepping on his heels.
“What is it? Did the dragon capture a new playmate for me? Or how about someone to feed from? You realize I’m going to need to feed soon. Vampire, remember?”
“Yes, yes, you’re a vampire. You’re also a very old vampire. The dragon has reassured me that you shouldn’t need to feed that often, thanks to your advanced age.”
Xiang rolled his eyes at Kai’s back. “Thanks for making me sound like a white-haired senior citizen.”
Not that he cared. No, the key problem was that all his ideas for an escape attempt centered on the dragon taking him outside for a hunting excursion. Escaping a dragon wouldn’t be easy, but it had to be a hell of a lot easier than escaping this room. He’d already spent countless hours attacking the one door he’d found in the treasure room, and the damn thing had yet to budge or even jiggle in the frame. Unless Kai forgot to close it one day, he wasn’t getting out that way.
His companion stopped walking and stared at him with an expectant expression, as if he were waiting for Xiang to say something.
“What?” Xiang demanded.
Kai groaned. “You are the most infuriating man I have ever met. It’s a wonder your clan hasn’t ended your life.”
“Trust me, it’s not for a lack of trying on their part,” Xiang countered with a smirk. “I—” His words stopped in his throat when the loud ticking broke through the clutter in his brain. His head snapped back around and he noticed the ridiculously tall and beautifully carved grandfather clock standing in front of them with its pale face and elegant gold hands as they moved between the numbers.
A clock.
Kai had brought him a clock.
His heart squeezed, and his throat tightened, making his laugh sound forced. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind. I was thinking a little windup clock I could keep on the bedside table, or even a watch would have been good.”
A delicate snort left Kai, and he shook his head. “In case you have not noticed, you’re living within a dragon’s hoard. That means everything brought into this place is a unique and priceless treasure. The dragon would not permit some run-of-the-mill clock in here.” Kai folded his arms over his chest, his frown deepening. “If you don’t like it, I can tell the dragon. He might be willing to move it to another room while you stay here. He has a lesser treasure room that isn’t as nice as this room. Maybe the clock can be moved there.”
“No!” Xiang threw his arm around Kai’s stiff shoulders and rocked the man back and forth, trying to get him to loosen up. “The clock is gorgeous. It is the most elegant and beautiful clock I’ve ever seen. I will wind it and polish it every day.”
Kai turned his head to stare at Xiang for several seconds, as if he were trying to peer into his skull and read his thoughts. Xiang held on to his smile, his heart hammering in his chest. No matter what Kai said about the dragon procuring the clock, it was sitting there because of Kai. The man had made sure Xiang had a way to mark the passage of time, and he would never forget this.
“Very well,” Kai mumbled. He shifted his shoulders and took a step out of Xiang’s embrace. “For your reference, it is six in the evening on Saturday, the twenty-ninth of July.”
The joy that had filled his chest sank like a stone into the pit of his stomach. If it was Saturday, that meant he’d already been a prisoner of the dragon for four days. In that time, he’d made zero progress on his escape attempts. Zero progress on getting valuable information out of Kai. And zero progress in contacting his clan.
“Thank you for speaking to the dragon and arranging for the clock. It means a lot to me.” Xiang tried to force a grin, but it was hard. “At least now I’ll know how much time passes between your visits.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”
“Of course it is. It means you’ll have to visit me more often.”
“Not a good thing.”
Xiang laughed at Kai’s stubbornness, but the chiming of the bells from the clock cut it off, announcing the top of the hour. It wasn’t just that the clock was finely carved, but the delicate chimes were so very soothing, like birdsong on a summer day.
“That’s exquisite,” Xiang breathed. Not only did he have a way of tracking time and day, but he had a genuine work of art to do it with.
“It truly is.”
Xiang grabbed Kai’s arm and pulled him toward the small kitchenette that had been set up. It was the one space within the cavern where he could find somewhat ordinary appliances and even a generator for power. The rest of the place worked on magic.
“Since you’re the one who convinced the dragon to add a clock to his hoard, you have to stay and allow me to cook dinner for you.”
