Page 17 of Ava’s Love of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #2)

Ava hadn't slept so well in a long time. Perhaps not ever. And the exciting part was: When she came out of the bathroom before sunrise, not only was Draco sitting on her bed, but Lilly was there too, chatting away to him.

"I knew you'd find us. Ava's training here now because she's accepted her destiny.

Master Boom is the best of the best, in case you didn't know.

So far, she's just running around every day, but I'm sure she'll learn to fight really well soon.

And I'm going to learn to fight too. I want to learn everything Master Boom can teach me. "

The dragon puffed out playful little clouds of smoke, which reminded Ava that she needed to keep a close eye on his development. After all, he shouldn't accidentally set the whole house on fire.

"You're up early, Lilly."

"Of course, I heard the dragon. I knew right away it was him." Smiling, she stroked his scales, which Draco seemed to enjoy. He laughed at Ava.

"I like her very much."

"It's a shame you can't talk to each other."

"That doesn't matter. We understand each other anyway." He laughed at Lilly again and the little girl stroked the tip of his tail.

"Wow, there are spikes coming in too, or what are those lumps? Anyway, you look amazing. You kind of remind me of Kilian's dragon. But maybe you'll get even bigger."

"Are you a fire dragon?" Ava wanted to know.

"When the time comes, we'll find out." He smiled at her mysteriously, making her grin.

"What did he say?"

Lilly really didn't miss a thing.

"That we'll find out if he's a fire dragon when the time is right."

"Awesome, but I bet he is one. Just look at those beautiful scales. And I'm sure that purple will turn fire-red when he's fully grown."

"Could be. How about some breakfast?"

"Don't you have to train right away?"

"Not without breakfast. And I'll be back for lunch."

"But didn't the master tell you to face your inner demons?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Lilly told me."

Ava rolled her eyes. Did everyone have to conspire against her?

"Without breakfast, I won't make it two meters. So come on, while you can still fit through the hallways and doors." She winked at the dragon and Lilly jumped off the bed.

"It's so cool that you can still talk to each other through thoughts.

I want to be able to do that too." She smiled at the dragon, who also hopped off the bed and ran outside with her.

Just a few centimeters more and he would no longer fit through the doorframes or be able to enter the building.

Considering how much he had grown in a week, it wasn't impossible that he'd be too big by tomorrow.

After breakfast, Draco accompanied her to the arena, where the two mountain dragons were just landing and her fellow students were already training. Yes, she had dawdled a bit this morning, but who gets a visit from their dragon and immediately goes about their day as usual?

"Finally awake?" Magg taunted, but cast an admiring glance at Draco.

Ralph jogged over to her and smiled at Draco. "Wow, I didn't know you had already bonded with a dragon. Incredible. But he's so small. He can't possibly be big enough to—" His eyes widened as he realized. "Is that a hatchling?"

Ava nodded. "He's a little over a week old."

"And already this big?" His admiring gaze shifted from Draco to Ava, his eyes growing even wider. "So it's really true? You're the prophesied dragon guardian?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. It was strange to receive recognition for something she hadn't really done anything for. "Supposedly, yes. He came back to me last night."

"Impressive. Well, you'd better start running so you can finally learn to fight on him. If I were you, I could hardly wait."

Neither could she, which was why she was looking out for the master.

If he saw that she had already bonded with a dragon, he would surely recognize that they could move on to the next level of training.

Even though she probably hadn't bonded with the dragon in the traditional sense like a dragon fighter, surely Draco's presence would convince the trainer anyway.

But it wasn't Master Clark who suddenly appeared. Instead, it was a gigantic shadow in the sky that spread over the arena like a spaceship.

Another mountain dragon?

It came flying so fast, as if it were moving at the speed of light.

It was huge and red, and before Ava had put two and two together, the dragon landed right in the middle of the arena.

The earth shook, the mountain dragons moved aside, and the strongest dragon fighter in the realm jumped off its back.

Kilian.

He looked at her with wide eyes, ran towards her, and reached out his hands. He looked no less perplexed than she felt. "You're back?"

Ava's heart stopped beating. She swallowed, then swallowed again, but the lump in her throat wouldn't go away. Her knees turned to wax and threatened to give way beneath her, but by some miracle, she remained upright.

"Yes."

That was all she could manage to say as she remained looking at Kilian, unable to even blink.

He looked so damn good. His dark hair, the chiseled features, the stubble framing his lips that had scratched her skin when they kissed.

He was coming towards her, and she stayed frozen in place, unable to move or speak.

But what caught her off guard most of all wasn't his looks or his sudden appearance.

It was his dark eyes, which remained on her as if he couldn't believe it.

As if all barriers between them were falling.

As if there was no one else, just the two of them.

Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, washing over her carefully constructed, sky-high wall and descending on her like a hurricane.

Only now did she become aware of where she was.

They were standing in the middle of the arena, the other students staring at her.

