Page 28 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

Lilly's eyes widened. "What do we do now?"

Ava pulled her close and peered into the valley. Nothing was visible. Nature, along with its embedded structures, presented itself as an untouched idyll. "We'll look for another exit from the cave." She was about to start running, but Marcus held her back by the arm.

"There isn't one, believe me. You need to hide. I'll distract them so they don't find you." He pulled the bow from his shoulder and reached for an arrow. He handled it no less clumsily than Ava would have.

"I'm not going to stand in the corner and do nothing. Come on, Lilly."

The girl followed close behind her while Marcus hesitantly walked along before stopping and furrowing his brow. "I'll fend off anyone who comes in! You can count on me."

She counted on his loyalty, but not on his accuracy.

"If we find an exit, you won't have to." Ava took the egg out of her bag to light their way.

The back of the cave was pitch black. Without a light, the search for an emergency exit would have taken too long.

She rushed to the back with Lilly, but there was nothing there except impenetrable stone walls.

They searched every conceivable corner, rolled aside every loose stone, but found no passage anywhere.

Screams rang out, and the loud crash of a boulder mixed in. Shortly after, the earth trembled. Marcus turned pale, but kept the drawn bow aimed at the cave entrance, ready to fend off anyone who might try to get too close to them.

Meanwhile, Lilly and Ava didn't give up. They quickly felt along all the walls without finding anything. Marcus was right. There was no second exit.

They were trapped.

"We have to get out of here!" Ava wanted to run back into the valley when low voices echoed from the entrance.

She exchanged an alarmed look with Lilly and put a finger to her lips.

Silently, she pulled the girl with her into the shadows of the cave.

To the side was a small group of rocks they could hide behind.

At first glance, they wouldn't be seen there. It was their best chance.

Marcus wanted to stand ready to shoot in front of the entrance, but Ava waved him over.

"Come here, or they'll know right away that we're here." Although she only whispered, the echo of her voice reverberated off the cave walls.

He hesitated, biting his lip, but her reasoning seemed to sink in.

He hurried over to them and hid behind the rock masses, whereupon Ava slipped the egg into her bag and the cave plunged into absolute darkness.

At that very moment, two beams of light made their way inside and two men entered the rock cave.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the space.

Ava had never heard a more threatening sound.

Lilly trembled. Ava pulled her close as they listened tensely.

"They must be here somewhere," said one. His voice sounded unfamiliar.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, this is the old dragon cave."

How did he know about that?

"But they're not here, maybe we're too early."

"Or too late and they've already fled through the back exit."

"I don't see one. Are you sure there is one?"

"Of course, Henry told me."

Ava's eyes widened. There were traitors among the Old Folk?

Marcus froze. Ava felt for his hand, which was cramping around the bow. But she wasn't thinking about the traitor. Instead, she was clinging to the one piece of information that could help them: There was a back exit.

The men's footsteps passed their hiding place and moved to the rear part of the cave. Ava waited until they were barely audible before slowly standing up and watching the light from their lamps.

"Come back down," Marcus whispered.

"But we need to know where this exit is.

" The light beam disappeared. Standing on tiptoe, Ava ventured out from behind the rocks and crept in the direction their enemies had gone.

Ava couldn't hear them anymore; maybe they were already outside.

She waited for a moment, but no voice sounded, so she crept back to the others.

"They're really gone. There must be a secret exit up ahead! Come on, we can't waste any time."

Marcus held her back. "We need to go back to the city."

"No way!" Lilly shook her head vehemently, and Ava completely agreed with her.

"Who knows how many mages there are. We need to get out of this valley right now!"

He shook his head decisively. "They're surely waiting for us at the exit."

"Or they're searching the surrounding forest, and if they don't find our tracks within the next few minutes, this exit will be guarded by a strong troop and they'll storm the cave. Then we really won't have a way out anymore."

Lilly nodded. "We have to disappear now!"

"The plan isn't exactly foolproof."

"But it's the only one we have."

