Page 14 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

The contact Lilly had in mind was someone who worked in a mansion on the outskirts of town. The canal system spread throughout the entire city, and eventually Lilly took a stone staircase that led to a cellar. Ava breathed a sigh of relief when they finally left the sewage tunnels behind.

They passed through a cluttered cellar room to reach a courtyard that was already sinking into darkness.

However, the pale shimmer of the stars illuminated chicken coops, arbors, and a simple, unadorned house.

Behind it could be seen the outlines of a magnificent estate, with lights burning in some windows.

The curtains were drawn, so it wasn't possible to look inside nor appreciate the residence in its entirety.

They crept across the yard to the servants' house, and Lilly knocked twice briskly, silently counted to three, and knocked twice again, this time a little softer. Surely an old cook would open the door, embrace Lilly, and beg her to finally move in with her.

But when the wooden door was silently pushed open, Ava was quite surprised.

It was a girl, thirteen years old at most, who opened the door.

She had braided her dark blonde hair into a long plait and wore a rust-colored linen dress with an apron over it.

In her hand, she held a lamp and shone it in their faces.

"Lilly, what are you doing here so late? You know you should come in the morning hours."

"I know, but we had no choice. We need inconspicuous clothes for Ava, and a bite to eat wouldn't be bad either." With these words, Lilly tilted her head, pushed out her lower lip, and widened her round eyes. With that look, she might even have been able to soften the king's soldiers.

The older girl exhaled audibly and hesitated, but then waved them into the house. "Be quiet. Johann is keeping an especially close eye on me at the moment because he's noticed that the masters have been praising my breakfast. You know he's in cahoots with the grumpy cook."

Ava gave Lilly a questioning look, but she just nodded understandingly.

They crept up a narrow wooden staircase to the second floor and entered a cramped room that was swept clean and tidy. Next to a simple bed stood a small wooden chest that seemed to hold all of the maid's belongings, as nothing else of hers was to be found anywhere.

She estimated Ava's measurements with her eyes. "I know what I can bring you. And if you're lucky, there's still some of the braided butter bread left that I baked for breakfast and that will be too dry for the masters tomorrow."

"Sounds delicious." Lilly sat down on the simple bed and swung her legs. Ava thanked her and, for lack of an alternative, sat down next to her. The maid took the lantern with her, leaving them in the diffuse light of the stars.

As soon as the maid had left the chamber, Ava leaned forward, her voice hushed. "How do you know her?"

Making herself right at home, Lilly lay on her side and propped her head in her hand. "Lena and I met at the market in town. I had just... borrowed an apple and got caught. She claimed I belonged to her and paid for it. Today that wouldn't happen to me. I've become much more skilled."

Ava shook her head wordlessly. What should she say to that? That Lilly should rather starve than steal? The little one lacked an Aunt Helen. She looked at the thin girl pensively.

"Tell me, wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to... 'borrow' apples anymore?" She made air quotes with her fingers.

"What do you mean?"

"You could come with me once we've brought the egg to safety."

Lilly looked at her thoughtfully, a skeptical furrow forming above her left eye. "You don't even know me. Who's to say I won't come along to rob you and run off in the middle of the night?"

Ava smiled. "I recognize a good soul when I see one standing in front of me."

Lilly quickly lowered her head and scraped the tips of her shoes across the wooden floor until she remembered that they'd better not make any noise. "I don't want..." She hesitated, but before she could finish, footsteps sounded in the hallway.

They instantly froze, exchanged a quick glance, and remained motionless on the bed.

The footsteps moved through the hallway and stopped in front of the bedroom door. A glimmer of light fell through the door crack. Ava held her breath and grabbed Lilly's hand.

"Johann, what are you doing in front of my room?" Lena came back with firm steps. The sternness in her voice was impressive.

"I thought I heard something. You don't happen to have a gentleman caller, do you?" His condescending tone immediately made Johann come across as unsympathetic.

Lena snorted. "I'm definitely too young for that. Besides, I know it's forbidden."

"Then who did you get the food for?"

"I was so busy with work that I didn't get to have dinner.

And now excuse me. It's late, and I have to be up before sunrise tomorrow.

