Page 46 of Tears of Gold

“How d-did Ava seem . . . to you?” I ask as I pick through the egg steamed buns my aide brings on a breakfast tray. He adds a glass of cajiou milk with a pointed look. I grimace and gulp it down.

“Hmm. She appeared quite distressed and confused. Harper said they had been chased by looting goblins. He’d broken into a warehouse, and they’d been there for several hours. She had locked herself in a bathroom. She didn’t talk or even look at the rogue when she came out. I asked if he’d attacked her, but she said no. Her hair was damp, but other than a few scratches, she seemed unharmed.”

He taps a finger against his lips, thinking back. “She was limping a bit, probably from being on her feet, and her dress was torn in several places—not that she was wearing it. Harper had stolen a change of clothes for her. Considering they were in the plaza when the bomb went off, they were lucky not to have been trampled.”

I rest my head on my hand, saying a silent prayer of thanks to the Qi Lords that they were unharmed.

Vanrey sets a cup of tea on the table. “Oh, and the first thing Ava asked was where you were. Other than that, Harper seemed quite upset. It looked to me like they had both been crying.”

I blink at him, absorbing all the facts, my imagination filling the gaps with wild theories. My grip tightens on my fork. What exactly did that bastard try? Not that I can really blame him. Skye and I knew he was trying to steal her heart.

Following the advice not to push her to remember being our girlfriend after she lost her memories may be one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. That, and seeing her flinch away from the both of us. Okay, to be honest, dying and being qi whipped rank up there too.

Vanrey clears his throat. “I don’t know if I mentioned it, but Ava was very . . . affectionate with the dragon upon our return.”

Suppressing a smile, I dig into my food. So, her memory truly has returned. I need to hurry—assuming I survive my confession. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms again, and to have her sandwiched between Skye and me.

“Request an audience with His Majesty. I want to go home.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Chapter Seventeen

Erritt

My resolve sticks with me until I stand outside the emperor’s chambers for the second time in half a day, rubbing my clammy hands on my trousers as his aide announces me. Father sits at his desk, flicking through papers, no doubt dealing with reports of last night’s attacks.

I walk to the middle of the room with Vanrey close behind, but before I can kneel, the emperor commands us to be at ease. “The Davinas left another calling card, this time on the outer walls.” He falls quiet, still reading.

“Were there any . . . fatalities?” I ask.

“Yes, twenty-one deaths and sixty-nine injuries, half of those from the panic that followed.” He glances up. “Greater casualties were avoided by the quick-thinking of your bodyguard. Vanrey foiled a second bombing attempt, for which he will be commended.” He nods to Vanrey then sets his reports aside. “But, you wanted to see me and I assume it wasn’t about the bombing?”

“Yes, Your M-Majesty.”

A faint line shows between his eyes as I sink to my knees.

“I have come t-to submit myself for . . . judgment.” I slowly bow my head to the floor, my aching body protesting the movements. It’s much harder to do today with my body in chaos. I may not be able to get up again.

“Raise your head. What is your crime?” he asks, voice mild as always.

I look up but remain on my knees. Folding my hands together in my lap, I will myself not to tremble. This man will decide my fate. “Yester . . . day evening, I struck . . . the crown prince.”

He studies my face. “Were there any witnesses?”

A prickle of fear crawls through me, remembering the past time he killed a witness. “No, Your M-Majesty.”

His breath puffs out in an audible exhale. “Then it is just a matter of brothers rather than state. Don’t let it happen in public.”

Shock courses through me, and I stare blankly at my father. I can just see the tip of his finger tracing lines on the desk and I think he’s already glancing back at his reports as if my news doesn’t bother him in the slightest. Does he really favor me? I expected to have to give an apology at the least and be beaten and grounded at the worst.

He cocks his head. “Was that all?”

“Ah. No. Do . . . I have your p-permission to return to . . . the academy?”

His gaze snaps back to me. “You’re in a hurry to leave us?”

There’re no good answers to his question, so I remain silent.