Page 1 of Tears of Gold

Chapter One

Ava

“Come on, slow poke! Pick up those feet!” Harper calls as he runs backward ahead of me around the grassy oval. Glistening patches of morning dew coat the short green stems underfoot, leaving darker prints where our shoes have been.

Ugh! Did I really agree to morning runs? If that were me running backward, I’d trip over my feet. But Harper’s athletic. He’s also handsome and quick-witted, and even if I can’t remember how we know each other, I feel comfortable near him.

Not like Skye and Erritt, the other two guys who always seem to be around.

They want something from me, I can tell. With every look and attempted touch, they’re silently begging me to remember them. My stomach does funny things when they stare at me that way, yet no matter how much I try, I can’t remember them.

But Harper doesn’t ask for anything. He’s just at my side, making me laugh, or making me want to hit him, when he keeps badgering me to run like today.

I stop, bending over to lean on my knees, gasping for air. “Sheesh! How out of shape am I?”

“Don’t give up! Half a lap to go!” Harper jogs back to me. While I’ve alternated jogging, walking, and running, he’s been sprinting and jogging like it’s nothing. Damn him and his legs of solid muscle.

Shaking my head, I wheeze. “I can’t; I’m done in!”

He chuckles. “Alright, we’ll walk then. You’ve done a lap more than yesterday.”

I grin around my wheezes. When I first started, I could only do four laps. Now I’m up to twelve. Harper says we’d started jogging before the rebel group called Davinas took me captive, but I can’t recall that either. I steal a glance at his curly brown hair and well-tanned skin. The muscles of his arms ripple with nice definition, framed by his white singlet. He catches my eye and grins, and his crooked smile brings heat to my face. What exactly were we? I wish I could remember.

Since being kidnapped by the Davinas, I have holes in my memory. I know I’m here on a planet named Exerin-Mi because I ran through a portal on Earth and ended up in a different realm. I remember finding this academy and being offered refuge by the chancellor, Mr Katen, until the gate reopens and I can go home again. I remember the elemental girl, Rita, picking on me until she felt guilty and became my friend and even bodyguard.

But after that, my memory gets fuzzy. I can recall the exhausting trek to the Davina camp and sleeping in a cell—even someone trying to read my mind. But I can’t remember how I got back to the academy or who these guys are who look at me with puppy-dog eyes every time I see them.

I feel like a piece of my soul is missing. And my faulty heart seems to agree. Thankfully, it hasn’t spasmed during the exercise today, but the faint ache deep inside my chest tells me it isn’t happy.

As Harper and I walk back to the slope leading up to the academy buildings, I twirl the silver bracelet on my wrist. I’ve caught myself doing that a lot lately. Rita says it’s a safety charm that Prince Erritt gave me, but why would someone as important as a prince provide me with anything? No one will say what my history with him, the dragon shifter Skye, or Harper was, and when I ask, their answers are vague.

“Earth to Ava?” Harper waves a hand in front of my face. “You okay?”

“Ah, yeah. Just a bit lost.”

He tips his head side to side as if that’s a fair assessment. “Well, you have a qi physics test today. Don’t lose track of that.”

“Oh, thanks for ruining my day!” I grizzle with a smile.

Harper chuckles. “My pleasure. My services are available Tuesday through Friday.”

I snort. “Oh, and what about weekends and Mondays?”

“Monday, only serious Harper is available, and all bets are off on weekends.” He winks at me.

I laugh under my breath, then grow sober. What exactly are we doing in a realm that isn’t Earth? I want to see mom.

“Hey, Harper? I’m from Earth, and you’re from Earth. Why don’t we go back home?” The familiar ache of homesickness rises. I’ve been here for three months, but time moves slower here. Six times slower. That means a whole year and a half has passed already on Earth. Mom, Dad, and my brother, Ryan, have lived for eighteen months without me and without even knowing if I’m alive. The cops probably closed my missing person’s case; maybe they’ve even held a memorial service.

Harper presses his lips together. “Well, we can go if that’s what you want, but the problem is the Davinas are chasing you for some reason, and we think they’ll hunt you down. I’m not sure I can protect you alone if they come looking for you on Earth.”

He jams one hand through his tousled curls. “I mean, we could live on the run, but that’s not the kind of return you’re looking for, is it?”

I shake my head, my heart aching faintly. “Why do they want me anyway? It’s just stupid. I don’t have fancy powers like the elementals. I’m just . . . me.”

He shrugs and buries his hands in his pockets. “Maybe just being you is enough to make people want you.”

A tingle runs down my spine. Does Harper mean himself as well? I steal another glance at him, but he’s staring at the gray stone walls of the boys’ dormitories.