Page 73 of Tears of Gold

My heart does a weird double-beat, but knowing he’s chasing a reaction, I ignore his flirting and concentrate on the hike.

We follow the path downhill through the small village outside the school. A woman at the last house takes one look at Erritt and drops to the ground in full obeisance.

“Oh!” Ava exclaims. “This lady gave me water on my first day.”

Erritt reaches down and lifts the lady to her feet, offering her his faint royal smile and pressing something into her hand as he points at Ava and they converse quietly. As she bows repeatedly, I remember when the guards came to escort him to the palace, and even dressed casually, he looked every inch a commanding royal prince. Today he’s dressed to blend in, but his golden hair, the glittering charm circling his ear, and perfect posture still give him away.

He’s such a complicated guy.

I walk ahead, letting the warm summer breeze wash my face. We’ll enter the forest and have partial shade in another minute, so I’ll soak in the UV while I can. The ground rumbles under my feet in a faint tremor. I’ve just about gotten used to earthquake season. It seems an odd thing to be seasonal, but then we are on a different planet, maybe even a different dimension—who knows for sure.

I twitch, finding Ava walking next to me. “Hey,” I say.

“Hi,” she responds with a smile.

My heart flip-flops, and I look away.

“Last time we talked didn’t go how I wanted,” she murmurs.

I wince. “Yeah, me too.”

“Truce?”

I snort, thinking of me and Skye, and now Erritt. “Truces all around.” I glance into her hopeful eyes and soften. “Sure. It’s nice to be away from the school, right?”

“Yeah, I think we’re all more relaxed.”

“Thank God for that,” I mutter, and she laughs.

∞∞∞

By the time we get to the gates, it’s midday, and the trek under full sun has reduced us to hot, sweaty messes. Once through, we agree to teleport to Skye’s shack. Skye gives directions, and Vanrey takes us all in one go, which is impressive, even by elemental standards.

We land near a tree line looking at a small cabin in an overgrown glade, Erritt turning pale and me regretting eating breakfast as my stomach protests the teleportation. Running water gurgles nearby, and birdsong ripples through the trees, distracting me enough to hold down my nausea. I take a deep breath of fresh water, damp soil and green life, and my stomach settles miraculously.

Suddenly, it hits me that this is Skye’s smell.

“Ah, damn it! It seems we have squatters. Wait here,” Skye instructs, growling under his breath. He strips his clothes off and transforms, and Ava picks up his things, neither of them caring he’s stark naked in the forest.

Sauntering ahead, he kicks in the front door. I twitch as a feral dragon roar blasts through the air, and a dozen colored streaks tumble from the house through doors and windows, running in all directions. A black squirrel with a bushy tail leaps for the closest tree while three green-skinned creatures with pointy noses and oversized ears stop at the edge of the clearing to chatter what has to be expletives in shrill bird-like voices. At only a foot high, they’re much smaller version of the ones who chased us at the capital.

Skye appears from the house to roar again, and they flee into the trees.

“Shitty micro goblins made a mess.” The dragon wrinkles his nose. “We’ll have to clean up a bit, sorry.” He breathes mist all over the walls and roof. “Doesn’t matter how much I mark the darn thing, there’s always squatters.”

I tilt my head, watching the qi-enhanced mist that pours out with his breath to stick to the walls. “And here I thought animals marked territory by pissing on things,” I mutter.

Skye twitches toward me and flashes his wild animal smile. “Shall I try pissing on things?” He cocks a leg, and we all cry out in horror. His throaty laugh carries on the breeze.

Laughing, Ava catches my eye.

I shake my head. “Savages, Ava. Total savages.”

She covers her laugh with one hand, hazel eyes sparkling above her fingers, and my heart swells. I would have missed her like my own legs if I’d made it off the planet.

Vanrey checks inside, and we follow him in, leaving Skye outside to retake human shape.

The open-plan space seems bigger inside than outside, which makes sense considering it needs to accommodate a dragon. Leaf litter and dust cover every surface, along with the stuffing on the couch which tumbles out of a tear in the fabric—I’m guessing the goblins had something to do with that.