Page 42 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

Adrenaline was rushing through her veins, but the further they got from the sorceress's territory, the lower the levels in her blood were.

Her hands burned, her body felt battered.

She hung limp in the dragon's claws as they flew at dizzying heights over jagged rocks and deep ravines. It was bitterly cold.

"Hold on, Ava! We're landing up ahead," Kilian shouted, as if he knew exactly how exhausted she was. He didn't take his eyes off her for a moment.

Her body was shaking, and surely not just from the icy cold. She was probably in shock. So she closed her eyes and concentrated all her remaining energy on not slipping from the dragon's claws.

She had escaped. The cage, the arena, and the malevolent sorceress. She had made it.

"Heads up, we're landing."

She opened her eyes and saw grass beneath her feet.

But the cold and the tension had taken their toll.

When Thalara released her, she landed hard and fell to her knees.

She would have loved to have simply rolled onto the ground, but there were already two hands gripping her, stopping her fall.

They held her upright, while she had no strength left to help in any way.

When she looked up, she found herself staring directly into Kilian's eyes. She read naked fear in them as he helped her to her feet.

She couldn't tear her gaze away from him, and he couldn't look away from her.

It seemed like a miracle to see him again, to.

.. feel him. To look at his handsome face and the glow in his eyes that he didn't hide from her.

To feel his hands on hers as he held her.

They were breathing heavily, lost in the sight of each other—and their lips collided.

The kiss was hungry and desperate, so endlessly desperate that she felt it to her very toes.

His lips on hers, his hands on her back, his arms around her, holding her close. The feeling was so... beautiful. So liberating. So unimaginably... complete. Is this what it felt like to meet your soulmate? The one you were meant for?

Hungrily, his lips glided over hers, his hands roamed her body. She clung to him and pressed herself against him, because at any moment thoughts threatened to return. Reason. The... truth.

Because although this first kiss felt like liberation and was unimaginably radiant and honest, it was still... forbidden.

Forbidden... forbidden... forbidden...

The word echoed through her head and seemed to reach his as well, for they sprang apart and stared at each other in disbelief. If she had ever doubted his feelings, a single look at his face proved her wrong.

"Ava..." His voice sounded choked.

She perceived the sound of wingbeats, something she should have heard long ago. Four more dragons landed on the hill. The earth trembled as the gigantic creatures touched down, and this vibration seemed to carry away the last traces of their kiss.

"Kilian, is everything alright?" It was Rob who came running first. He eyed his leader with a frown, then followed his gaze to Ava, who could only tear her eyes away from Kilian with great effort. When she finally managed it, Allan hugged her.

"Ava, you survived!" He pulled her to him like a long-time friend, although they had only met once. As he gently pushed her away, he examined her body. "Are you hurt? Do we need to bandage you up?"

She shook her head, then gulped, because the kiss still burned on her lips. She shouldn't think about it anymore, she knew that it was a one-time thing that could never happen again. Never. "Except for a few bruises, I got away with just a scare."

"Thanks to the holy dragon. We feared the worst. Kilian was yelling at everyone until we finally found you."

She glanced briefly at Kilian, who was deep in conversation with Rob and two other dragon fighters. A warm feeling tried to nest in her heart, but she smothered the flame in its infancy. "How did you find me?"

Allan grinned. "I'd like to say it was me, but the biggest help came from the smallest."

She frowned in confusion until she understood. "The little dragon."

Allan nodded. "Suddenly he sensed you, not five minutes ago. That's the only reason we could find you."

Her heart swelled. "Where is he?"

"He wanted to come along, but we unanimously decided that a few hours after being born is still too young to go into battle. He's in a cave with Lilly and your friend, guarded by four dragons."

"Guarded well enough so the king won't find him?"

Allan's look turned serious. "For the moment, but he can't stay there. As soon as you've said goodbye, the dragons will take him high into the mountains. They'll protect him there until he's old enough to carry a rider, if he wants to."

The first pain inside her was now joined by a second.

Perhaps an even worse one. The prospect of having to say goodbye to the hatchling felt like someone was ripping out her heart.

But she didn't say it out loud. She would hide it from the little dragon too.

His safety was the top priority. He had to survive.

"Can I go to him?"

"Sure." He turned to Kilian and the other dragon fighters. "I'm taking Ava to the dragon child."

"I'll take her!" Kilian came over to them, but Rob held him back by the arm, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Could he see what had happened between them?

"We need to assess the situation first. There might be weak spots in their defenses that we can exploit. We haven't been this close to one of their retreats in a long time!"

