Page 34 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

Loud voices and the sound of boots on the floor fought their way into her consciousness. She would have loved to have spent half an eternity in a tight embrace with Lilly and the dragon child, but restlessness took a hold of her, making it impossible to shut out reality any longer.

She opened her eyelids just as Marcus came running in. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when he discovered the baby dragon on her hand. His eyes grew round and he stepped closer in awe.

"Wow. Welcome, little one. You've arrived at just the right time."

Ava sensed his unease. "What's wrong?"

Marcus exchanged a brief glance with her, which already communicated the essential information: Danger!

"A group of mages has snuck into the city. Kilian has managed to prevent them from getting down here so far, but we need to get out as quickly as possible."

Ava looked at the dragon child. There was no question why the mages were coming right then.

"Put me back in your bag. I'll be safe there." While speaking these words, he smiled at her as if this was just a minor adventure that every young dragon could expect to have immediately after being born.

Lilly quickly jumped up, pulled out the leather bag, and held it out to her. Surprised, Ava took it. "Can you hear him now too?"

"No, but he felt comfortable in there before." Lilly's gaze fell on the sacks of food, but Marcus was already pushing her into the hallway.

"Every second counts. We can get new food, but we don't have second lives."

Grumbling, she ran with him and Ava brought up the rear.

She carefully nestled the baby dragon in her bag, making sure he was cushioned by her scarf, and ran after the two of them.

The corridors were dark, but Marcus had a small lamp with him that provided enough light for them to distinguish the wall from the path.

He led them through the labyrinth as if he too had been there before, away from the main exit where Kilian was fighting against the mages.

How had their opponents found out where they were hiding? Was the guard they had encountered in the dark alley possibly in cahoots with Elora? Had he not crossed their path by chance?

Questions she would have to ask later. First, they had to get the dragon child to safety.

They reached a staircase and Marcus ran up it. They rushed up the steps to the door where he waited until they had all arrived at the top.

With a finger to his lips, he pointed outside. "We're still on the theater grounds, but according to Kilian, this is the only other exit. And we're just going to believe him on that right now."

"We can believe everything Kilian says!"

Marcus ignored Lilly's objection. "We need to stay low and run along the left side behind the trees. After a few meters, we'll reach the entrance gate."

Lilly nodded in comprehension, with the expression of wild determination on her face that had become second nature to her. She seemed more focused than many adults.

As soon as Ava nodded as well, Marcus extinguished the lamp and pushed open the door without making a sound. They were greeted by the blackness of night, along with the distant clang of swords clashing and the roar of a dragon. How long would it take before the king's soldiers noticed them?

Ava peered in the direction the fighting sounds were coming from, but she couldn't see anything.

The shadows of the stands rose between them and denied her any view.

With her head ducked, she followed Lilly, who ran to the left, just as planned, and slipped behind the trees. Marcus brought up the rear.

Crouching, they hurried along under the protection of the trunks until they saw the wrought-iron gate looming a few meters away. Its metal reflected the starlight, giving it a mystical quality, as if this gate too was a portal to another world.

The theater courtyard lay mostly in the shadow of the high spectator stands, but nothing stirred in them and all sounds came from afar. Just a few more steps, and they would have made it. But where should they go? Did Marcus have a plan? Had he arranged something with Kilian?

Before she could dwell on these questions any longer, hooded men jumped out from behind the stands and blocked their path. Armed with swords and daggers, they approached. There were surely more than ten of them.

The mages.

Ava froze. Heavens, why didn't she have a weapon herself? She couldn't constantly rely on others to defend her! To defend the little dragon!

The dragon. The men had come for him.

He seemed to sense her silent warning call, for he didn't move or make a sound.

The bag hung motionless at her side, as if it contained lifeless things like pens and a wallet.

She turned unobtrusively so the hooded men wouldn't discover the pouch, and pushed Lilly behind her.

But the girl tried to pull her back so they could run away.

They quickly looked behind them, but hooded figures were also approaching from that direction.

