Page 23 of Ava’s Love of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #2)

Draco urged Ava to rest, which she did after tucking the Isip stone into her pocket, keeping it within reach. After all, the magical stone had already helped her in the fight against Elora's followers.

Although the duel with the brutal mage Arthur kept replaying in her mind as if she were reliving it, she eventually dozed off. It felt like it was only for a few minutes, though. At some point, she startled awake and looked at Draco, who narrowed his glowing eyes.

"They're here."

Her pulse skyrocketed. "Who?"

"The mages."

Ava jumped out of bed and crouched next to him. Cautiously, she peered over the windowsill outside but couldn't see anyone. The outlines of the surrounding buildings and the grandstand were vaguely visible, nothing else.

"Is Elora with them?"

"No."

"We need to warn the others!" She couldn't very well let her friends and the other inhabitants sleep.

Who knew what the mages were planning? She rushed to the door and yanked it open.

Marcus had been sitting on the bare floor, leaning against the door, and fell into the room. Surprised, he jumped up.

"What's going on?"

"Were you sleeping in front of my room?"

"Keeping watch, not sleeping. So? What's happening?"

"The mages are here."

"I knew it." He angrily clenched his fists and made a decision within milliseconds. "We need to get you out of here! I know the forest well. Draco can fly us there, and we'll hide. No one will find us."

Ava shook her head. "We need to warn the others!" But before she could rush into the corridor, Marcus held her back by the arm.

"No! Maybe they're in cahoots with them."

"I don't believe that. I have to at least tell Lilly and Lynn. The cadets can defend themselves, but those two can't. They should barricade themselves."

Lilly came storming into the hallway, not at all disheveled, as if she, like Marcus, had been expecting an attack. She was wearing combat gear. Where she had found it was the big question. Confidently, she put her hands on her hips. "Me, hide? You'll be waiting a long time for that."

Ava looked at Marcus. "Get her to safety!"

He clenched his jaw. "But I have to—"

Ava grabbed him by the collar and looked at him intently. "Get her and Lynn to safety! Quickly!"

He exhaled, nodded, and grabbed Lilly. She fought back with hands and feet.

"Hey, let me go! I want to fight!"

"You'll help us best by staying safe!"

The little one couldn't escape Marcus, no matter how wildly she squirmed. She looked pleadingly at Ava. "You know I can help!"

She knew what Lilly was alluding to, but her magical powers were unpredictable, and the girl was too young to be drawn into the fights.

Ava had to be careful that she didn't sneak between the lines anyway.

So she put her hands together pleadingly.

"Help me by protecting Marcus and Lynn. They can't defend themselves. "

Lilly clenched her fists, her entire body tensed, but then she nodded and ran off with Marcus. Ava ran back to her room, where Draco was standing by the window, ready to fly.

"We need to get outside immediately." He tried to open the window but couldn't manage it with his huge feet.

"But the mages are outside!"

"Yes, but you need me, so I'm growing. Quickly."

His body tensed as if his skin would burst at any moment, and his head swelled while his tail expanded in width and length.

Ava flung open the window, and then he jumped out and spread his wings.

Holding her breath, she leaned over the edge and looked down, where he landed halfway to the arena and grew and grew.

She quickly turned around and raced through the hallway down the stairs to the outside.

When she reached him, she stopped abruptly and her mouth dropped open.

Her little dragon, not even two weeks old and lying in her bed just three minutes ago, was bigger than all the surrounding buildings. How had Lynn been able to pat his head just a few hours ago?

His feet were huge, his body larger than a single-family house, and his scales shone purple, glowing as if a fire burned within him that would destroy anyone who stood in his way. He had to curl his long, spike-covered tail to avoid tearing down the entire grandstand.

The grandstand!

Ava ran to the weapons cabinet and got two daggers. She didn't know if the blades would help her against the mages, but they were better than nothing. She wrapped the Isip stone around the handle of one dagger so she could deflect magical attacks.

Armed, she raced back to Draco, who stood up to his full height and surveyed the area.

All childlike and cute features had disappeared from his face.

His feet were not at all clumsy, his eyes no longer moist but glowing dangerously.

If she had encountered him in this form for the first time, she would have been terrified of him.

But she hadn't, and his heart still beat together with hers in her chest, so she stood confidently beside him.

Tensely, she kept an eye on the competition area. No one should sneak up on them unnoticed, no one should hurt her friends. Therefore, she braced herself for the fight. Determinedly, she remained next to Draco, willing to stop anyone who entered the arena unauthorized.

But the area remained quiet. No one appeared, nobody shouted "Attack!" and not a single magic bolt shot at them from the darkness. Nevertheless, she felt the tension, the danger, as if she could see a horde of mages just waiting for the right moment to destroy them all.

Ralph and Magg came running into the arena, stared at Draco in disbelief, and hurried to Ava. "What happened?"

"The mages are nearby."

Magg spat on the ground. "It was obvious your presence would cause us problems!"

She could have probably figured that out herself, but the combat training was important.

However, the others couldn't be put into danger.

Feelings of guilt overcame her. As soon as the mages were gone, she had to find a solution.

But in the meantime, she positioned herself next to Draco and gripped her daggers decisively.

"I'll do everything I can to protect you."

Magg laughed derisively, but Ralph elbowed her in the side and pointed at Draco, who was glaring at them angrily.

His eyes were narrowed and smoke clouds shot from his nostrils as if he could barely restrain himself.

Magg fell silent immediately but continued to glare angrily at the surroundings until suddenly a black giant shadow spread across the horizon, flying in their direction at breakneck speed.

Ava knew immediately who it was. She felt it. And although it shouldn't be, she was glad he was coming.

Kilian.

