Page 106 of Tears of Gold

Erritt hisses at me, and I bury my face in his neck to silence myself.

“Take a look at me,” he murmurs against my hair.

Sinking into his qi, I find another surprise. Erritt’s qi welts are closing and the swelling going down, but there’s enough of his power levels missing to be noticeable.

“Did you use your power this afternoon?” I growl. He shakes his head in answer. The barrier he had up today wouldn’t have taken this much out of him.

“So, either he recovers ridiculously fast or—” I cast the tiniest fragment of silver light between us. Staring into his eyes, I realize we’ve both come to the only logical conclusion.

“Or he’s stealing qi from us.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Erritt

Skye wakes us with an angry growl. “Something’s tripped the wards.” He tilts his head and then springs from the bed. “At least twenty bodies inbound.”

Harper hits the ground in one leap, pulling on clothes and running for his kit with me one step behind him. Skye sheds his human form and snaps up a shield around the house.

Sounding calmer than I feel, I give orders. “Harper, you’re with Ava. Watch the side windows and back door. Skye, we’ll handle the front, you hold the shield. Do you want to flank or me?”

“What about the cellar?” Harper asks. “We can hide there.”

Skye shakes his head. “No exit if we get in a bind.”

“Right,” Harper grunts in agreement, pulling charms from a folder in his bag.

“Erritt, you should stay inside,” Skye says, his scaled length rippling with alertness. “They haven’t attacked yet. I’ll go see what they want. I’d rather no one finds out we have an elemental prince here if we can avoid it.”

“If they don’t know already,” I grumble, stretching my muscles and qi points to warm up.

“Davinas?” Ava asks. We all turn to look at her, dread settling heavily on my bones.

“Makes sense, but how?” Skye shakes his head. “Stay away from the windows.” He slips out the front door, using his qi to open and shut it behind him.

I stand against the wall between the door and window, and Harper waits by the back door, marking a four-pointed symbol across this chest before drawing both knives out. Ava leans over the bed to grab last night’s clothes, sliding into them without stepping off the bed.

Skye’s gravelly voice rings loudly across the glade. “Stop where you are! You’ve trespassed on a dragon’s lair.”

A guttural voice answers him. “Hand over the human girl.”

A shiver runs through me. How did they find us? When will this madness end?

“What human girl? This is my home. Begone, goblin.”

“We know she’s here—we can smell her human blood. Hand her over, and we’ll leave your house standing, dragonling.”

“Over my dead body,” Skye cries, following with a bestial roar. “One more step, and you’ll be smelling your own blood.”

My pulse quickens between my ears. Harper can defend himself, and Skye’s a force to be reckoned with, but I wish I was at full strength. Skye said there’re twenty people out there.

“Hey,” Harper whispers across the room. “You got that summoning spell, just in case?”

I nod grimly. I hope I don’t have to use it, but I’m already resigned. Even if we don’t need Vanrey's help, there will soon be a lot of bodies to clean up. Plus, if he finds out we came under attack and didn't summon him, I'll never hear the end of it.

An explosion rattles the house as they pound Skye’s barrier with qi blasts, their refusal to leave clear.

“Ava, get under the bed,” Harper calls, and she rolls off and slides under. The door opens, and Skye skids inside, steaming with mist.