Page 89 of Tears of Gold

“What are you talking about?” I rock upright and brighten my qi light.

“She’s our muse. Erritt figured out his mirage ability, and my inner beast woke once she turned up.”

The stars shine in full force in the cloudless night as I roll forward onto my knees. Somehow, I’m not surprised to hear Ava’s a muse. Afterall, I followed her all the way from Earth and now I’m in a relationship that includes two other guys just to be near her. She seems to be able to make impossible things happen.

I crawl forward, and the glint of reflected light on metal flashes again. Without blinking, I fix on the shine and move toward it. In the grass lies my discarded bracelet. Picking it up, I find the metal damp with dew and cold to touch. I slip it back on and twirl it between my fingers. My arm feels less bare.

A lot of things in my life feel less bare.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ava

Bird song filters through my consciousness, easing me awake. I’m warm and relaxed. Weights press against my waist and legs as I try to stretch. Opening my eyes, I find Erritt next to me. Deeply asleep, his face slackens, so much gentler than his usual poker stiffness. Skye spoons into his back.

Somebody snores softly across the back of my neck, and I twitch with surprise. Looking down, I find a brown arm across my ribs. My heart flutters as I realize it’s Harper’s. Yesterday, he really joined us.

Happiness bubbles up inside my chest as I stand there looking at them. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Carefully, I slide out from under the hands and legs over me. Harper opens one eye. I stroke his cheek, his stubble scratching across my fingertips, and then gently stroke over his eye to close it. He and Skye disappeared in the middle of the night and were gone awhile, so I know he hasn’t had enough sleep.

“So fucking beautiful,” he murmurs sleepily before rolling over, and I press a hand to my mouth to keep from laughing. Half-asleep Harper is a new experience.

I throw on a shirt and slip out the back door. The sun clears the trees as I make my way to the toilet a hundred yards away. The black squirrel with the bushy tail is back, and he chatters angrily at me for disturbing him as he dashes up the closest tree trunk. Given that the outhouse is a bit rustic, I feel a longing for modern plumbing. I bet it’s no big deal for a creature who can summon water at will. Still, I wouldn’t trade being here with the guys for anything. My guys. A silly grin grows across my mouth.

I hurry back to the cabin. I consider starting breakfast, but instead I’m drawn back to the bed where I stand and look at my three lovers. Harper’s long curls splay wildly across the pillow, long enough to brush his shoulders. He had a crew cut when we first met, but the top’s just about completely overgrown it now.

Skye’s hand rests on Erritt’s hip, and my heart swells. I love how comfortable they are with each other. All three are shirtless, and my eyes rove every line and dip in their fit bodies; Harper the most muscular, Erritt the tallest, Skye the shortest, deceptively hiding the greatest raw strength.

A flood of love for the three of them wells up in my chest and I want to make the most of these two precious weeks to show them how I feel. With it’s usually crappy timing, my menstruation will start in a week, and after that, we’ll be back at the academy having to sneak around again, but while we are here, I want things to be as normal as they can be. Between the Davina abduction, the threat of being bait for something out there, and losing my memories, we haven’t had much normal. Whatever that looks like for a foursome.

I tiptoe into the kitchen and get started on a breakfast of scrambled eggs and flatbread. At least we have these two weeks to figure it all out.

Skye’s up first and he pads across the floor to hug me from behind, breathing deep into my neck.

“Good morning, Skye.”

He nibbles on my shoulder. “Good morning, butterfly.”

“Any plans for today?”

He snags a roll, nimbly evading my swat with the spatula. “I was thinking about taking you all to a nearby mount to see the view. It’s not a full sized mountain or anything, but it’s beautiful. I’m just not sure about—”

Skye breaks off and I twitch with surprise as Erritt walks over and leans his elbows on the countertop. I never even heard him get up.

“Not sure a-about what?” he asks quietly, staring Skye down.

“Don’t give me that look,” Skye huffs.

Erritt’s brows rise. “If you were about to say because I’m here, you should reconsider. I h-have an injury, not a disability.”

I pause at the sink, letting the water run over the frying pan as I conside Erritt’s words. I know how he feels, being sidelined because people know you’re not ‘normal’ and they don’t know how to treat you. For so many years I’ve been ‘that girl who’s always in hospital’. Even my parents came to treat me that way, my mother worrying excessively and trying to find new treatments, not that I blame a mother for wanting to help her daughter.

Shutting the water off, I walk around the bench, sliding a plate with an egg roll on it in front of Erritt and wrapping my arms around him. He hugs me tight, resting his head on my shoulder for a few moments.

“Maybe Skye’s worried about the human in the mix not keeping up,” I say, winking at Skye across the bench.

Erritt scoffs, tightening his grip on me, and I run my hands through his short blonde hair and trace the silver earing snaking over most of his left ear. “Do you want to go hiking, Erritt?”