With a violent tremor, the huge fire dragon landed next to Draco. It was a miracle that both dragons fit in the arena. They were now the same size, and if Ava didn't know better, she would have guessed they were the same age.

Kilian jumped from Thalara's back, sword drawn. "The mages are on their way!"

"I know, my dragon told me. How do they know I'm here?" There was an accusatory tone in her voice, as she had only one person in mind who could have revealed her location.

But Kilian shook his head. "It couldn't have been Rob. I took care of him. We'll look for whoever is responsible later. First, we need to protect the facility. There are too many innocents." He pointed to Magg and Ralph. "You take care of the gate, we'll fly along the walls!"

The two rushed off, not questioning Kilian's order for a second, while the dragon fighter impatiently pointed to Draco. "Can you ride him?"

Her stomach sank deeper. Flying? So quickly? She looked at Draco, who nodded grimly. Out of necessity, she pushed aside all concerns. There was no room for fear. She would simply have to do it.

"We're ready."

"Then jump on. Up there, the mages can't get you."

She looked at him disappointedly. "Is that why we're scouting the walls instead of standing in front of them and fighting?" The others would be living shields while she was safe in the sky.

Kilian shook his head, clenching his jaw. "If I had a choice, I'd stick you with Lilly, but I know that makes no sense. So we stay together."

She swallowed, quickly averting her gaze, then tucked the daggers into her belt and placed her hands on Draco's scales. "Is there anything I need to know before I climb on your back?"

"Hurry up! We need to get in the air!"

It appeared that Kilian's dragon came to the same conclusion and gave him a similar message, because without further ado, Kilian grabbed her by the legs and pushed her up. "Quick!"

Like a mountaineer, she fought her way up and climbed onto the giant dragon.

No sooner had she placed her legs on either side of his back than Draco pushed off from the ground and spread his wings, launching them into the sky.

The arena became smaller at a dizzying rate, and even Kilian's fire dragon looked tiny until the dragon fighter had also swung himself up and started to follow them.

Ava clawed her hands around the scales and leaned forward. It was damn shaky, and this time Kilian wasn't sitting behind her to hold her steady. But he didn't need to anymore. She was learning to fight. She was learning to throw daggers. And she would learn to ride a dragon, damn it!

"Stay high up so the spells can't reach you. We'll fly a round. Follow me!" Kilian's voice was used to battling against the strong winds. Ava heard him, although a strong gust of wind whistled around her ears. Draco followed the fire dragon like a pro and circled at a safe distance above the arena.

Either it was a false alarm or the mages knew how to hide, because they saw no one. It also remained quiet at the gate. Eventually, Ava felt Draco's neck muscles relax.

"Are they gone?"

He nodded. "We're going down. Hold on tight."

She didn't need to be told twice. She clung to his scales, leaned forward, and clamped her legs against his back until they gently touched down on the sandy ground. Kilian and Thalara landed beside them.

Ava lifted one leg over to the other and slid down from Draco, Lilly style. Kilian swung himself effortlessly to the ground, but of course he'd done this a thousand times before.

"They're gone."

Ava nodded, but instead of feeling relief, she felt even more tense. How had he been able to get here so quickly? The mages had probably hoped to catch Ava alone, and Kilian's presence had prevented an attack. How would it have turned out if he hadn't arrived in time?

"How did you know the mages were on their way?"

"Your dragon told Thalara."

Raising her eyebrows, she turned to her gigantic and extremely talkative fella. That explained quite a bit. "Did you also tell him that I was back in the realm?"

"Of course. I know what you need, Ava." He blinked gently with both eyes, as if he couldn't hurt a fly. However, the childlike expression no longer worked. She snorted indignantly but left it at that.

When she turned to Kilian, he regarded her with a hungry look. A warm pull traveled through her body, but she ignored it.

"Thank you for your help, but I think it's better if we stay out of each other's way." She lowered her gaze, not wanting to be ungrateful and not wanting to send him away at all, but what choice did they have?

When she looked up, he nodded slowly.

"I know." However, he didn't leave but just ran his hand over his face. Before he could say more, Master Clark appeared in the arena. Had he just been waiting for the right moment?

"You've driven them away for tonight, but they'll keep coming back until they have you, Ava." He looked at her intently, as if trying to read her thoughts. She was convinced he had been able to do that for a long time.

The mere thought of falling into the hands of the mages again made her feel sick. "Do you know the prophecy?"

He nodded. "Elora knows it too, although she hasn't understood it yet. She won't rest until she has you in her power."

"We'll prevent that!" Kilian crossed his arms over his chest and let his gaze sweep over the facility. "Currently, there are five cadets in training besides Ava, right?"

"Six."

Ava perked up in surprise. Apart from Ralph and Magg, she had only seen the three teenagers. "Who's the sixth?"

But the master didn't answer, which wasn't really surprising. After all, he preferred asking questions.

Kilian pointed commandingly at the portal where Magg and Ralph had taken up their positions. "From now on, you will set up guards day and night. Ava's training has top priority, because the confrontation with the mages is imminent."

His words made Ava's stomach churn, even though she had seen it coming.

She was at this training facility because she would have to face Elora someday.

However, she wondered how she was supposed to manage that when she couldn't even win against Magg.

The thought of her fellow students pulled her out of her shock.

"I should leave the premises. I don't want to put the others in danger." She should have thought of that from the beginning.

But the master calmly shook his head. "You're staying. Everything is as it should be. I assume you'll be staying too, Dragon Leader, to ensure her protection."

As Kilian turned to him, he nodded decisively. "Of course. I will support her in her fight."

The mere thought of seeing him day and night made her heartbeat quicken. But at least she trained with Master Clark and Magg almost all the time. That meant she would rarely see him.

But the master had other plans.

"Then..." he said, looking from Ava to Kilian with an inscrutable gaze, "...you will start training her tomorrow."