Page 112 of Tears of Gold

He stands silent for a long moment. “I’m not injured. I’ll always come when you need me.”

I squeeze his palm. A moment later, I feel something soothing against my qi. Spiritual first aid. I sigh as the pain recedes a fraction.

“I’ll take you straight home.”

“No. Just l-let me rest for a . . . moment, then let’s see this through. I o-owe those men a lot . . . right now. By the way, the dragon . . . ?”

“You’re as stubborn as a sea cow.”

I snort. “They must be w-wonderful creatures then. The . . . dragon?”

“We wounded it, but the coward fled. A sub-unit are tracking it.”

I roll my tongue around my parched mouth, realizing how thirsty I am. Vanrey notices and fetches me a cup from the kitchen. There are no good options in this situation.

“Order them not to take the dragon down. Track it to a base, if they can, and return.”

Vanrey makes a small noise in the back of his throat, but I can’t tell his intention. “It will only come back to fight you another day.”

“Then we will face it on that day.”

Glancing up, I find him studying me thoughtfully, his bright green eyes shuttered.

“What?”

“You are merciful, my lord.”

“Is that . . . a bad th-thing?”

He shakes his head. “No. It’s one of the reasons why I serve you.” He refills my cup. “You did quite a lot of work out there.”

“I tried out my m-mirage. Quite a lot to . . . process in a real situation . . . Actually, I think this was m-my first battle.”

Glancing at Vanrey, I see a sad look cross his face. It mirrors the grief I feel inside.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ava

We step out of the cold portal stream onto the hill overlooking the De Tuan valley; Skye and Harper both breathing hard from the exertion and my dragon leaving wet footprints on the stone slab as white mist leaks from his skin.

A lone hawk flies across a midday sun of a different timezone, which shines brightly without caring that dozens of Exerin-Mi citizens just threw away their lives. The bird of prey screeches once but otherwise the valley is quiet, free from the pounding of qi attacks on the cabin barrier and the battlecries of enemies.

I take a deep breath and press the heel of my hand into my chest, my strained organs throbbing with adrenaline. My limbs feel heavy as if it was me who fought my way through the Davinas instead of hiding under the bed.

So much has happened on this hilltop, that I’m not sure if I’m relieved or apprehensive, but the main thing is we’re leaving the battle behind.

“Ready to teleport again?” Vanrey asks.

I trade looks with Harper and Skye and I think we’re all contemplating how Erritt’s still back there. And maybe about how our vacation got cut short and how everything will change again once we return to the academy.

“We’ll walk,” Skye says. “You get back to Erritt.”

The tall elemental purses his lips and nods. Then he tilts his head and offers me a hand. “Are you in pain, Miss Ava? May I examine you?”

His green eyes watch me so intently, I put my hand in his before I’ve even thought about it. “Oh, I’m fine, I mean, what I’m feeling is normal for my condition.”

His thumb presses against the back of my hand for a long moment and I feel a bit ticklish in my chest, the stress of the day catching up to me.