Page 26 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

She tossed and turned, perhaps falling asleep for a few minutes in between, but not for long. At some point, Kilian's hand rested on her shoulder.

"I have to go."

She sat up abruptly, instantly wide awake. The reddish glow of the dragon egg illuminated the room sufficiently for her to make out his angular facial features. "Where?"

"To morning roll call. If I don't show up, they'll come looking for me, and that's something we all want to avoid at all costs."

He was right about that. Still, she was surprised that he was leaving her alone. Perhaps he distrusted the people less than she had assumed. "Do your friends know where you are?"

"They think I'm in the old dragon cave."

Right, no one could have foreseen that they would have been ambushed.

"I'll come back as soon as I can, but probably not until tomorrow night. Keep your eyes open, stay alert, and remember how delicate the situation will get if they believe you're one of them."

There was no way she would forget, even if someone tried to make her.

She was used to having her freedom and for years she'd been on her own, with Helen having been the only person she'd needed to coordinate with.

One thing worried her. "Do you think they'll just let you back into the city tomorrow night? They're quite suspicious of you."

"If they don't, I'll fly my dragon straight to this valley. After all, I now know where they're hiding. They won't want that, so they'll prefer to let me in through the door."

Smiling, she rubbed her forearms, searching for words to say goodbye. A simple "bye" felt wrong somehow. "See you... later?" That wasn't really any better.

His gaze flitted to her lips, but that could have been coincidence. "Take care of yourselves."

When she nodded, he turned away and left the room. She didn't hear him open and close the door. Lilly turned to her side and almost placed her hand on the dragon egg. But she paused just before, tucked her hand under her head, and snuggled into her pillow.

Strange.

The flood of questions immediately came back to life, making sleep unthinkable. She lovingly stroked the scales of the egg.

"I'm going to get something to drink. Is it okay if I leave you with Lilly in bed? She's sleeping right next to you."

"I know, I can see her."

Right, she had forgotten that. The hatchling could see through her eyes. Did that mean it had also witnessed the dragon fighter's intense looks?

"Feel free to leave me with Lilly, she's kind and warm. But if you go away, please take me in your bag. Because I haven't hatched yet, we can't talk to each other once we're too far apart. I couldn't bear to be separated from you."

Smiling, she ran her hand over the scales. Once again, she wondered what the dragon would look like when it hatched. "Don't worry, somehow I can't bear it either. Sweet dreams."

A humming sound emerged, as if the hatchling was sliding into deep sleep with a kind of whistle.

She placed a pillow next to it so Lilly wouldn't accidentally push it off the bed—although her instinct told her that would never happen.

She considered getting her sweater from the bag and putting it on, but the cool air felt good, so she went outside in her tank top.

Barefoot, she padded through the darkness, drawn by the scent of freshly brewed coffee. As she let herself be guided by the smell, she ended up in the kitchen where Marcus was pouring coffee. With a broad grin, he turned to her.

"How lovely, you're an early riser too." He gestured to the cups stacked in a finely carved wooden shelf.

With the many burning candles and string lights decorating the walls, she could see each one clearly.

Each had a different color and pattern, some painted with dragons, others with trees or herbs. "Which one would you like?"

It didn't really matter, but the color of one cup reminded her of the purple hue of the dragon egg, so she reached for it. "This one's pretty."

"Good choice. That means you have a good heart and an honorable character."

"You're judging my character based on my cup choice?"

"Of course."

"If that's the case, you should also offer less colorful cups. After all, these all look bright and friendly. How are you supposed to spot a grouch?"

"You can tell who those are because they sneak out of the house before their first coffee." Winking, he stepped towards her, poured her a cup, and offered her milk, but Ava politely declined.

"At the risk of you thinking I'm evil, I prefer my coffee black."

"Even that can't distract from the enchanting radiance that surrounds you." He winked at her.

"I didn't come here to flirt."

"No? Then perhaps to watch the sunrise with me? It's about to happen any moment."

She looked back towards her room, to where the dragon egg was and where Lilly was sleeping. "Do we have to go far for that?"

"Just to the roof."

When she raised her eyebrows questioningly, he grabbed her free hand and pulled her out the door. "Trust me!"

Taken aback, she let herself be led along.

Outside, he pointed to an inconspicuous staircase made of natural stones, only recognizable as such upon closer inspection. "After you, o—"

"If you call me 'fair Dragon Guardian again, I'm going back inside."

He grinned. "You're not big on honorific titles, are you?"

Shaking her head, she shrugged. "I don't see how it makes me a different person."

"That's true. Then I'll just call you..."

"How about Ava?"

"If that's your wish, gladly. Come on, Ava, let's not miss the sunrise.

" Exuberantly, he grabbed her hand again and pulled her up the steps.

She was still barefoot, but the ground was soft and the stones smooth.

As they reached the top of the earth house, the opposite mountain peak was already surrounded by a bright glow.

The sky was bathed in shades of blue and yellow, mixed with a luminous orange.

Marcus stepped right next to her. Only now did she realize that he hadn't let go of her hand. She freed herself from him and held the cup with both hands. Taking a sip of coffee, she looked towards the horizon.

"Three, two, one..." he whispered.

As if on cue, the first flaming red spot appeared, slowly growing larger.

