Page 50 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
She couldn't help it, she had to lift her gaze and found herself staring right into his face. His eyes glowed darkly in the starlight before he looked at her lips. She couldn't help but look at his too, which parted slightly. But Ava pulled back and took the pendant from his hand, her fingers brushing his. The only touch she allowed.
"It's late. I should sleep, because my merciless trainer has summoned me to the arena before sunrise."
He cleared his throat, once again the cool dragon leader the world knew. "If he gives you trouble, let me know, and I'll have a serious word with him."
Smiling, she looked up and discovered a restrained grin forming behind his stubble. "I will. Good night, oh mighty dragon fighter."
"Good night, oh fascinating Guardian." There was admiration in his eyes, which made it harder for her to say goodbye, but he quickly hid it again behind an impenetrablemask. The mask of the dragon leader who knew his responsibility.
With a brief wave, she stood up and began her descent. Reaching the foot of the rocks, everything within her urged to turn back and look at him. She didn't want to, but she couldn't resist. She had to see him one last time tonight. Just from a distance.
When she turned around and tilted her head back, she saw his silhouette looming atop the cliff. And although they were meters apart, she felt his penetrating gaze resting unabashedly upon her.
Chapter 23
The next day, Ava fought against Magg from sunrise to sunset. Kilian had given them brief instructions in the morning before he'd mounted Thalara and soared into the sky. It took all of Ava's willpower not to watch him go, but Magg would have mercilessly exploited that moment of distraction, and her opponent was already landing enough hits as it was.
It was frustrating to fight against her. No matter how Ava defended herself or attacked, she made no progress. She tried to imitate the tricks, attempted to memorize and mimic movements and strikes, but however she held the daggers, Magg always knocked them out of her hands and landed one hit after another. Ava probably didn't have a single patch of skin left that wasn't blue or purple.
In the evening, Kilian returned with Allan, and they circled above the arena and the surrounding area. Magg glanced up at them furtively, admiration in her eyes, which Ava tried to exploit. Her ego would have welcomed landing a hit. But even this strike failed. Instead, Magg skillfully dodged her and delivered such a powerful blow that Ava landed flat on the ground. Dust and sand filled her mouth, and she wiped her face.
Only the fear that Magg might immediately pounce on her made Ava quickly scramble to her feet, when suddenly Master Clark appeared between them.
"Walk with me for a moment, Ava."
Caught off guard, she wiped her forearm across her forehead to clear away the sweat and dirt. Meanwhile, Magg was already pummeling the punching bag as if she had only been warming up until now.
It was frustrating!
She wiped the dust from her face and struggled to catch her breath. "Can't you finally show me some tricks? I don't feel like I'm learning anything."
The Master leaned on his cane and looked at her with his head tilted to one side before slowly setting off. "You're focusing on Magg. That's wrong."
Frowning, she looked at him. How else was she supposed to win? "What should I focus on instead?"
"On yourself. On your progress, your strengths, your feelings."
"My feelings?" He couldn't be serious. Her emotions were in absolute chaos. There was Draco's heartbeat connected to hers, there was her anger over her lack of progress, her fear of confronting Elora, her frustration with Magg's blows and stabs—and the cherry on top, of course, were the feelings for Kilian that she wasn't supposed to have.
Master Clark smiled in amusement, as if he knew exactly what was going on inside her. "Why do you think I had you fight against the dragon rider?"
Caught red-handed, she lowered her gaze. He shouldn't think poorly of her. "I know he has to marry the princess, and I know what's at stake. I'm really trying to stay out of his way."
"No, Ava, wrong, you must go to him. You must face your feelings, for they are your strongest weapon."
Did this have something to do with her inner demons again?
"But I'm making it harder for him too, and I don't want that." He already had enough burdens to bear. How much could one person tolerate?
"It's not about him, and it's not about Magg, Elora, or the dragons. If you want to follow your destiny, you must face your feelings."
"Because they are my strongest weapon."
He nodded.
She of all people preferred to suppress her feelings... But if he was so confident, she should probably trust him. She raised her hands holding the daggers. "Will I then be able to wield my weapons better?"
"That remains to be seen."
