Page 44 of Ava’s Legacy of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #1)

They flew over the king's capital city, which Rob said was called Belmonde, and in the distance, Ava could already see the small town that had been her home for years.

It had changed. What would it be like to return? To see her aunt and tell her she had finally dared to step out of a monotonous life that didn't suit her?

Helen would certainly be happy for her. That was why she was also looking forward to it, even though her return to the world of dragons was dampened by the prospect of having no future with Kilian. But men didn't play a big role for her anyway, so she wouldn't let that spoil her fresh start.

"I need to tell you one more thing," Rob said, interrupting her thoughts. His voice sounded concerned, which made Ava pay close attention and look over her shoulder at him.

"What are you talking about?"

He hesitated. "Kilian didn't want to tell you, but I think you have a right to know."

"I know he has to marry the princess."

"That's not what I mean. Haven't you wondered why the sorceress is so determined to see you dead?"

"Elora told me. She believes in the prophecy and fears I would change the world to her disadvantage."

"Did she also tell you why she thinks that?"

"She distrusts me because I'm working with you."

"That's not all. Ava, you need to know the truth. Especially since you've decided to stay here, I owe it to you to tell you the truth."

She listened intently. "What do you mean?"

"The prophecy doesn't just say that you will change the fate of the world. It also says that you have the power to overthrow the strongest sorcerer."

Finally, everything made sense. Now she understood why the sorceress had captured her and let the dragon child go. "That's why she wanted to kill me. Before I become a threat to her." A shiver ran down her spine.

"I thought you should know. You need to watch out for her. Her and anyone else who has anything to do with magic."

Her body stiffened. Good thing he didn't know what Lilly was capable of. "Thank you for telling me."

Worries started to make their way into her mind, but they'd reached the border and Rob was steering the dragon sharply to the right.

The king's soldiers looked up at them, the captain wasn't among them.

From up there, Ava finally understood how the soldiers had been able to sneak up on them unnoticed.

They hid in a small building covered with branches and leaves that made it unrecognizable from a distance.

Next to it there extended a large rock, and they stood behind it with their horses, ready should anyone dare to cross the portal.

When the border guards saw Rob and his dragon, they saluted and made no attempt to run after them to ask for identification or motives, even though the dragon was clearly losing altitude.

They landed right on the riverbank. Of the river that connected the two worlds. Did the chimney sweep know there were dragons? After all, he had been telling her about this land since her childhood.

As they'd been flying, Ava had wondered if she would tell Helen the truth. But her aunt would probably think Ava was completely insane. Just because the chimney sweep might have some idea of what went on in this other world, she shouldn't unnecessarily worry Helen.

Rob jumped off his air dragon's back and helped her down.

Normally, she would have refused his hand, but she didn't want to reject the symbolic hand of friendship.

She didn't know how often she would see Kilian and his dragon fighters when she returned, whether she would really work as a kind of dragon guardian and have regular contact with them.

Either way, she was glad to have cleared up the friction between Rob and herself.

And she was glad he had told her the truth.

She briefly considered asking him about the prophecy in detail, but she could do that on the way back. Now she just wanted to say goodbye to Aunt Helen, something she'd been avoiding all her life, and get it over with as quickly as possible.

Rob leaned against his dragon and crossed his arms over his chest. He was every inch the popular dragon fighter who, like Kilian, conquered women's hearts—even if his effect fell significantly short of the strongest dragon fighter's. "How much time do you need?"

She shrugged her shoulders thoughtfully. The shorter the farewell, the better. Besides, she didn't want to keep him waiting unnecessarily and was hoping to get back to Lilly and the dragon as quickly as possible. "I'll be back here in an hour at the latest. Is that okay?"

"Sure." He closed his eyes, determined to take advantage of the down time, but Ava hesitated.

"Rob?"

"Mhmmm?"

"Thank you."

He just nodded. It wasn't a big deal. But for Ava, it was. That was why she immediately set off so she really would make it back in an hour and not keep him waiting unnecessarily. And then, she could ask him all her questions.

Her feet tingled as she crossed the invisible threshold into her old world. A crackling sensation ran through her body like a weak electric shock. It disappeared as soon as she had left the border behind.

She walked over the pebbles and followed the narrow path to the stairs at the bridge.

Then she jumped up, taking two steps at a time.

Who would have thought that after all this madness, she could still have so much energy?

Perhaps it was the energy of a new beginning, her spirit of optimism, and her unbridled joy.

It was late afternoon. Helen was sure to be in the shop.

Hopefully, she'd been sensible and had closed the store for an hour to rest. Inevitably, she had doubts about whether it was wrong to leave her aunt alone.

After all, she had been there for Ava back then.

Wouldn't it be selfish to leave her behind?

On the other hand, there were Lilly and the dragon...

Gnawed by nagging doubts, she turned into the street where the shop was located, approached, and stopped when her gaze fell through the shop window to the interior. Her aunt was standing at the counter. She had flushed cheeks, her lips painted red, and was laughing so hard her entire body shook.