Kilian took a deep breath and finally nodded, looking intently at Ava as if he wanted to say, "We'll talk later." But all that came over his lips was: "We shouldn't waste any time."

She didn't even know if she wanted to talk to him. There was nothing to say. Their love had no chance, so they shouldn't dwell on it unnecessarily. Forget it before it had really ignited. They could spare themselves the pain.

As if hearing her thoughts, he came to her and reached out his hand. "Are you really okay?"

Warmth flooded her, a complete heatwave allied with an uncontrollable longing, but she took a step back before he touched her.

"Yes. Thank you for your help." It sounded hollow, but she couldn't manage more.

She nodded to him, while locking her feelings inside.

After all, she was a pro at that, wasn't she?

"There's nothing you need to thank me for." His gaze rested on her, so intense and direct that she felt a blush threatening to rise to her cheeks. That was why she quickly turned away.

"See you later."

But before she could go with Allan to his dragon, Rob caught up with long strides.

"We need to scout the area to find out how Elora and the mages are positioned.

We've never been this close to their main fortress.

Allan, you're our best tracker. You stay with Kilian, and I'll take Ava to the young dragon. "

A strange feeling crept over her. Rob distrusted her. She didn't know why. Maybe because he had initially thought she was working against the dragon fighters. Then why did he offer to take her to her friends?

She pointed at Allan decisively. "I'd rather fly with him."

But Allan shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day, Robert Kensington, when you'd compliment someone..." He beamed as if he'd won a prize. "You're absolutely right, I am the best at tracking." He puffed out his chest proudly while winking at Ava. Apparently, the matter was settled for him.

Kilian studied her, seeming to sense her uncertainty. "Rob will take you to the dragon child. Wait for me there. We need to talk."

Her stomach did somersaults and her heart made to rise hopefully, but Ava knew better. This conversation wouldn't be a pleasant one. Especially since they had already talked. Before the kiss.

"It's okay, Kilian, we've said everything."

He clenched his jaw and shook his head. "No, we haven't. Wait for me at the cave. Besides, it'll be Thalara who takes the little one away."

Then she had no choice. But she would find an opportunity later to avoid the conversation. So she merely nodded, whereupon Kilian looked warningly at Rob.

"I trust you to ensure her safety. Don't forget who she is."

"The first dragon guardian in hundreds of years," he repeated monotonously, as if it were a line from a poem he had to memorize at school.

Kilian nodded to him, looked at Ava once more, and walked with Allan to the others. Meanwhile, Ava eyed Rob skeptically. Should she really go with him? Trust him?

He noticed her suspicious look and shrugged. "I know we're not fans of each other, but it looks like we're playing on the same side." His tone sounded downright approachable.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"How you can trust me?" He snorted. "It's a great show of trust that I'm letting you on my dragon's back. If you'd grown up in our world, you'd know that."

That sounded like an insult.

"If I'd grown up in your world, I wouldn't be the woman from the prophecy and we wouldn't be in this stupid situation."

He snorted, almost sounding amused. "You've got a point there." He seemed open, which was why Ava decided to put all her cards on the table.

"What do you have against me?"

His attention flicked to Kilian. When he looked back at Ava, he had raised his eyebrows. "Do you really need an explanation?"

"Just because we... get along?"

Rob's gaze hardened. "Kilian has no choice, and you're making his life difficult. He's my friend and I know what's at stake. That's why I have to protect him. But I've also realized that you play a crucial role. For that reason, you have nothing to fear from me."

"Why did you insist on taking me to my friends?"

"Because we'll be working together in the future, and we need to start trusting each other. And don't let Allan hear this, but he really is the best at tracking."

Ava looked at him thoughtfully. His explanation made sense, yet residual doubts remained. "Are you going to push me off your dragon while we're flying?"

One corner of his mouth twitched. "No, I won't. Promise."

She looked into his eyes and didn't see any deceit there. Taking a deep breath, she agreed and examined his dragon. It was white-blue and smaller than Thalara, but still impressively large. It had no spikes and its scales were softer than the fire dragon's.

"What kind is it?"

"An air dragon. Do you need help getting on?"

So he was the one who had bonded with the only air dragon.

"I can manage." It was easier than the last time to sit on the dragon, especially since she was no longer afraid of the dragons. Still, she would have given anything to experience her first flight again.

As soon as she had taken her seat, her body felt leaden. She needed a break. Something to eat and drink. But she would still keep her eyes open during the ride. Because even though Rob seemed consistently honest, she hadn't forgotten how distrustful he had been towards her at first.