Page 16 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
"What are you two doing?" Lilly appeared at the cave entrance and squeezed between them, forcing Marcus to release her hand. "I thought you had a crush on Kilian, Ava."
Ava opened her mouth, though she didn't know what to say, but Lilly waved it off anyway.
"No use denying it. I know for a fact that you two kissed."
Ava's gaze shot to Marcus, who grimaced ruefully.
"That doesn't mean her heart can't choose someone else."
It won't, Ava wanted to say, but she was neither the type to talk about feelings nor was there any need to justify herself.
"Marcus was showing me how he senses what's going on in the forest without having to look."
Lilly's eyes widened. "That's brilliant! Teach me too!"
The woodsman grinned. "Sure, but you'll have to be quiet."
"We should be anyway." Lilly peered into the night. "Our enemies are probably not far away."
Ava feared the same, but she didn't want the little one to be scared. She remembered the conversation between the dragon fighters she had overheard while tied to the pillar in the back room. "Kilian is at some ball in Belmonde tonight and expects to meet Rob there. Of course, I don't know if he'll still fly there despite my escape."
"Right, Kilian has to keep the princess happy so she'll marry him. Though she'd be stupid not to." Lilly sighed theatrically. "He's so handsome and strong, and he's bound to the biggest dragon. Could there be a better match?"
Ava grinned while Marcus rolled his eyes. "There are other qualities men can score with, young lady."
"I'm not a young lady, you should know that by now. Rob and Kilian aren't our only problem though, Ava."
She perked up. "What do you mean?"
Lilly looked at Marcus, who was wringing his hands, searching for words. "We overheard something..." He ran his hand over his face.
The little one grew impatient with his hemming and hawing. She turned to Ava, her gaze as frank as if they were discussing the weather. "Elora has sent out scouts to search for you. Apparently, her focus is no longer primarily on fighting the king. Her top priority now is to kill the dragon guardian. There's a high bounty on your head."
Chapter 8
Ava's eyes snapped open. She could barely suppress the trembling that overtook her body at the news. "How do you know that?"
The girl shrugged as if it were just another detail. "While searching for the cave, we encountered a horde of mages. Don't worry, we managed to hide in time. They didn't notice us, so we eavesdropped on them. Luckily, because they said it multiple times. Elora wants you dead as soon as possible."
Although a chill ran down Ava's spine, she nodded to herself. It made sense, even if it didn't improve the situation. "It's because of this prophecy. Rob told me about it. Apparently, as the first dragon guardian to come from another world in hundreds of years, I can defeat the strongest mage or something like that."
"Exactly!" Lilly beamed as if it were cause for celebration. For Elora, it certainly wasn't, and not for Ava either. The mere thought of encountering the mage or one of her fighters again made her sick. She had barely escaped Elora's death sentence. If Kilian had shown up a few minutes later...
Marcus took her hand, with loyalty in his eyes that went far beyond friendship. "You're shaking. Don't worry, we'll protect you."
Discouraged, she shook her head. "A woodsman who abhors violence and a little girl?"
"Hey!" Lilly indignantly put her fists on her hips.
"And I'm well-equipped." Marcus pointed to his bow and arrows, as if the peaceful image she had of him had just been in her mind.
"Maybe you are, but I'm not!" She ran her hands through her hair, once again gripped by that damned helplessness. Nothing had changed. Although she was free for the moment, if one of her opponents showed up, she still wouldn't be able to defend herself.
Marcus reached out his hand to her. "What are you trying to say?"
Lilly was already grinning, her fists in front of her body. "You want to learn how to fight!"
Ava nodded, and Lilly punched the air exuberantly, a gleam in her eyes.
