Page 6 of Ava’s Love of the Dragons (Of Dragons, Love, and Destiny #2)

Toni had truly heard many stories and possessed a special talent for telling them. Ava let him talk, relieved that her dusty appearance hadn't aroused his suspicion. The ride on his covered wagon gave her a sense of normalcy, even though nothing in her life had been normal for almost a week.

Occasionally, she glanced discreetly towards the border, but there was no troop of soldiers in sight.

No wonder, they were making good progress, and on foot, she could never have covered this distance in the same amount of time.

The border guards were probably searching for her in Belmonde and the surrounding area, not on a pottery merchant's cart.

An hour later, they reached a narrow wooden bridge where the country road forked in opposite directions. In that time, Ava had learned more about the cities and villages of the Dragon Kingdom than in the past few days combined. Perhaps this knowledge would be useful someday.

"Well, here we are. Take care of yourself, Ava, and the next time I eat butter crackers, I'll dip them in cocoa." The merchant winked at her in a friendly manner.

She smiled. "Thanks, Toni. And the next time I'm in Sanbell, I'll visit you."

"Fantastic. Then we'll go to Siggi's, he makes the best dragon head soup." He laughed while her stomach turned. The name couldn't be meant literally, could it?

"Sounds great. See you then." She jumped off the cart, waved to him, and marched along the road leading south. The mountains reached up to dizzying heights. The sun was high; it was early afternoon, so the shadows were short.

She scanned the rock faces until she spotted an angular formation that looked familiar. The cave could have been there. If she climbed the rock face diagonally, she should reach it.

Without hesitation, she began the ascent. It wasn't easy, as there was no hiking trail, but she kept finding rocky outcrops to pull herself up on, and slopes that weren't too steep to climb. Here and there, bushes and tall grasses grew, which, together with the rocks, provided support.

The climb was sweaty work, but she scaled the mountain and reached the cave.

Exhausted, she panted, put her hands on her sides, and looked around, a restrained smile on her lips.

Her fate had definitely turned since the appearance of the border soldier in the night who had helped her escape.

This really was the cave where Lilly and Marcus had waited for her with the dragon child.

But no one was there anymore. She didn't need to search around to be sure, because she sensed it as soon as she crossed the threshold of rock.

The last time she had come here, she had immediately felt the warmth that connected her to the hatchling. And Lilly had already been expecting her, as well as Marcus. This time, she found nothing but bare rocks, silence, and cold.

Nevertheless, she wandered through every single room, hoping to discover some clue. Something that would tell her where to continue her search. Where she could find her friends. But the others had left nothing behind.

She stopped in the middle of the cave and wiped her dusty forehead with the back of her hand. What should she do now? It would take days if she set out for Talus. Even longer if she ran into the old forest to search for the hidden city and Marcus. She shook her head. There had to be another way.

Again, she lowered her inner walls and felt for the dragon that had nestled in her heart, for the heartbeat that had beaten in unison with hers.

But she couldn't feel it. Maybe because it had hatched and no longer needed her as its guardian.

Perhaps the connection between hatchling and dragon guardian didn't last more than a week.

The thought depressed her, so she quickly raised her wall again.

She was about to sit down on the rocky floor to think when she heard footsteps. Alert, she looked up and was startled.

Rob.

He stood in the entrance. His muscular body seemed to completely fill the passageway, as if to make it clear that she couldn't run past him.

With his broad stature, he blocked out the sunlight, his shadow looming into the cave.

His gloomy expression matched his black leather clothing, and his hands were clenched into fists.

As if she were the one who had betrayed him...

"I knew if you came back, there'd be only one place I'd find you."

Anger boiled up inside her, and she focused on that feeling instead of the fear that twisted her gut. She glared at him furiously. "Are you crazy, just leaving me at the world border? What lies did you tell the others about why you came back without me? How could you do that?"

He remained calm. Dangerously calm. "I have my reasons. They serve a higher purpose than your personal satisfaction."

"I wonder if your goal aligns with what Kilian's and the dragons' aims are, too.

" Without taking her indignant gaze off him, she stepped deeper into the cave and inconspicuously traced an arc along the rock wall, hoping to lure him away from the entrance.

There would be no escape in here, and she wasn't fooling herself.

He hadn't searched for her to extend the hand of friendship.

"What you wonder about doesn't interest me. I must protect my country, and unlike our leader, I have no scruples!" Lightning-fast, he lunged forward to grab her. Ava jumped to the side and ran for the exit. She had to escape him!

With two large strides, he caught up with her and yanked her back by her tunic. "You're staying right here!"

"Let me go!" She lashed out, but he wouldn't release her.

"I won't make that mistake twice. Clearly, I need to deal with you personally if I want to make sure you don't get in our way again.

" He grabbed her waist so tightly, digging his fingers into her flesh, that it hurt.

She swung her elbow, aiming for his face, but he dodged, too tall for her reach, so she resorted to using her legs.

With full force, she kicked him in the shin.

"Let me go! I don't even want to go to Kilian!"

"Then why are you talking about him again?" In a well-practiced motion, he twisted her arms behind her back and held her tight, so she couldn't move without dislocating her shoulder.

"I want to go to Lilly, damn it. I've realized Kilian isn't available. Do you think I'm that desperate?"

A dangerously calm look settled in his eyes. "You pose a threat to all our futures. That's all I need to know. So I'm going to make sure you're not a threat anymore."

She paled. Before fear could overwhelm her, she tried to wriggle out of his grip, but he effortlessly held her hands behind her back, leaving her immobilized. When she turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder, she saw ruthless determination.

"What are you planning to do with me? Kill me or what?"

His irises glowed darkly, as if he had no soul. "I'm afraid that can't be avoided."

