Xue Yang was beyond frustrated. It had taken him months to set up a new identity after he had escaped prison and started to track the little bitch down. He wanted to find her as soon as possible. While he had made a pretty penny on her when he owned her, he could just imagine what she must look like now.

The rich, dark skin and the copper eyes.

The perfect, delicate features.

The nimbus of thick black, soft curls that framed her face.

The innocence. and purity. All of his favorite victims have possessed that. The most paramount kick he got with one of his toys was the annihilation of that part of their souls. The shattering of their golden cores, until there was nothing left except his darkness, his beautiful evil for them to be haunted by...THOSE were the most cherished moments of his existence. Xiao Xingchen, Lan Xi Chen and Yenay. So sweet, so precious, and his deepest relationships.

And Yenay, well she was a triple-decker bowl of ice cream, just right for a psychopath with an insatiable sweet tooth. The last survivor of a clan he despised. A person who had helped another of his projects heal from his assaulted body and mind. And a mere child when she escaped him twice already.

He had recognized her the moment that he saw he at the mall at Christmas, laughing and jumping up and down as she waited to sit on Santa's lap. Barely three years old. She had her mother's features and her father's coloring, but those eyes gave her away and his feral instincts sensed that a strong core beginning to develop within her. He knew Yenay. Knew her better than most. He followed old St. Nick to his shoddy photography studio, strangled him, and found the address for the family. Then he began to ingratiate himself with them. The new neighbor next door was always ready to help. They became inseparable and after two years, the lonely couple with no family of their own saw him as their most trusted friend. The fools had even asked him to be Halo's guardian if anything happened to them Of course, it did. A brake line barely punctured a week or two before. An unnoticed leak and they were gone, a mess left behind for rescue workers to try and sort out.

The last Chang survivor fell right into his grasping and covetous hands. He left her alone until she was ten, the attentive Uncle who gave her the world and a safe place. Then he ripped it apart when he found the perfect first client willing to pay an exorbitant price just for one night, Then he visited hell upon her for five years until he was caught, and they stole her away from him. She had been so much fun already this lifetime and during the last, as she watched her precious' Big Brother' suffer. The things he had planned for their future years together, once he had her in his grasp? Well, they were exquisite.

Homer said, 'Revenge is sweeter than flowing honey.' For Xue Yang, who could not resist anything sweet, this had become his mantra.

He wondered who was sheltering her this time.

**********

Yenay returned to their suite bathed in sweat and Qinyang had the cold tub ready for her. While the young woman began to soak, she turned up the heat to the hot tub, the water steeped with arnica, herbs, and oils. Yenay always wore a light shift in the baths. She loathed exposing herself to anyone, so they settled on thin cotton that covered her yet allowed her to bathe thoroughly. The exercises and training battered her, but she welcomed every strain, ache, and pain. It was starting to make her feel alive again. She could see her body gaining mass and definition. Halo's physique was not as imposing as Cloud Recesses' Iron Lady had been, but she was determined to become the same dangerous and lethal weapon that struck fear in her enemies. She also wanted to earn the right to be called The Guardian again.

Qinyang helped her out of the icy water and then slowly eased her into the hot tub. As she soaked, Qinyang rubbed arnica and emu-oil ladened creams into her neck and shoulders and her arms, letting the ointments absorb deep into bruises and abrasions caused by the wooden sticks used in place of swords during practice.

Each of the three men had half an hour a day set aside for swordplay, and they were not showing mercy. Nor did she want it, She found it purifying and satisfying. Every blow she absorbed was returned and if a strike drew a grunt and a returned blow, she smiled inwardly. It meant that one day when it became real, and she met Xue Yang as an equal, she would not fail. 

Qinyang worked steadily, massaging the medicines into every injury. She was stoic as she did this daily, but the constant battering that Her Soldier was receiving angered her. She was not angry at her brothers, they were doing only what Yenay demanded. No, she was filled with fury towards Xue Yang. The sick fuck had tormented her loved ones for too long now, and she wanted him obliterated for good. Her fingers trembled as she ministered to Yenay and that did not go unnoticed, When she was done, she felt a hand, once slender and hesitant, reach for her own and grasp it, holding it firmly. She turned huge amber eyes on the woman in the tub.

"Thank you."

"No need. You are doing this for us as well as yourself, Yenay."

"It is needed. You Lans have saved me twice now."

"We have also caused you great pain."

"Your Uncle, yes. And he visited that on the three of you as well. I would be mad to blame my Sun for that. I was a threat to his grip on you all, and he knew it. But the three of you have done nothing but care for me. "

"We simply do what we need to for those we love."

They sat in silence and Yenay dozed off as the hot water eased her weary body, still holding on to Qinyang's small hand. Qinyang stayed still. It was the rare moments like these that made all of this yearning worthwhile. My Guardian, My Soldier, My Goddess...

"Your Beauty...You stopped before you finished."

"Did I speak out loud?"

"Yes."You remember that?"

"Just now. As you said it."

"I thought you were asleep."

"Off and on. Qinyang...."

"I know. You cannot return how I feel."

"Stop putting words in my mouth. I feel so much. I just do not have the ability or the power to let it free. It is dammed up so firmly, cemented behind a wall I cannot access. I see it, I know it is there. But there is no lock to fit your key into."

"What can we do?"

"I have no right to ask you to do anything."

"You have every right in the world. No matter how much damage was done, How many lifetimes we have. You are my soulmate. You have every right."

"Fine, then. Your words have always defeated me. Wait. Wait for me. I selfishly want you to wait."Qinyang tightened her hand on Yenay's. "I always have. I always will,".**********