Right next to her at the counter leaned—who would have thought?—the chimney sweep, making eyes at her. They were chatting, flirting, and both visibly enjoying themselves. He stroked her forearm, and she laughed coquettishly.

Ava watched them, and a smile spread across her lips. Had she not just gotten in her own way with her stubborn insistence on staying with her aunt? Had she also been standing in her aunt's way of living life to the fullest?

If she hadn't left, she would have been standing in the shop now, and who knows if the chimney sweep would have dared to come in then. Who knows if her aunt would have taken greater care with her appearance that morning and been open to batting her eyelashes at the neighbor.

An excitement took hold of Ava, spiraling through her body in vibrational waves. By leaving, she had made room for someone else in Helen's life. For a new love. If anyone deserved this second chance at happiness, it was Aunt Helen.

Smiling, she watched the two of them and hesitated to go inside. She didn't want to interrupt them. She didn't want to get in their way. Her aunt was doing fine; she didn't need Ava. And at that moment, Ava finally let go.

She ran to the small phone booth located a block away, tore a sheet of paper from the phone book, grabbed the pen attached to the wall by a string, and wrote a message.

Without having to think, the words came to paper. She didn't mention the dragons, didn't mention the portal, not even the strange, magical world. But she wrote that she had gone on a journey, that she was happy, and that she wished her aunt all the best.

As she signed the letter, she drew a heart next to her name and wrote something she had never said to her aunt: I love you. Deep in her heart, she knew that Helen would understand the message and that it would make it even easier for her to enjoy her late-in-life love.

Ava walked to her old home, dropped the note in the mailbox, and grabbed the key from under the ceramic turtle.

She quickly slipped into the house to pack a backpack.

But suddenly she paused. She didn't need anything more from this world.

She didn't want to take anything with her, because over there, she had everything she needed.

It felt liberating to consciously say goodbye, to consciously leave behind this life that no longer fit her.

She took one last tour through the house, feeling grateful for having been able to grow up in this protected home with this loving woman, and slipped out undetected.

The clock was ticking, and she didn't want to keep Rob waiting.

She hurried to get to the riverbank, but she took a small detour so no neighbors would see her, because then it would have been impossible to return to Rob that day. Especially since she could never slip through the portal unnoticed under the watchful eyes of the townspeople.

When she reached the shore and saw the passage where the magical world began, a restlessness overcame her. She couldn't see the realm of dragons.

Heavens, she didn't have a dragon egg with her. Could she even cross the threshold?

She was filled with worry, leaving her no choice but to run. She sprinted to the border, closing her eyes and praying she would get through again, when she already felt the familiar tingling. She broke through the barrier and landed in the magical world.

Beaming with joy, she looked around, wanting to soak it all in—the endless mountains, the vastness, maybe even a dragon in the sky—but she couldn't. Because the one who was supposed to have been waiting for her wasn't there.

She must be mistaken. Rob was probably waiting around the corner.

Laughing, she marched on. How could she possibly miss his huge dragon?

Shaking her head, she walked and walked until she reached the path that led up the hill.

But even from there, neither the air dragon nor the dragon fighter was in sight.

Slowly, it sank in that he really wasn't there anymore. Something had probably happened. A problem, Kilian, something with the king. He would be back soon. Surely.

But even as she thought this, she shook her head. Since when had she become so gullible? He hadn't just stepped away. He wouldn't return. No, Rob had deliberately left her behind.

He had been playing her all along. He had surely brought her here with the intention of leaving her behind. How could she have fallen for his friendly act?

Images from the past flooded her. Trees, trees everywhere. Her, running all alone through the forest, calling for her mother, for anyone. How lost she had felt, how abandoned and defenseless. Just a small child who had been left behind.

She could feel panic making to grab hold of her, to shake her.

But she wasn't a little child anymore.

As her body slowly awakened from the shock, her gaze wandered over the lonely shore until she discovered a narrow track in the damp sand. Were those dragon tracks? Had something happened to them after all?

She ran towards it until she recognized that it was a message someone had written in the sand. Her heart sank deeper as she grasped the words he had left for her. Words that would soon be washed away by the river's water, leaving no evidence behind.

"Don't come back, Ava, or I'll personally make sure you end up in the king's dungeon!"

Her chest tightened as she realized the consequences of his actions. Lilly. She would think Ava had lied to her. The little dragon. She hadn't even said goodbye to him. And Kilian...

What would Rob tell him?

As she stood still, at the edge of the dragon realm, anger welled up inside her.

She had finally chosen this life, finally opened her heart, finally found her place.

She wouldn't let some random dragon fighter take all that away from her.

No, she would fight. She would find a way back, past the king's soldiers, and she would find Lilly, as well as the dragon child.

She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. Ava was ready. She raised up her foot and took the first step back into the world of dragons. And no matter what might await her there, she would face it.

This was Book 1 of the Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny Series. Ava and Kilian's story continues in Book 2, Ava’s Love of the Dragons.