Page 3 of Ava’s Love of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #2)

Ava saw nothing as her hands were tied behind her back. "That's too tight! You're hurting me! HELP!!!"

The captain spat on the ground. That wasn't the only reason she'd have recognized him from among hundreds. He reeked sourly, as if his foul mood had eaten through his body. "You'll be hurting a lot more soon. Do you know what we do to assassins in this kingdom? We don't waste time!"

The border guards laughed. Ava reared up and pulled her hands apart to prevent the soldier from tightening the knot further.

It was bad enough not being able to see anything through the sack on her head.

"I'm not an assassin! The dragon fighter lied to you because he wants to prevent me from coming back! "

"Insulting a high-ranking dragon fighter goes right on the list of your offenses. Better keep your mouth shut, or we'll have the right to kill you on the spot. Which would suit me just fine."

"Why would I attack the king?" Snorting with rage, Ava twisted her upper body, but someone grabbed her and another soldier tightened the restraints so she couldn't move.

"You hid a dragon egg from him! That was high treason!"

They knew about the dragon and that it had hatched?

Why did they know about it? Had news of the dragon child's birth already spread, or had Rob blabbed about that too? By now, she wouldn't put anything past him. Was he a traitor or did he really want to protect the dragon world?

She had to postpone those questions for later—and first make sure there would, in fact, be a later for her.

"What are you planning to do with me?"

"If you don't shut up right now, I promise you won't be conscious for any of it!

Now be quiet!" He struck the back of her head, causing her to fall forward.

If one of the soldiers hadn't held her, she would have fallen face-first onto the ground, as for now she couldn't brace herself or defend herself in any way with her hands.

Damn! How was she going to free herself?

"HELP! AIR DRAGON!" Her voice was muffled by the sack, but she screamed with all her lungs could muster. "HELP!"

The soldier holding her grew uneasy. "Why is she calling for him?" He sounded uncertain.

"I told you to shut up!" The captain shoved her head again, but this time she had been expecting it and steadied her stance beforehand. Instead of having to fight for balance, she took a deep breath and screamed again.

"AIR DRAGON!"

She knew the air dragons guarded the borders.

During her first border crossing, the mere appearance of the dragon had been enough to make the soldiers let her go.

He was her only chance. The only way she could keep herself from falling into the king's hands.

Because if she considered the accusations—not all of which were far-fetched—King Eldric would show no mercy.

"Gag her!" the captain roared and pressed his hand over her mouth. She shook her head, and his hand slipped aside for a moment.

"AAI—"

The sack over her head was lifted a bit, and her scream was stifled as a thick piece of cloth was shoved between her lips.

She tried to close her jaws, but the soldiers pushed the wad of fabric directly into her mouth.

Before she could spit it out, they pulled the sack down over her head and secured the gag with a band they tied tightly at the back of her head.

Heavens, she had to pray not to suffocate! Panic threatened to overwhelm her and she tensed up. Breathe. Breathe. Finally, she managed a somewhat normal rhythm.

"Take her away!" The captain spat on the ground again.

"But she called for him. What if he comes and incinerates us because we've captured her?"

"Are you such cowards? She has a sack over her head! How is the dragon supposed to recognize her?"

"But she's full of dragon magic. We all saw the stone glowing."

"Then, you'd better hurry, or do you want to stand next to her at the execution and be charged with insubordination?"

Grumbling, the border guard pushed her forward.

She stumbled but caught herself before falling to her knees.

A wind picked up and tugged at the sack over her head.

This had to be the air dragon! She just had to stay outside long enough for him to find her.

With all her weight, she braced herself against the soldiers.

"He's coming!" one of them shouted.

"Lock her in the hut!"

"But he'll destroy everything with his water vapor breath!"

"Hurry up, then he won't see her!"

The guards pushed her forward, but Ava made herself heavy, didn't take a step, and risked falling. The dragon was coming. He would help her. Surely!

A soldier grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder.

Her upper body was wrapped up like a package, so she couldn't do anything but kick her legs.

But immediately another started holding her feet, and the men rushed off at breakneck speed.