They stood side by side in silence, drinking their morning coffee, and Ava enjoyed the stillness, the calm, the feeling of finally not having to run frantically.

But she hadn't forgotten Kilian's words, which was why she directed her attention not only to the sun and the spectacle but also to Marcus and the surroundings.

The city seemed to still be asleep, as not a soul was in sight.

In the light of the morning sun, she discovered numerous other hills that were home to other families.

Between them grew tall trees that were integrated into the architecture.

Under the tree canopies, there were benches, fountains, goat pens, and raised beds.

Beneath a particularly large chestnut tree, there were several stands set up, probably the marketplace.

Although "trading place" was probably more accurate, as surely no foreign merchants came to the city.

Everything was made of wood and earth, all the structures intertwined with nature as if they had grown rather than been built by human hands. Vines wound around columns, tree canopies arched over gathering places, and shrubs and grasses covered the earth houses.

"Do you provide for yourselves completely?"

"Of course, always have. What we lack, we buy at the market in Talus."

"With what money?" If the people were considered forgotten, she couldn't imagine that some of them worked outside the valley on a regular basis.

"We don't have money, but we have valuable items to trade. From the nearby mine where we extract gemstones, for example."

If they were worth as much as in her world, then the Old Folk must not have had any money problems.

"Why do you live in hiding?"

Marcus examined her, unexpectedly tense. "What did the dragon fighter tell you about us?"

"That the dragon guardians came from your people back then."

"Interesting. I wouldn't have thought he'd point it out to you so directly."

She frowned questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, that you belong to us. I would have expected him to warn you about us."

"Wait, just because former guardians came from your people doesn't mean I have to, as well. Remember? I come from another world. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the woman from the prophecy."

He laughed carelessly, which made her look at him in confusion. "What?"

"Just because you lived in the other world doesn't mean you were born there. Your parents or at least your grandparents must be descended from us. There's no doubt about that. What are their names?"

Red flag, red flag. But Ava didn't want to reveal her sore spot to him. So she took a breath and spoke with a deliberate calm that belied her racing pulse.

"I don't know them. I grew up with a perfectly normal, kind-hearted woman. No magic, no dragon guardian parents, no extraordinary destiny."

"Then someone must have brought you to her. Have you been with her since you were little?"

Kilian's warning shot through her mind, so she nodded. The fewer details she revealed, the less likely these people would make any claims of ownership.

"Still, you must be descended from us. If it wasn't your parents or grandparents, then it must have been your great-grandparents. All dragon guardians come from our people. We are the ones who communicate with the dragons, who give them security and dedicate our lives to them."

"Does that mean there are other dragon guardians in this city? Because I have a few questions."

"No, unfortunately not." He sighed heavily. "They were all killed in the magic wars."

Ava's face fell. "All of them?" She had heard that there were no more guardians, but not how they had died.

Marcus nodded gravely. "The evil sorcerer who betrayed the dragons knew about their important role. That's why he tracked each one down and had them killed."

A shiver ran up Ava's arms.

Marcus stroked her arm. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Although he was friendly, she moved away from him and squared her shoulders. He shouldn't think she scared easily.

"You didn't. However, I must admit that I'm glad this evil sorcerer is no longer alive. What was his name?"

Marcus took a deep breath, as if he needed to brace himself to utter the name. "Thalgor, the Dark." He shuddered. "Don't think I'm soft, but if you knew about all the atrocities he committed, you would understand me."

"He's supposed to have betrayed the dragons, right? How did he manage that?"

"Many people still wonder about that today. The fact is, he was a simple sorcerer. Although the word 'simple' doesn't really fit, because he was a prince."

Surprised, Ava lowered the cup from which she had been about to drink. "He would have become king?"

Marcus shook his head. "He was the second-born. His brother became king, and in his eyes, that wasn't the only humiliation he had to endure. He was ambitious and unscrupulous and couldn't accept standing behind his brother. That was why he had this burning desire to become a dragon mage."

"Because the dragon mages stood above the king." Ava had already heard that from Lilly.

"In a way. The king was the supreme head of our world, but the dragon mages had great influence. Not only on him but also on the people and the dragons, which is why they were never ignored in decisions. The power structure wasn't as absolute as it is today."

"But no dragon chose him, right?"

He nodded. "That was another humiliation he couldn't tolerate. How he ultimately managed to deceive the dragons, nobody knows, and that's a good thing. In the wrong hands, this knowledge would only cause unnecessary mischief. But it must have been the darkest magic you can imagine."

"And with this magic, he also destroyed the guardians."

He nodded. "That's why your return is a miracle. The first egg, the first guardian after such a long time." He took the coffee cup from her hand, set it on the ground, and grasped her hands.

"Wait, I was still going to drink that."

"You can have it in a moment." He looked at her solemnly, with a look of admiration in his eyes that went beyond her role as a dragon guardian. "I'm glad you've come home."

All her alarm bells went off, causing her to pull away from him and bend down for her lifeline— the coffee cup. "Thank you for your kind words and hospitality, but I don't think I'm from this world. Either way, I want to check on Lilly and the egg."

"Of course. I hope I haven't kept you apart for too long. I'll get a hearty breakfast ready in the meantime."

Although she cautioned herself to be wary—both of his admiring glances and his conviction that she belonged to his people—she had to admit that the prospect of a big meal sounded extremely tempting.