Marcus pressed his lips together and looked out of the cave entrance into the valley. Dust was swirling, and boulders had fallen, blocking the paths. The secret back exit was their best option.

"Alright, but I'll go first. If they shoot, I'll stand protectively in front of you, Dragon Guardian."

"We agreed that you'd call me Ava."

Lilly waved it off. "Just forget it, he'll never learn. Come on already."

They rushed one after another to the narrow passage, which Ava could have sworn hadn't been there a few minutes before when she and Lilly had searched the cave walls. It was just wide enough for them to pass through with their shoulders turned sideways.

Before they left the passage, muted daylight filtered into the corridor.

After two more steps, they reached the end.

Marcus peered cautiously around the corner.

When no battle cry sounded, he slipped out, waited until Ava and Lilly were also outside, and led them into the dense forest that reached right up to the rocks.

"Halt, who goes there?" someone shouted. Leaves rustled and heavy boot steps approached.

Immediately, they ducked their heads and ran into the underbrush. Their own footsteps were too loud to hear if anyone was following, so Ava held Lilly tight and crouched down, at which point Marcus also crept over to them and stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"We're too loud."

Marcus looked over his shoulder and they listened wordlessly. Deep male voices filtered through the forest.

"What happened?" someone asked.

"I thought someone came out of the cave."

"That was just Bill and Henry."

"But I heard footsteps. Someone ran into the woods."

"Must have been a deer. I sealed the entrance long ago. Anyone without magic can't get through, and you know how much the old folk despise those with magical abilities."

Ava, Marcus, and Lilly looked at each other with bated breath.

This explained why Ava hadn't found the exit.

But only Ava and Lilly also drew the final conclusion: They had only been able to escape because Lilly was also born with magic.

But Marcus mustn't know about that. Better to run on immediately, before he could ask himself that question.

Without a word, Ava pointed deeper into the forest and the other two nodded. They crept off quietly to avoid drawing attention to themselves. As long as the attackers were searching for them in the town, they had time to get to safety.

They stole through the forest as quickly as possible. No matter how far they got from the town, they kept their heads down and didn't speak a word. And so midday came, and Ava thanked the fates for blessing her with a proper breakfast that morning.

At some point, Marcus signaled them to wait. "I know a spring nearby. We should drink something."

Ava nodded. It had been a while since her tongue had started sticking to the roof of her mouth. "Then we can also think about where to go."

He pointed to her bag. "Is everything alright with the little one?"

"Yes, but it's sleeping a lot. It was more talkative at the beginning."

"Then it must be growing," Lilly whispered.

They set off and reached the spring after a few minutes. A strong jet of water hissed from a rocky outcrop into a spring pool, its banks lined with ferns.

Lilly got to go first, and she quenched her thirst by sticking her face directly into the stream and opening her mouth.

Meanwhile, Ava straightened up and arched her back.

They were far from the hidden valley, so they felt safe for the moment.

If she couldn't stretch now, when could she? Her back cracked.

Marcus remained tense. He kept looking over his shoulder and hesitating. He must have been terribly afraid for his friends.

"If you want to go back, I can understand. Lilly and I will manage on our own."

He shook his head, gripping the bow unyieldingly. "I won't leave you, but yes, I'm worried." He looked at her, no trace of the mischievous cheerfulness from before. Instead, his expression was serious, making him seem more mature. "Your protection is my top priority."

"Thank you." And she meant it sincerely.

Lilly jumped off the rock in front of the spring. "Next!" Where she got her energy from was a mystery to Ava. She remembered the egg that Thom had given the girl.

"Should I put the chicken egg in my bag with the dragon egg?"

The girl shook her head. "Already ate it."

Ava raised her eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

"Of course, that's what I always used to do. That's why it tasted twice as good." Her voice grew quieter, a clear sign that she was thinking of her parents. "We had chickens too."

"Where are your parents?" Marcus wanted to know.

"Dead." Lilly shot Ava a warning look, which she understood. Earlier, they had overheard the hooded figures mentioning that the old folk rejected magic. It was better that Marcus didn't find out what her parents had been capable of, so he wouldn't draw any conclusions.

