Page 58 of Tears of Gold

The ache on my neck and the sting in my nostril reminds me how long it’s been since I was last beaten up. Injuries used to be a weekly occurrence, with smaller cuts and bruises gained from anybody whose path I crossed, plus the more serious infractions with Erritt. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep up the appearances of our fake enmity.

I track back the timeline. Everything started changing when Ava arrived. Dragon Stars bless her!

Me saving Erritt’s life meant the official end to our public feud and the possibility of me being in the same space as him without him attacking me—not that I would ever have chosen that method. Now the students mostly ignore me. A few elementals who helped track Ava nod or say hello occasionally, which shocks me every time.

But is there any future for us? Anik won’t forgive Erritt for striking him, and now we have a plausible theory about why the Davinas are hunting Ava. We dealt with the bastard assassin, but the danger to my family has only increased. I feel raw and exposed.

“What’s up?”

I twitch as Harper breaks the silence. “Huh?”

“You were sighing. What’s bothering you?”

I breathe deep and stretch my arms, trying to force back the anxiety settling in my muscles. Heat mirages hover in the distance, dancing in the corner of my eyes like the hidden threats waiting just out of sight. I pluck at my shirt, letting cool air wash down my chest. The cloudless skies do nothing to keep the midday sun at bay, and I was already hot from fighting. This summer will be a scorcher if it’s already this hot two days into the season, maybe in more ways than one.

Should I tell Harper what’s bothering me? He knows about the Davinas trying to get their hands on her for bait, but not about Erritt discovering she’s likely a vessel for the man-eating nine-tailed fox. Should I tell him I know in my heart Anik will come after Erritt somehow?

I steal a glance at the rogue. No, Harper’s got enough stuff on his mind right now. Shit, he probably isn’t even sure how he feels about Ava right now, despite loving her. I’ll give him some time to work through his current difficulties before heaping more on his plate.

“Nah, it’s nothing. You just had me a little worried.”

He meets my gaze and his lips purse like maybe he doesn’t believe me. I grin at him reassuringly. At least he’s coming back with me. Ava would have missed him terribly, and so would I.

Erritt would too, although he’d never admit it.

Chapter Twenty

Ava

I try to block out Rita’s grumbling as we head to the bottom oval, but nothing works—not even reimagining how Erritt cradled me against his chest for half the night. There hasn’t been enough daylight to chase away the morning dew yet, and not only does Rita hate early mornings, but she feels the need to tell everyone about her distaste.

Can’t say I’m a fan either today, but once I’m awake, I’m awake. Besides, early mornings are for jogging.

I keep thinking if I show up for the morning run, Harper will come, but I haven’t seen him since the shitstorm at the festival three days ago. It took a while to get over the initial shock of my memories returning. Suddenly realizing that the guy I was about to make love with not only kidnapped me—leading to my arrival on a planet in another universe—but also wasn’t my boyfriend was distressing to say the least.

But in the three days since, I’ve sorted through the other memories of him—him being my rock in this alien world and following me all the way here from Earth because he wanted to make things right. Memories of Harper exercising with me, teaching me self-defense, and flirting across a gray line.

“What’s so great about exercise anyway? It’s too frog’s-bum early for this shit,” Rita snarks, wrapping her arms around herself.

I smile as I remind myself that her escorting me out for my morning run says a lot, despite her grumbling. “Well, we can’t all morph into some smoking hot human body at will, you know. Some of us have to earn our stripes.”

“That’s why humans are pathetic.” She snorts. “The way you eat, this will be pointless anyway!”

I roll my eyes. “Thanks so much. Pity the morphing can’t fix your crappy attitude.”

She cracks a half smile, which is the best I’ll get before lunchtime, and I mentally mark it down as a win.

I stretch the way Harper taught me, warming my muscles and watching the bright sunlight glistening on the millions of blades of dew-crusted grass. I keep looking up the hillside, hoping to see him, but no one emerges from the academy buildings.

Maybe hope isn’t enough, so I need to take a bigger first step, no matter how awkward. I dig in my pocket for the pager Erritt gave me recently.

It takes me a couple of goes to get a casual-sounding message out. Hey Harper. Are you thinking of running this morning?

Just when I’m ready to give up waiting, his message dings back. No.

My stomach clenches. Shit. I’d be pretty pissed if I were him. What must he think of me, shrieking at him and running away in the middle of sex? Thinking about how close we came to getting together makes my cheeks heat up.

But I’m still pretty mad he let it get that far, knowing I already had two boyfriends. Boyfriends that I forgot about, true, so kind of a gray area—but he knew. Sheesh, how did things get this messed up? I really like the guy too.