Page 88 of Tears of Gold

I puff out a nervous breath of air and clench my fists. Leaning in, I press my lips to Skye’s. Fighting the instinct to avoid plunging to my death, I hold myself rigid as I plummet.

After a moment, I realize I’ve stopped without impact. It’s dark, and at first, everything’s just a haze. Whisps of mist circle around me, and as my vision adjusts I notice the strands contain things: flashes of memory, colors of emotion.

Overwhelmed, I squeeze my lids shut. I know I’m not experiencing this in my physical body, but the action seems to help. A scraping sound nearby sends a thrill up my spine. Slowly, I open my eyes and freeze in place as a huge claw sweeps away the mists.

Then it reaches for me.

It takes every drop of willpower my entire family tree has ever possessed to not run screaming. Smoky talons that are cloud and steel at the same time wrap around me and pull me deeper into the shadows. I consider myself a brave man, but the absolute fear stripping the energy from my muscles shocks me.

I shiver uncontrollably. Was this whole invitation into Skye, Ava and Erritt’s relationship just a ruse to lure me here to my death? The gigantic owner of this claw is about to devour my essence. Harper the rogue will be no more.

Skye’s cheery grin flashes to mind, and I grit my teeth, forcing back the paralysis. I won’t let fear dictate my choices.

This is part of Skye, and I will accept it. Despite his rough methods, he’s my friend, teacher, and now even my lover. I take a deep breath and reach out a hand, brushing against scales. The shadows compress into the sinuous coils of a dragon body, and through our touch, I feel it pulse with a silent laugh.

Somehow I know it heard my resolve and approves.

Gleams of light catch on sharp teeth as a mouth opens. It wickedly licks the longer incisors, which are easily as long as I am tall, as something like a purr vibrates from its throat.

Teeth and purring at the same time. This is definitely a Skye-being.

“So, ah, congratulations on waking up.” I wasn’t sure my voice would work but it does. It’s barely a whisper, but the shadowed head nods.

The purring deepens. “Now it’s your turn.”

Skye screeches and jerks, jolting me back to my body. He spills me onto the ground and braces against the grass, panting. “Sorry! That was just too weird.” He holds his head as if it aches.

I pat his shoulder. “You and me both, buddy.” Lying back in the damp grass, I let the cold seep into my flushed skin and listen to the liquid chatter of the creek. “What do you reckon it—he—meant?”

“He’s referring to your non-human self.”

I grunt. “Okay, first, why are we referring to it in the third person when it’s definitely you . . . and second, what?”

Skye snorts. “No idea. It’s me but still seems separate to me, I guess. Erritt said it feels like the future me.”

“Hmm.” I roll out my tense shoulders and nod. “That kind of makes sense. Grandpa Skye—twice as big, twice as wicked.”

He chuckles.

“So, the non-human me?”

“Yeah. Do you know what it is? I don’t recognize your essence.”

I brush my curls out of my eyes and stare up at the unfamiliar stars. “Nah. I was born on Fadoza. Mom passed when I was about six so I don’t remember her much. She looked human. I thought she was half, making me a quarter blood, but Pa never liked to talk about her, and since we lived on Earth, I didn’t think about the species part much. I remember some street kids on Fadoza that used to try and hassle me. Called me some nickname—can’t remember what it was now. Shit, I’ve even forgotten how to speak Fadozian now.”

Skye hums to himself before answering. “Well, at least you aren’t a salty. I know that for sure. You smell more like the desert. And pink qi is in the fire-color range.”

“Qi color is based on element affinity?” I reach for my wrist to play with my tracking bracelet and realize it’s gone. My arm feels strangely empty without it, or maybe, more accurately, without the cold spot of Erritt’s qi on the metal. I guess I got used to the sensation.

“Yeah, mostly.”

“I thought only elementals tapped into the elements?”

Skye shakes his head. “All beings have an orientation. Even without qi, our personalities are hot, cold, earthy, or airy.”

I grunt, absorbing this new knowledge as I summon a tiny pink ball of qi. The glow illuminates my fingers and not much else except for a silver glimmer in the grass nearby.

Skye elbows my ribs. “Don’t worry about it. A few weeks close to Ava, you’ll probably grow wings.”