Page 79 of Tears of Gold

All of it.

When Skye releases me, I feel a loss and return for another kiss, surprising us both. What if he turns me away because I’m a criminal? I can’t beg. I can’t face more rejection when I’m this close to being part of Ava’s life. Instead, I just tighten my grip on his shoulders.

Skye smiles, and my worries evaporate at the look in his eye.

Both of us pant, and his cock twitches against my leg. It doesn’t even bother me. Ava is central in my desires, but I can’t see that I’ll have any issue being around Skye. Maybe there will be some things to explore with him along the way.

I lean my head on his shoulder, absorbing that shocking idea.

He holds me tight. “You pass,” he says against my hair.

I rock my body against his hard on. “With flying colors, apparently.”

He laughs. “Definitely.”

It actually feels amazing to know I have this effect on him. Stepping back, I clear my rough throat. “What’s the second test?” If Skye is the first test, I’ve got a pretty good idea what comes next. Sure enough, Skye points toward Erritt.

Adrenaline flutters through my chest. “Is he going to, like, kill me?” I whisper.

Chuckling, Skye tells me to go find out, and my legs rebel for a moment. This is the prince of Exerin-Mi we’re talking about. But I’m fifty percent of the way to Ava—I can’t back out now.

I stride down the bank and into the creek, hissing as the cold reaches my blood-filled groin. I stand still for a moment, shuddering, then Erritt waves his hand through the water, and it warms.

He steps past Ava, watching me intently, like a predator waiting for his lunch.

Oh, I’m gonna die today, aren’t I? I glance around the bank, just in case Vanrey decided to return unannounced, but we’re alone. I wade out to him and stand awkwardly, looking at the jagged scars on his chest rather than meeting his eyes.

Erritt reaches for my wrist, the chill of his power flashing as he releases the tracking spell embedded in the bracelet he trapped me in months ago. He slips the bracelet off and throws it high up on the bank, the silver flashing in the sunlight as it flips through the air and thumps into the grass.

“Whatever h-happens here, happens as . . . equals. You’re free to go, if that’s what you want. Or, you’re . . . welcome to stay.” Erritt’s dazzling blue eyes rivet me in place.

I meet them and forget to breathe. I rub my wrist as I digest that the icy spot of magic I’ve become accustomed to is gone.

I’m free. Acquitted.

Looking up, I find Skye back in the water with an arm around Ava. Her green-brown eyes widen with expectancy as she leans on him, watching me.

I suck in a shaky breath and tear my attention back to Erritt. “Do you hate me?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I quite . . . like you. I’ve also gotten . . . accustomed to having y-you around. I know I can be an ass . . . but if Ava thinks of you one more t-time while we’re having sex and you’re n-not there with us, I swear I’ll lose my mind.” His blue eyes brighten with humor.

What did I just hear? My heart sputters with this new knowledge and the whirlwind of thoughts calms.

Stepping forward, I press my lips to his. Erritt is fucking infuriating, but if I had to save his life again a thousand times, I’d never hesitate. That’s all I can be sure of. That, and his kiss is colder and gentler than Skye’s.

His hands settle on my shoulders, and I shiver as water drips down my sun-flushed bare chest and back. Again, I feel the tickle in my thoughts. I quiver, fighting the impulse to resist him. I’ve had a lot more angsty experiences with Erritt—us yelling at each other, him threatening me, punching me once. And if anyone is going to condemn my past, it’s him. He threatened to qi lash me for kidnapping Ava.

I wrap my hands around his waist, anchoring myself to him, willing myself to try, to be vulnerable. And it stings.

His tongue slides between my lips.

Suddenly, my mind lurches. For a second, I can’t tell if it’s day or night, or if I’m the right way up, like I’ve dropped into a different dimension. A sense of happiness that isn’t mine floods me, followed by a prickling, painful ache that must be Erritt’s battered qi.

I feel the painful burn like it’s a stitch in my own ribs. If this is what he’s enduring today, I can’t imagine how he coped when it was fresh. The rush of unfamiliar sensations make me sway, and I press into him, a flood of warmth spreading out from my chest, despite his cool touch.

He might be an arrogant prick, but considering the messed-up life he’s had, he’s held onto his humanity well—if that’s even the right term for it.

Instinctively, I run my own qi across the parts of his that fizz like an angry anthill, wishing I could remove his pain.