Page 19 of Ava’s Love of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #2)

Ava entered the arena before sunrise. Of course, Magg was already there, pounding away at a punching bag with her bandaged fists.

"What are you doing here?" As usual, she managed to deliver her biting remarks without taking a pause in her training.

"Good morning to you too. Did you have sweet dreams?

" Ava waved at her calmly, unwilling to abandon her good mood so easily, and looked around.

Master Clark wasn't there yet, so she decided to do a few laps.

Not just to warm up. Somehow, running had become second nature to her and gave her a sense of satisfaction.

Magg snorted and mercilessly worked the punching bag as if Ava's face was pinned to it. She couldn't help but admire her boundless determination.

"I told you not to stare at me!"

Did she have eyes in the back of her head?

Ava shook her head with a smirk and kept running.

She increased her speed until she was running as fast as she could.

As her pulse shot up, her body awakened and was flooded with happiness hormones.

Who would have thought she'd ever consider sports the perfect start to her day?

As she started her tenth lap, Master Clark entered the arena. Leaning on his cane, he walked leisurely over to Magg and spoke quietly with her, which was why Ava finished the lap before running over to them.

Magg glared at her angrily but held back her commentary. Master Clark, on the other hand, nodded his head kindly. "You two will fight each other today until I say you can stop."

Ava's jaw dropped. She was going to get her butt kicked. But before she could voice an objection, she closed her mouth again. The master surely knew what he was doing. And didn't you improve fastest when facing strong opponents?

She had definitely improved in terms of motivation since she'd come to the training facility.

Still, she looked uneasily from Magg, who carried two daggers and a sword at her side, to Master Clark and cleared her throat to dispel her discomfort. "What are we fighting with?"

"With your strengths."

Heavens, couldn't he speak clearly just once?

Magg smiled contentedly. "Can we start?"

Uh, no! Nervously, Ava looked down at herself. She had no weapon—and, to be honest, running was her new strength. Did that mean she should run away all day? "I don't have a sword or dagger."

The master studied her attentively. "Do you think you need such aids?"

Was that a trick question?

"Before you start fighting, you must understand one thing: Every weapon is just an extension of yourself. Don't choose the sharpest one, but the one that feels like a part of you. Because in the decisive moment, it's you who fights, not your sword."

She thought he didn't want her to choose a weapon after all, when he nodded towards the edge of the arena. "There are some to choose from over there. Pick one and test if any of them suit you."

Ava followed his gaze into the shadows. Beneath the stands stood a large metal cabinet.

It was open, though Ava could have sworn that this hadn't been the case a minute ago.

The man who was always sweeping behind the stands walked past it with his broom.

Perhaps he was some kind of caretaker and had unlocked it.

"Okay." She jogged to the cabinet, although she would have preferred to have crept over so as to delay the fight. But she had wanted this training, and now she would get it. Besides, Master Clark would surely stay nearby, so Magg wouldn't dare to seriously injure her.

Or would she?

On a shelf there were piles of knives, daggers, short and long swords, axes, bow and arrows, crossbows, and clubs.

At a loss, she let her gaze wander over the items. None of them appealed to her, but she had to choose something to face Magg.

Besides, she wanted to learn how to fight, and that included using weapons.

Hesitantly, she reached for a club. She wouldn't seriously hurt anyone with it but would be able to fend off Magg's blows and keep the fighting machine at bay.

At least in her imagination. When she returned, Master Clark was gone, but Magg had two daggers in her hands and a diabolical grin on her lips.

"How nice that I get the chance to teach you a lesson so quickly." She leaned forward, bent her knees, and began circling Ava.

Ava didn't take her eyes off her. "What do you have against me anyway?"

"Do you want to gossip or fight?"

She would have preferred gossip, but that wouldn't get her anywhere. And when she faced Elora, she wouldn't show any mercy either. Maybe Magg was exactly the sparring partner she needed.

"Then start!"

Magg danced two steps to the side and lunged forward. She struck the dagger against Ava's shoulder. Surprised, Ava jumped back and rotated her shoulder. Luckily she was wearing the leather vest, otherwise she would have suffered her first cut before sunrise.

As if on cue, the first rays of sunlight shot over the surrounding mountains and bathed the plain in warm, reddish light.

The rays blinded Ava, she raised her hand to shield her eyes, and Magg landed her next hit.

This time she struck her forearm—and there her body was only covered by the thin tunic.

The blade cut through the fabric and grazed her skin.

"Damn it!" She looked at the cut, which wasn't particularly deep but burned like hell. Before she could be attacked again, she gritted her teeth and focused her attention on Magg. She wanted this, so she would give it her best—even if that probably wasn't enough in the face of this .

Determined, she leaped forward and swung the club, but Magg ducked and landed another hit on Ava's thigh.

Fortunately, the pants were reinforced. The leather saved her.

Lightning-fast, she darted back and swung the club again, but again, her opponent was quicker.

She circled Ava like a predator and jabbed the dagger against her shoulder blade from behind.