" She opened the door, and Ava and Lilly pulled up their legs and leaned against the wall so that the light wouldn't reach their limbs.

But the advantage of all that hard work was that Lena was exceptionally slim.

She slipped through a gap into the room and quickly pulled the door shut behind her.

She put her finger to her lips, signaling them to remain quiet.

Noisily, she set the plate with the butter bread in front of the bed and slipped out of her wooden shoes.

Then she sat down next to Lilly, and they tensely waited for Johann's footsteps.

It took a moment, but finally he left, and with him, the glow of the lantern disappeared under the door.

Ava exhaled silently, while Lilly grabbed the butter bread and started eating. With her mouth full, she broke off a piece and held it out to Ava. "Want some?"

"You eat. Lena, thank you for your help. Did you find something to wear?"

The maid pulled out a bundle from under her apron. As she unfolded it, a simple blue garment that reached past the hips, a dark corset-like vest, and dark, tight-fitting pants were revealed. "It's not particularly fancy, but at least you won't stand out in it."

Ava had no objections. The fabric was light, and she could move better in it than in the wide, flowing dress.

Even though she would have preferred to wear her jeans and leather jacket, she quickly changed clothes and left the ball gown to Lena.

The hem was dirty, but she could wash it, alter it, and maybe wear it someday to dance at a festival.

A quarter of an hour later, when they left the servants' quarters, Lilly still wasn't full but she was content, and Ava was inconspicuously dressed.

The pants were a few inches too long, but Lena had rolled them up three times at her ankles and fixed the fabric with skilled fingers and targeted stitches so that Ava wouldn't trip.

"Thank you, Lena."

The maid waved it off. "Don't run straight across the yard, Johann might be looking out the window."

After saying goodbye to the young maid, they crept along the chicken coops back to the shed that led to the sewers. Luckily, the chickens were asleep and didn't spare them any tired glances, allowing them to leave the property unnoticed and once again plunge into the labyrinthine tunnels.

The new clothes made a huge difference in terms of walking.

Ava could walk along the side of the sewer tunnels so that she didn't even touch the wastewater with her boots, and she wasn't panting anymore because she didn't have to constantly hold up heavy and wet masses of fabric.

Moreover, she had gotten used to marching in the darkness.

Her senses were so sharpened that her steps were now sure.

"Is it still far to the grotto? I don't have a watch on, but I've got the sense it should be almost eleven o'clock."

"We need to hurry, then we'll make it. We..." Lilly stopped and Ava almost ran into her, but her outstretched hand warned her in time. Otherwise, she probably would have bowled the little one over.

"What is it?"

"There's someone here."

Tense, Ava listened into the darkness. She heard nothing, but she could rely on Lilly's instinct.

So she listened more closely, leaned forward a bit, and concentrated on her surroundings.

Just as she was about to straighten up and tell Lilly that she didn't hear anything, she heard a soft scraping, as if someone were dragging something across the floor.

Lilly pressed her hand tightly around Ava's. It was the first time she had shown fear. Automatically, Ava fell into the role of protector and pulled her close. Putting an arm around her, she listened vigilantly.

"The sound is moving away."

The little one broke away from her and released her held breath. "We need to be careful. We're not the only ones down here tonight." Although she was trying to speak calmly, her tension was clearly audible.

"I'm right behind you."

Lilly said nothing but kept her hand in Ava's.

Keeping close together and listening for every sound, they crept through the gloom.

After a while, Lilly stopped again. This time Ava didn't almost run into her.

Even though Lilly had experience in survival, she was still a child, which was why Ava no longer followed her blindly.

"What is it? I don't hear anything."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "We're at the exit now. But I forgot to tell you that the owner, whose cellar we're climbing up through, has dogs."

Ava perked up. "Guard dogs?" Her voice sounded thin.

"Of course. After all, we're outside the city now."

Heavens above. In her imagination, they would have simply crawled out of a hole in the ground hidden behind a bush or a boulder and been safe.

But they had no choice. They had to arrive at the old grotto on time, or else they would miss Kilian and with him their chance to get his help in bringing the dragon egg to a safe place.