Even Magg had stopped training and was watching the leader of the dragon fighters with undisguised interest. Ralph was even bowing slightly, with sincere admiration in his eyes.

But Kilian saw none of them, having eyes only for Ava as he came dangerously close. He took her hand. The simple touch sent electricity through her entire body. Heat rushed through her veins and threatened to shut down all her thoughts.

His gaze landed on her lips and she felt even hotter. She remembered the kiss. The stolen, forbidden kiss. They shouldn't have. Kilian had to marry the princess, or the dragons would die.

And with them, her beloved Draco.

"I need to train." She withdrew her hand, turned around, and rushed off.

And this time she really ran. She ran as fast as a sprinter wanting to win the gold medal, ran like someone possessed, ran and ran, away from the arena, away from Kilian, away from her feelings.

But they were too present, the touch, his gaze, everything came with her, even though she had desperately wanted to leave it behind.

It overwhelmed her like an unstoppable force and she had nothing to counter it.

They couldn't be together. Her parents had abandoned her.

Her parents hadn't wanted her. She hadn't been valuable enough.

She hadn't been enough. She wasn't enough for Kilian either.

And every time she let others in, when she dared to trust, she ended up in the same place.

In the middle of a pile of shards, alone, destroyed.

Her parents had left her. Had abandoned her like a toy they had grown tired of.

Rob had abandoned her, just because he believed she endangered the dragon world.

Maybe she did, because it was abundantly clear that Kilian felt the same way about her as she did about him.

Yet she was here. Because the dragons needed her.

Draco needed her, Lilly needed her. And she needed herself too.

Her true self. Her uninhibited self. Her self in all its authenticity with all its feelings, strengths, and weaknesses.

She ran and ran, ran through the forest and up rocks, jumped over streams, sticks, stones, waded through rivers, overcame fallen tree trunks and fought her way through thorny bushes.

Nothing could stop her. She ran and ran, sweat glistening on her forehead, while she thought incessantly: I'm not enough.

When I let others in, I always get hurt.

That was why she was a loner. That was why she had wanted to stay away from everything. That was why she hadn't been able to accept her destiny—because it couldn't possibly be true.

Not her! She wasn't a chosen one! She was just Ava!

Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with her sweat. But she didn't feel it, she let everything out, screamed, cried, screamed even louder and ran, ran, ran.

At some point, she felt Draco calling for her. He had been calling for a while, but only now did she notice him. She slowed down and looked around. She was standing in a forest clearing, the stars glittering above her. It was the middle of the night.

How long had she been running?

"Ava, are you okay?"

She wasn't ready to answer him yet, so she just sent him a warm feeling like an embrace, so he wouldn't worry. Then she simply sat down in the meadow and looked up at the firmament.

She remembered the ride on Kilian's dragon, just like she did every time she looked at the stars.

The closeness they had shared, the boundless free feeling, the warmth.

Back then, she hadn't known yet that they couldn't be together—but she also hadn't consciously realized that she would have wanted that.

She sighed. How much had she overlooked because she'd been too cowardly? Because she'd hidden all feelings, suppressed them, buried them deep inside in order to be strong?

But she had never been strong. Just weak.

Along with the feelings for Kilian, the emotions she had felt as a child and eventually suppressed had settled in her heart. The feeling of not being enough and therefore being abandoned by her parents. Not being lovable.

She bowed her head.

What if her parents had come from this world? What if something had happened and they had wanted to save Ava and therefore taken her away? If they had been left with no choice but to leave her in order to protect her life?

She couldn't rule that out. Especially not since she knew that this world existed, that she played a special role, and consequently her ancestors must have come from this world. And she could only take on this special role because her parents had taken her away.

She didn't know what had happened back then. But wasn't it conceivable that her parents had seen no other option?

Maybe they hadn't arbitrarily abandoned her in the forest but had chosen Aunt Helen in advance as her foster aunt and therefore left her at that exact spot on that exact day when Helen was walking there. So that Ava would be found. So that she wouldn't be alone.

She didn't know, but it was possible.

And maybe... maybe her parents had done exactly that because they did love her after all. So much that they had even accepted leaving her behind to protect her life.

Life was so much more complex, multi-layered, and intertwined than was apparent at first glance.

How could she see it all and understand her parents' motives, when she knew nothing about them, barely anything about the prophecy, and just a little about this dragon world?

And this realization gave her the peace she longed for.

Slowly she stood up, her gaze still fixed on the stars. "I accept my destiny."

Only after the words had left her lips did she realize she had spoken them aloud. They made their way into the forest, the wind carrying them away and proclaiming them in all directions. As this happened, a final tear rolled down her cheek and at the same time a smile played on her lips.

As she slowly turned her gaze from the stars and looked at the clearing, Master Clark stood before her. He leaned on his staff, observed her attentively, and nodded with satisfaction.

"We'll see each other tomorrow before sunrise in the arena."