While Ava stepped to the spring to refresh herself, Lilly turned to Marcus. "Did you know that someone from your people joined Elora?"

He shook his head sadly. "None of us knew that for sure. Henry Billmore. He was always causing trouble, so no one liked him. But as a guardian of the gate, he did a good job—at least that's what we always thought."

Lilly patted his hand. "Don't worry about it. Even the best have fallen for Elora's moles. She has her bloodhounds sniffing everywhere." She put her hands on her hips and looked around. "I don't know this area, but we could make our way to Talus. I know how to lay low in cities."

Shaking her head, Ava stepped back from the spring. "We'd be right under the king's forces' nose. Remember, it's not just Elora's followers chasing us, but also the soldiers. They mustn't get their hands on the dragon egg."

Marcus went to the spring and cupped his hands to collect water. "Is there anyone who's not after you?"

Ava shrugged casually. "Since I assume your people will also be looking for us once they've recovered from the attack, no."

Lilly grinned broadly, as if this were all just a lovely adventure.

"By the way," Ava said, turning to Marcus, who was splashing water on his face. "I'm sorry."

He paused mid-motion and looked at her in surprise. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Well, for centuries no one knows you exist, and as soon as you get a visit from me and the egg, hordes of mages invade you."

He looked at her, not noticing how the water ran over his hands and dripped into the spring pool. "That wasn't your fault. If anything, your appearance finally exposed this traitor! All these years we survived despite the mage, but apparently only because we were irrelevant to her."

Lilly shrugged half-heartedly with a grin. "Until a dragon egg turned your city into a treasure chest."

"And a guardian." The admiration he had shown her from the beginning returned to his eyes.

"I'm still sorry. I can understand if you want to go back to help your people."

"Away from you?" He snorted, splashed another handful of water on his face, and wiped off the drops with his forearm. When he came to them, he looked determined. "I thought I had made it clear where my priorities lie."

"But don't you want to know if they're okay?"

"First, I'm helping you. That's why I'd suggest we go to another dragon cave. There's another one in this forest. We'll be safe there."

Ava raised her hands defensively. "Oh no. First, they tracked us down in the fire dragon cave, and then we fled through another one. To remain undetected, we should stay away from any dragon caves."

Lilly grinned widely. "So, Talus it is. Like I said, in cities I not only know how to survive, we'd also have endless butter pretzels."

"And we don't even have to steal them. Look what Kilian gave me for you." Ava took the silver coin from her pocket and gave it to her, causing the girl to gasp.

"It's from him? For me?" She cradled the coin like a treasure and sighed. "He's so great! I can buy us more than a kilo of butter pretzels with this."

Marcus wrinkled his face in disgust. "Those dry things?"

The girl snorted. "Then you can dunk them in a glass of milk if your teeth are already too rickety."

Ava ignored the squabble between the two and directed her thoughts to the baby dragon. "Everything okay with you?"

"Yes, but I was scared. I can't grow in this state. I need security, Ava."

Since the little one was connected to her heartbeat, it probably wouldn't help to pretend this security existed.

"Don't worry, we're all looking out for you.

" Mentally, she went over what she had already learned about this world.

She didn't know many places, so Lilly's suggestion seemed best. Sure, Kilian and his men hadn't wanted to hide them in Talus, and the soldiers were looking for them, but at that time the mage hadn't known about the egg's existence.

Besides, the question remained whether the captain had even extended the search to Talus.

After all, no one had learned that Kilian had taken them so far away on his fire dragon.

Even if she had to live in various tunnels to give the unhatched dragon security, she would do it. The dragon child had top priority.

She shouldered the bag decisively. "You're right, Lilly. Let's go to Talus. Or do you think we should wait for nightfall so the dragon fighters don't see us?"

Lilly shook her head. "Right now, Elora's followers are more dangerous. We need to get out of here as fast as possible! Besides, I know from experience that the city guards take a closer look at visitors' faces when darkness falls."

Marcus sighed. "Then I guess that's settled."