Page 11 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

A dragon fighter was apparently a good catch, even though they didn't belong to the nobility—at least judging by their clothing and demeanor. Ava would have to ask Lilly about this later.

She turned away from the platform demonstratively.

She wasn't one of those women who saw a great guy and forgot how to speak or breathe.

She wasn't looking for a man in her life.

But she did have to admit that at the moment, she wanted what most of the female guests in this hall were also dreaming of: to talk to Kilian.

But of course, she wanted it for a completely different reason!

With all this attention he was getting, how was she supposed to lure him into a corner unnoticed and show him the dragon egg? What was Lilly thinking, sending her to talk to a dragon fighter at a ball, of all places?

As she looked around for a solution to her problem, she noticed that many guests were staring at her. Did she have a stain on her dress? Had dirt landed on the hem? She smoothed her gown, but it was flawless. When she looked up, her gaze swept the gallery, and she froze on the spot.

Kilian was looking at her.

His dark eyes rested on her as if he knew she was hiding something from the king.

More and more pairs of eyes flitted to her, but she wasn't supposed to be attracting attention!

How long would it take for the king and his guards to notice her?

It wouldn't be five minutes before they discovered her bag and demanded to search it.

Although her nervousness increased with every breath, she remained composed and floated as nonchalantly as possible into the adjoining room. The main thing was not to be observed. This Kilian was surely looking at someone else by now.

When she reached the room, she slipped around the corner to be out of sight of the guests, leaned against the wall, and took a deep breath.

No one had followed her. She let out a breath of relief that could have rivaled that of a full-grown dragon and smoothed her dress to give her hands something to do.

First, she had to calm down, and then she would figure out what to do next.

Two women hurried out of a side room into the ballroom, giggling.

Word had probably spread about who had arrived.

Ava walked in the direction they had come from and reached a room furnished with sofas and a grand piano.

There were several small tables with appetizers and carafes, along with clean and used glasses.

Perfect. She could refresh herself here while recovering from the shock and quietly execute plan B. As if on cue, a servant entered, collected the dirty dishes, and bowed politely to her.

Before he left the room, Ava approached him.

"Excuse me, sir, would you be so kind as to inform Robert Kensington that I urgently wish to speak with him?"

The household employee bowed expertly. "Of course. Whom may I announce?"

"I'm Ava." When the servant raised his eyebrows questioningly, she waved it off. "Just Ava."

"Very well." He politely inclined his upper body and left the room.

She walked to a standing table and poured herself something from the carafe. Ice cubes and lime slices floated in a light-colored liquid. She took a sip and sighed. Lemonade. Delicious.

Should she sit on one of the sofas until this Rob came?

It would probably take a while anyway, since he was still with the other dragon fighters—no, she wasn't thinking about Kilian—and with the royal family.

She was definitely too excited for the snacks.

She couldn't get anything down. But she would pocket two or three pastries for Lilly.

Just as she was discreetly slipping some into her bag, she heard quick, firm footsteps entering the room. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with one of the dragon fighters. Had he noticed that she had pocketed the pastries?

He was tall, not quite as tall as Kilian, and well-built.

His brown eyes were narrowed skeptically, his nostrils flaring as he exhaled in annoyance.

He approached her with long strides, his eyebrows furrowed, his hands resting on the sword at his weapons belt in a less than subtle manner.

Heavens, she didn't want him as an enemy.

Since when were weapons allowed at balls?

"Who are you?" His voice sounded harsh and rough, not the least bit friendly. But she hadn't come to make friends. This was about something entirely different. As she remembered this, she found her courage again. She could do this. She was doing it for the dragon egg.

"My name is Ava, but that doesn't matter. I've found something of great importance that I absolutely must show Kilian. Can you arrange a meeting?" Since he'd spoken to her in an informal tone, she also refrained from falling into the stiff court sing-song.

He snorted. His expression changed from skeptical to annoyed as he was already turning away. "Stop with such games. Kilian has more important things to do than waste his time with a new admirer!"

He was about to storm out of the room before Ava had the chance to say another word. But suddenly, another man entered and blocked his path.

Ava's heart stopped.

It was Kilian.