Her eyes widened. He couldn't be serious.

"Is your goal so noble that you'd kill an innocent person?

" Her voice echoed shrilly through the cave, the reverberation carrying the words into the remote rooms as if trying to help her inform others of the injustice.

But they were alone. No one appeared to save her.

"You're certainly not innocent." Faster than she thought possible, he pulled a rope from his belt and tied her up like a package.

"Don't worry, this cave was once sacred to the dragons.

I won't dishonor it. So you still have..

." He peered outside as if checking the position of the sun.

Ava followed his gaze and her eyes widened.

A huge dragon appeared in the distance, flying straight towards the cave. If she wasn't mistaken, that was...

"KILIAN! KILIAAAAAAAN!" She screamed with all the power her lungs and vocal cords could muster, but Rob hit her hard in the face.

As her head snapped to the side, he grabbed it, then pulled a cloth and tied it around her jaw so that no other sound escaped.

Effortlessly, he pushed her to the back of the cave.

Why was he so much bigger and stronger than her? Why did he have years of combat experience while she had instead sorted receipts in her aunt's shop?

Desperately, she fought against him. She had to buy time. Somehow, she had to manage to stay in the entrance area of the cave for as long as possible. Kilian would be here any moment, and he would help her. Surely.

But the dragon fighter was vastly superior.

As if she were a small child, he effortlessly transported her to a remote room, tied her to a pillar, and made sure the cloth around her mouth was tight.

Once he had checked all the bindings, he turned his back on her without another word and strolled back to the cave entrance.

Tears burned in her eyes. Once again, she was helpless. Once again, she had no choice but to wait and see if luck was on her side and someone would rush to her rescue or not. Once again, her life was in danger because she hadn't been able to defend herself. To fight. For her life and her free will.

Anger shot through her veins. Unbridled anger that worked its way through her body and mind like fire.

She swore one thing to herself: If she survived this, she would learn to fight.

With swords, daggers, bow and arrow, bare fists, whatever.

Any weapon would do, any means, any technique.

She never wanted to be helpless again when she was so close to being rescued.

She would never again have to rely on others who came to save her—or who didn't. No one would be able to stop her if she only managed to escape Rob's clutches alive.

She tried incessantly to free herself and push the gag from her mouth by contorting her jaw in the wildest ways, but Rob knew his craft. The sounds she made were muffled. They probably barely reached the next room.

When the men's voices traveled through the cave, she screamed as loudly as possible. Kilian was there. Not a hundred meters away from her! But the gag dampened every scream to a minimum. Eventually, she had to accept that he couldn't hear her. That she couldn't draw his attention to her.

Exhausted, she paused and remained still, trying to understand what they were talking about. Maybe she could at least get some information.

"... still here?"

That was Kilian. His voice immediately set her in turmoil, her body vibrated, her heart called out to his. She couldn't help it, tried again to call out and free herself, but the ropes were tight.

"I wanted to make sure we hadn't left anything behind. The girl and the woodsman set off after us, after all."

That was Rob. How she hated his voice!

"Why did you come here, Kilian? I thought you had to attend a ball tonight."

Kilian hesitated, causing Rob to groan. "Don't tell me you wanted to fly to the border.

Believe me, she's not coming back. She told me clearly on the flight back.

She's totally suffering because you can't be together.

It was all too much for her. Which is good.

You're supposed to marry the princess in a month! "

"Don't remind me."

Rob's voice became more sympathetic. "Have you at least proposed to her yet?"

Kilian's hesitation was answer enough. And somehow it pleased Ava, for some reason her heart clung to this admission, clung to hope, although there was absolutely no reason for it.

Rob groaned, but once again infused his voice with a friendly undertone. Was this all just for show, or did he truly feel sorry for him? "The king is growing restless. You have to do it, Kilian. Don't forget, the fate of our world and the survival of all dragons rest solely on your shoulders."

That sounded damn well like emotional blackmail. Ava would have snorted if she had been able to. Kilian needed to find out what had truly happened and what Rob was capable of! How he might even be manipulating him. Maybe he was secretly working for the king!

"I know what's expected of me." Kilian's voice sounded different. Deeper, rough, yet there was a determination in it that forbade any pity. He took a few steps—if she wasn't mistaken, he was coming in her direction. "What's that smell? Bacon?"

Ava's eyes flew open. Was fate on her side? Doggedly, she wrestled with her bonds, even though it seemed hopeless. She let out the loudest muffled screams possible and didn't stop and kept fighting. She scraped the ropes against the stone of the pillar, but the subdued noise didn't leave the room.

Rob's self-satisfied voice effortlessly drowned out the sounds.

"Must be from the girl. The little one's got some tricks up her sleeve.

I gave her our provisions so she could put some meat on her bones.

She probably ate most of it before they set off.

" Rob laughed. It sounded so carefree that it was impossible to reconcile it with the man who was threatening her life.

Who was doing everything to prevent her and Kilian from meeting again.

"Good decision. And don't worry, I won't let the dragons and our kingdom down. You know that better than anyone."

Judging by the sound, the men exchanged a brief embrace.

"Thanks, man. I know what's weighing on your shoulders. But at least the princess is the most beautiful woman in the land."

Kilian didn't answer.

"Fly ahead to Belmonde and relax before the ball. I know you hate these events, so treat yourself to a bath in the hot springs beforehand. I'll take care of the cave."

"NO!" Ava wanted to scream, but Rob knew his craft. Whatever she tried, she couldn't manage to get Kilian's attention or loosen her bonds. Even the muffled sounds were so quiet that she wouldn't have startled even a mouse with them.

"Thanks. See you later." His footsteps receded, and each step echoed in Ava like the drums of death. Her death...