Their opponents had surrounded them.

Marcus pulled a knife from his pocket that he had previously only used for whittling.

Nevertheless, he held it determinedly in front of him and positioned himself in front of Ava.

How was he supposed to defeat all these men without help, especially since he had no experience in combat? She had to help him somehow.

"Do you have one for me too?"

He shook his head silently.

She surveyed her surroundings hurriedly and spotted a fallen branch. She grabbed it and held it in front of her, while Lilly stooped for some stones and took one in her hand, ready to throw it.

One of the mages laughed. "Do you really think you'll escape me a third time? No, now I've got you!"

She knew the voice. It belonged to the one who had tried to force Ava to choose between Lilly and the dragon egg in the fire dragon's cave. Although the black cloth covered most of his face, she recognized him by his cold eyes.

"Of course we'll escape you again, because we have the dragons on our side!

" She sounded more confident than she felt, but she had to prevent the opponents from attacking.

Then they might be able to flee at an opportune moment.

Or Kilian would come with his fire dragon and drive away the hooded figures. Every second counted.

"I know that trick, Guardian." He said her supposed title derisively, as if it were an insult. He raised his hand. "Attack!"

Simultaneously, all the hooded figures stormed towards them from both the front and the back. On one side was the high wall, meaning their only escape route was the theater square.

"Run!" Marcus shouted.

They ran towards the bleachers with Lilly in the lead, followed by Ava and Marcus and their enemies in close pursuit.

The starlight was too weak to illuminate the surroundings, yet at this moment it revealed their every single step to their pursuers.

Every direction they tried to flee. Moreover, their opponents outnumbered them.

In seconds, they had caught up and surrounded them in the center of the theater square.

Ava once again positioned herself in front of Lilly, still holding the branch in her hands. Marcus stayed beside her, knife raised. He glared at the sorceress's followers with hatred.

"Think carefully about what you're doing now, because if you lay a hand on the Guardian, the dragons will hunt you down for eternity!"

The hooded figures just laughed and stepped closer, unimpressed. Ava and her friends had to huddle closer together to avoid being caught by the tips of their swords.

"The time for talking big is over." The leader spat on the ground.

With her heart pounding wildly, Ava reached out mentally to the small dragon that sat motionless in her bag. Through her eyes, he saw the danger they were in. She should have protected him better. How could she have encouraged him to hatch before bringing him to a safe place?

She didn't dare speak to him mentally. After all, the men in front of them were accustomed to dealing with magic. Perhaps they would perceive the mental connection as a form of magic, and she would immediately reveal where she was hiding the hatchling.

The leader raised his chin and targeted Ava's bag. Apparently, it wasn't difficult for their opponents to guess where the dragon was. How many possibilities were there, after all?

"Attack!"

He raised his sword and she lifted the branch in defense, even though she didn't know how much time it would buy her. When the sword hit the wood for the first time, it immediately broke in two. Ava froze. Horrified, she looked at the two halves of the branch in her hands.

The leader laughed and raised his sword again. A glow emanated from the blade, making it clear that this was no ordinary weapon. With an ugly grin, he swung back to continue the fight.

Lilly didn't hesitate for a second. She threw one stone after another, which kept the hooded figures at bay for a moment, but one of the mages muttered something, causing a red shimmering wall to appear.

The stones bounced off of it. The girl looked to Ava for help, but she couldn't find a way out.

If they called loudly for Kilian, the king's men would hear them, and that would have meant jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Searching for answers, she looked over her shoulder at Marcus, who was holding his knife out in front of him, fiercely determined to defend them.

But she didn't need to fool herself. One look at him was enough to make it clear that he had never been trained as a fighter.

He abhorred violence, which meant neither his mind nor his body was prepared for such a confrontation.

Especially not for a fight against mages.

He sensed her scrutinizing gaze and looked at her reverently, a burning in his eyes that she had never seen before. "I'll give it my all, Guardian."

"I know you will."