Ava cried out, but the burning pain didn't come. When she turned around, she saw that Magg had only struck with the handle. Apparently, she did have a heart—at least a small one.

They fought until sweat dripped from Ava's forehead and she could barely lift the club anymore. Magg had landed so many hits that Ava had lost count. Her body would probably be black and blue tonight. She herself, on the other hand, had launched a few mediocre attacks but hadn't hit Magg once.

By now, the other students had also come to the arena, doing their rounds or fighting each other. Ava only noticed them when she looked up because the sky darkened and then large shadows flew in to then settle with a tremor in the middle of the training ground.

She jumped aside to avoid being knocked out by a mountain dragon's wing, and Magg took advantage of this to strike again, this time right against her chest. The air was knocked out of her and she fell to her knees, causing her sparring partner to snort dismissively.

As soon as she caught her breath, she glared angrily at Magg. "Couldn't you wait a moment?"

"Are you going to ask Elora that, too, when dragons fly in?"

Ava stood up, holding her hand to her chest, which hurt as if a bulldozer had run over it. "How do you know I'll be fighting Elora?"

"You're the prophesied guardian." She said it angrily, as if Ava had taken something from her.

She was getting fed up with this!

"What do you have against me?"

Magg snorted dismissively, as if it were obvious.

Before Ava could pin her down for an answer, the master called for them. He stood in the shadow of the stands and had been watching the fight. He waved Magg over first, giving Ava a chance to calm down. She waited a few steps away and took deep breaths to get her anger under control.

The training was important, but heavens, what she wouldn't have given for a different training partner...

They were speaking so quietly that she couldn't hear what the two were discussing, so she looked at the mountain dragons again.

They were beautiful specimens, proud and majestic.

Although their scales didn't shine like Draco's or Thalara's, they were still stunning.

Green-brown spikes ran along their backs to the tips of their tails, and their feet were large and mighty.

Their bodies were more bulkier, somewhat clumsier than those of the fire and air dragons, yet they moved gracefully and fluidly. It was a joy to watch them.

They had deep eyes that were not at all aggressive. The mountain dragons were a peaceful species that probably would have given up fighting if there were enough other dragons. That would be the case again. Ava would make sure of it.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Master Clark had come to her unnoticed. He leaned on his cane and looked at the mountain dragons with a dreamy smile.

Ava quickly turned to him, hands raised ready to fight, before he could stab her in the side with a dagger or his walking stick for daring to let herself be distracted. But as he leaned on his stick, he didn't look aggressive at all, but rather like an old man admiring the beauty of creation.

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at the dragons. The short break definitely came in handy. "I was just admiring the mountain dragons too."

"A beautiful goal worth fighting for, don't you think?"

She nodded.

"When will your dragon join us?"

At a loss, she shrugged her shoulders. "He slept with Lilly last night. Probably doesn't want her to wake up alone." They were likely having breakfast together and, knowing Lilly, the girl would drag him to Lynn to liven up the lesson.

"I mean, when will he be full-grown, so he can carry you?"

Surprised, she looked at the trainer. "Do you really think he'll do that someday?" She had harbored the same hope, but she was surprised that Master Clark spoke of it so matter-of-factly.

He looked at her calmly, his round head slightly tilted. That the thin neck could support it never ceased to amaze her. "Why do you doubt it?"

She shrugged, but it didn't look as nonchalant as she'd hoped. "I'm just a guardian, not a dragon fighter."

The master smiled gently. "Don't get hung up on terminology. And don't focus on your opponents' strengths, but on your own."

Was he referring to the training fight?

"Can you tell me how I should position myself and how to wield the weapons? I was hoping you'd teach me that too, because I've never fought before..." ...As he had probably already figured out.

"We'll discuss how to wield your weapon once you've found the right one."

Her gaze fell on the club in her hands. "Then I guess I'll try.

.. the daggers?" She looked at him questioningly, but he had already retreated into the shadows and called Ralph over.

The blond giant jogged over to him, waved at Ava with a grin, and spoke quietly with Master Clark.

If these were the instructions she could expect from the trainer today, she was in for thousands more bruises and scrapes. ..

Sighing, she watched the other students, who apparently loved fighting.

Although they were sweating and panting, their faces expressed a grim satisfaction, and although they were moving nonstop, they seemed to enjoy pushing their bodies beyond their limits again and again.

They whirled across the sand, swung swords, threw daggers, and shot with bows and arrows. It looked like child's play.

She squared her shoulders and stood tall, remembering why she had started training in the first place.

She never wanted to feel helpless again.

And she needed to prepare for the fight against Elora.

Still, her steps were heavy as she walked to the weapons cabinet.

She put the club back and took two daggers instead.

She had observed Magg with the stabbing weapons and maybe she would manage to land a hit or two—even though, if she was being honest, she doubted she would be able to lift her arms many more times.

They felt like lead. It was a good thing her legs had been tempered from all that running.

At least that way she could dodge until the break bell rang.

.. although her gut feeling told her that today it wouldn't just be breakfast that was canceled.