Page 14 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
Ava smirked, while Marcus quickly cleared his throat and blinked. "I'm telling you, the dragon fighters can't be trusted!" With unusual sternness, he turned to Lilly, his eyebrows tightly drawn together. "You can't just run off while I'm gathering firewood! I was afraid Elora's mages had caught you and killed you, like they do with everyone who isn't magically gifted!"
Lilly quickly looked at Ava, a silent plea in her eyes. Marcus knew nothing of her supernatural powers and shouldn't find out. Officially, not even Ava knew about it, as she and Lilly had never talked about the subject. Those with magical abilities were considered mortal enemies of the dragon realm. Various remarks Marcus had made about mages came to Ava's mind, which was why she nodded inconspicuously. But she made a mental note to talk to the girl when they had a quiet moment.
As soon as Lilly had made sure she could rely on Ava, she stood up to Marcus and put her thin fists on her hips. "I told you Rob lied! I told you we had to help Ava! If I hadn't gone back, he would have killed her!"
Marcus turned pale. "What?"
Ava nodded. "He tried everything and wanted to prevent me from coming back at all costs. When I reached the cave anyway, he tied me up and wanted to make short work of me."
Marcus tensed every muscle in anger. A vein stood out prominently on his neck, uncharacteristic for the gentle woodman. "If I get my hands on him... So much for dragon fighters being sacred and the pinnacle of our society. They're traitors! Cowardly backstabbers who can no longer tell right from wrong! He should?—"
Ava placed a calming hand on his upper arm before he could shout the entire forest down. "Believe me, I'm just as angry at him, but we should be quiet and disappear. He's looking for me because he considers me the greatest threat to this country."
And they both knew why.
Kilian.
A pained expression crossed his face before he nodded and gently nudged Lilly in the side. "All credit to your rescue mission, but next time I'm coming with you."
The girl snorted. "I was faster alone. I'm a lone wolf after all. I?—"
He looked at her with unmistakable sternness. "Next time I'm coming with you!"
Lilly nodded hesitantly, whereupon he gave her a dark look, indicating she should start running, as if he were her father. "I'll stay behind you. You know the way, Lilly, and now not another sound."
"Look who's talking..." the little one grumbled, but so quietly that only Ava heard her.
"Where are we going?"
Marcus pointed into the dense forest. "We need shelter for the night, so we're first heading back to the cave I stocked with plenty of firewood—until I noticed someone had outsmarted me." Lilly was hit with another reproachful look, but the little one just grinned. In her eyes, she had done everything right.
Ava was no less grateful that she had acted on her own. She preferred to push aside what might have happened to her in Rob's hands without Lilly's help. After all, she didn't want to unnecessarily fuel her fear of the dragon fighter. He was dangerous, sure, but she wouldn't face him with trembling knees at their next encounter.
Wordlessly, they marched through the forest, encountering no one. Marcus, a dyed-in-the-wool forest expert, knew his way around well and knew where the ground became too muddy and where it was dry, so their tracks wouldn't stand out.
Night gradually fell and darkness settled between the trees, making it hard for them to keep an eye on their surroundings. Nevertheless, Ava's adrenaline levels went down. She felt drained, dog-tired, and every step felt so heavy that she even considered simply lying down on the ground and sleeping.
How sheltered had her old life been? Still, she wouldn't have traded it for her new one.
After several hours, they reached their destination. The cave was hidden behind densely leafy bushes and wasn't recognizableat first glance. It wasn't particularly large, but it was sheltered from the wind, and warm. There was enough space for two of them to lie down. One had to keep watch anyway. Marcus offered to go first.
"Are you sure?" Ava looked around suspiciously. In the darkness, it was hardly possible to distinguish trunk from human. The faint outlines of the trees blended with those of the bushes and ferns, creating a picture of utmost danger. Of course, she trusted him. But she didn't know if she could sleep peacefully after the past hours and with Rob as a proclaimed enemy who was looking for her.
Marcus seemed to guess her thoughts. He smiled at her charmingly. "I don't have an escape from a dragon's lair behind me, and if I'm reading the shadows under your eyes correctly, I'm the only one of us who slept last night."
"Liar!" Lilly called from the cave. She was already making herself comfortable on the leaves and moss that Marcus had gathered. "You spent at least half the night staring at the stars and thinking about Ava."
He grinned. "Then I'm the only one who slept half of last night."
She had to agree with him, especially since she had barely slept the previous nights either. Since she had come to this dragon realm, not one day had felt normal. On the other hand, she had mobilized strengths that she hadn't even known were in her until now.
Distractedly, she rubbed her arms. She was cold and her body was on the verge of exhaustion, but she didn't want to end up in another life-threatening situation. So she kept scanning the undergrowth without pause. She didn't see any glimmering pairs of eyes and didn't hear footsteps or rustling leaves. "It's not that I don't trust you, but the last few hours have been damn intense."
Sympathetically, he reached out his hand to her. "How about this: We sit together at the cave entrance, and as soon as you feel like it, you lie down and sleep."
That would indeed suit her, yet she shrugged questioningly. "And when will you sleep?"
He waved it off. "I can go days without sleep if I know you're safe."
