“But you do not know if you can?”Heng asked.He had always been annoyingly insightful.
“I need Shanlin to be safe.I can get used to fermented tofu if I have to.”
Heng snorted.“I doubt that.Luckily, not everyone likes such a wonderful delicacy, which is fine because it means there is more for the rest of us.However, I know you can find peace here if you allow yourself.”
“Unlike last time?”Leander asked.
“Your heart was not in China last time.Now, I think it is.”He glanced at the car again and raised his eyebrows.If Shanlin were his son, Leander would agree.But he wasn’t.Leander felt an obligation to protect him, and China was the only place he knew where the boy could grow up without having to watch over his shoulder for Druwolf’s enforcers.But was obligation enough?Leander didn’t know, but he had to try.
He smiled at Heng.“Shi,” he agreed.
Heng slapped him on the shoulder.“It is good.”
“I thought Chinese didn’t touch people they didn’t have relationships with,” Leander said dryly.
“You are myqidi.Why would I restrain myself around you?”
“What is aqidi?”
“You are my adopted little brother, the one I chose.And I am yourqixiong, your adopted older brother.”He touched the small of Leander’s back, and the touch sent a shiver up Leander’s spine.His body remembered that touch, even if he had tried hard to forget it.Back then, he had felt as if sharing Heng’s bed had been a betrayal of his feelings for Finn.After all, Finn had betrayed him by ending their relationship, but Leander had seen himself as the loyal one, the stately oak in the midst of Finn’s emotional storms.Sleeping with Heng hadn’t fit into his view of himself.But a simple touch awakened feelings Leander couldn’t handle—not now.
“I don’t remember the adoption ceremony.”
Heng smiled.“You do not remember many things, qidi.”He guided Leander to the car, escorting him to the passenger side before he walked around.He had to take a second to gather up his robes before he could climb in the driver’s seat, embroidered silk spilling over the center console.
“This is an awesome car.”
“You are too polite, young one.”Heng did a tight U-turn and with the car’s high-pitched hum, accelerated toward the mountains.
“What is Orange Flower Hills like?”Shanlin asked.Apparently being in the car had unlocked some curious part of him, or, more likely, being around someone other than Leander had.His sour mood often caused other people to go silent around him.
“It is beautiful,” Heng said.“It is home to the Flying Swords sect.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a school.It was founded by a qixiong and qidi named Li Ming and Fu Xin in the Tang Dynasty.It is said they flew here on their swords and were so struck by the beauty that they built a shrine and founded a sect so they would never have to leave again.”
“Swords don’t fly,” Shanlin said.
“Shanlin, do not be rude!”Leander snapped, and Shanlin shrank back into his seat.
Heng, however, laughed.“Your father used to deny many truths when he first came here.Western magic is not like Eastern magic.Anyone who can cultivate their innate power, their chi, can learn to fly on a sword, but some say ancient swords developed chi of their own and fly without an owner.”
Shanlin wrinkled his nose, clearly not believing the story, and Leander gritted his teeth.The community would not accept disrespect from any child, much less an outsider.“Do not doubt the power of ancient magics,” he told the boy.“I’ve seen things in China that are thought impossible in America.”
“And magic users in America can do things the Chinese would dismiss as fantasy,” Heng said.“We are different.”
“But we’re all just people,” Shanlin said quietly, as if he wasn’t sure.
“People who develop our power differently,” Heng explained.“Look, that stone wall marks the beginning of the land owned by the sect.We have two villages in addition to the main school and many estates.”
“Will I go to school there?”
“Schooling is different here,” Leander explained.“Children learn from their parents.School is for those developing their magics.”He knew that from previous conversations with Heng who had studied at the sect before going to the city in hopes of learning how Western magic worked.That was why he had introduced himself to Leander in the first place.Most of the locals had offered only superficial smiles and vague platitudes, but Heng had been genuinely warm.And then they had landed in bed together after drinking far too much strong wine.
“Will you go to the school, ba?”
Leander offered a weak, “We shall see.”
