Page 115 of Tears of Gold

∞∞∞

We cross the empty green between the wings; the academy an eerily quiet ghost town. Or maybe that’s just my nerves talking. Since our break got cut short, we're back on campus before classes resume and it seems no other students are here. Skye hesitates at the junction where the path goes separate ways to the dorms.

He clears his throat. “Harps, can you take Ava inside?”

“Yeah. Go on.”

I look between the two of them, watching as Skye rests his hand on Harper’s shoulder. After a week spent together, they’re closer than ever. Skye hands my pack to Harper and shoves his hands deep in his pockets, an action I'm more used to seeing from my rogue than the cheery dragon.

“See ya, Ava.” Skye turns and heads toward the boys’ dorms. I gaze after him, trying to decide if I should run after him for a goodbye kiss and to cheer him up. My guys are feeling the blues, and I don't know how to help any of them. A hollow ache resonates through my chest, and my throat closes up.

Skye swings around and stalks back to me, cupping my face between his hands as he leans in for a kiss before pressing his forehead to mine for a moment.

“I’ll see you soon,” he promises before stalking away.

“He'll be alright in a bit,” Harper says as we watch him leave. Harper drapes his arms over my shoulder and turns toward the girls’ dorm. “He just needs some time to think.”

I purse my lips and follow. My legs feel heavy, as does my stomach. “Is it because of the other dragon?”

“Yeah, I think so, and also because of the fight. I don’t think he’s killed anyone before.”

I knead my palm into my chest, trying to massage away the pain that has nothing to do with my faulty heart.

“What about you?”

He shrugs. “It’s not pleasant, but—” He eyes me and sighs. “It’s not my first time.”

I expected that answer, but it’s still a grim reality.

“When the guys kissed me, they learned that about me,” Harper muses, holding the dorm door open for me. “I guess I didn’t want to tell you, but there it is. I’m a criminal, Ava. You may have forgiven me for kidnapping you, but the other stuff, that’s not going away.” He shrugs, the grief in his face tugging at my soul.

I turn to face him on the steps, pressing my palm against chest to halt him. Pain flickers in his chocolate eyes as he gazes at me, waiting for condemnation.

“What I know for sure is they wanted to take me away.” I point outside, vaguely indicating the Davinas. “And the three of you said ‘over our dead bodies,’ and I’m not okay with it being your bodies instead of theirs.” Tears prickle up the back of my nose.

He presses his forehead to my chest, and I grip his curls to hold him there. I never like defining a person by that—what they’ve done, what they are, what others say about them.

“Once I said I didn’t know if you were a good man to me. But I know now, Harper.” I tilt his face up so I can look into his eyes. “Regardless of your past, you’re my good man.”

He squeezes me tight as I drop a kiss on his forehead.

When we reach my door, I fish keys out of the bag while Harper holds it. My heart constricts as I walk into the stuffy room, reality washing over me as Harper drops my bag on the desk. The only spot of cheer in the room comes from my gorgeous new terrarium, which glows steadily on the desk. I quickly drizzle a little water into the bottom, resting my hands on the glass briefly. My dorm room is familiar, but I think I felt more at home in Skye’s cabin during the week I was there.

I swallow around a lump in my throat. We’ll all go our separate ways, and as the next academy semester resumes, we'll be relegated to stealing conversations and touches in secret.

“What happens now?” I mutter, opening the window, my voice as strangled as my heart feels.

Harper comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “We'll get through it. Erritt and Vanrey will find a way to stop all this.”

I was talking about the piece of heaven the four of us had tasted before the Davinas interrupted, but I don’t feel like correcting him.

“Well, I’d like to wash this blood off,” he says as he kisses my head.

Tears spill down my cheeks, and I pull away to hide them. “Seeya,” I mutter, flopping onto the bed and unzipping my backpack. Instead of leaving, Harper crouches down beside my knees.

“Ava,” he calls gently.

I keep my face turned away. He reaches up and tucks my hair behind my ear. I sniff back the moisture in my nose when I can’t hold it in any longer.