She heard a door being unlocked, and then they ran inside and a door slammed shut behind them.

It got even darker; they were probably in the shed.

She tried to scream, to make noise, to cause any kind of ruckus, but the border guards held her tight and only muffled sounds escaped her mouth.

"Get one of the horses in here, quick!"

"Why?"

"It'll mask her aura. Hurry up, damn it!"

"Yes, sir!" The door was flung open, the sound of hooves echoed, and the smell of horse wafted in along with the warmth emanating from its large body. The men pushed Ava close to the horse, surrounding her as if they needed a group hug, and made no sound.

Ava wanted to resist, but they held her in an iron grip, and her bonds and gag were tight. She had no choice but to stand still and listen to what was happening.

It was so hot that beads of sweat ran down between her shoulder blades.

Outside, a storm was brewing, beating against the wooden walls and whistling through the roof. Under the sack, the air remained stuffy and hot.

"He's here," whispered a soldier.

"I know. We need to talk so he doesn't wonder what we're doing in here."

Ava didn't give up, she tried to scream, but only managed muffled sounds. The guards held her mercilessly, and the horse also remained in place, as if its feet were cemented to the ground.

"We need to clean the hooves. Look, the horse has injured itself here," one of the soldiers said, so as to start a casual conversation.

"Right, I'll do that. Easy, nag, or I can't help you."

"Don't insult him, the dragons don't like that," the other hissed.

"You beautiful, beautiful steed. You're doing so well," the other then cooed.

The guards talked so loudly that Ava couldn't hear anything happening outside the hut. But eventually the wind died down, the border guards breathed a sigh of relief, and it was clear that her only chance to escape had literally blown away.

The men shoved her to the ground and chained her to something.

Judging by the clinking sounds, it was a metal rod.

They left the horse in the shed near her and went back outside.

A beam of light fell into the room as they opened the door, but since they left the sack over Ava's head, she saw nothing but weak light shining through the fabric.

The guards just left??? But they had to remove the wad of cloth from her mouth, or she'd suffocate!

Ava made indistinguishable sounds, but the soldiers didn't even think of coming back to spare her from death by suffocation. Perhaps they consciously took the risk to get rid of her as quickly as possible. The door fell shut behind them, and the weak light vanished instantly.

Damn it all! Her return to the realm of dragons couldn't have gone worse!

Minutes ticked by. No one checked on her, no guard stood in front of the hut, as if the men had suddenly become afraid of her.

The air smelled stale and stagnant and her oxygen supply was worryingly low, but she reminded herself to stay calm.

She couldn't give up. She had to find a solution, even though her situation seemed hopeless.

Finally, an idea came to her. She lowered the internal wall she hid her feelings behind, just a little bit.

Not to face her emotions, heavens, no! But to reach out her feelers to the little dragon whom she would be connected with for life.

At least, that's what he had said. How much could you trust the statement of a one-day-old dragon?

Stop, she mustn't discourage herself. It was worth a try.

She listened inwardly to see if she could sense his heartbeat.

"Little dragon?"

He didn't answer. Thalara, Kilian's dragon, had probably already taken him far away to safety, so she shouldn't try to lure him here. He wasn't equipped to handle such danger. After all, he was still a hatchling that fit in the palm of her hand.

What could he do if he came here anyway?

Scare off the soldiers with his cute roar?

Fly Ava away with his tiny body? But he might be able to alert the air dragons, which would be extremely helpful.

But what could happen to him alone on the flight here?

Was he even capable of flying long distances yet? Certainly not.

However, he could inform her friends or another dragon.

She tried again, but he didn't respond. They were probably too far apart. Nevertheless, she kept the wall down and didn't give up calling for him. At least it gave her the feeling she was doing something and not just silently waiting for her execution.

Hours passed as she crouched in a twisted position in the corner.

She couldn't reach the knots of the bonds, and no matter how desperately she wriggled and tugged at the ropes, they didn't loosen.

She couldn't get the sack off her head or the gag out of her mouth either.

At some point, she grew tired. At some point, hope diminished.

At some point, she accepted her hopeless situation and expected the worst.