Page 32 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
"That we'll find out if he's a fire dragon when the time is right."
"Awesome, but I bet he is one. Just look at those beautiful scales. And I'm sure that purple will turn fire-red when he's fully grown."
"Could be. How about some breakfast?"
"Don't you have to train right away?"
"Not without breakfast. And I'll be back for lunch."
"But didn't the master tell you to face your inner demons?"
"How do you know about that?"
"Lilly told me."
Ava rolled her eyes. Did everyone have to conspire against her?
"Without breakfast, I won't make it two meters. So come on, while you can still fit through the hallways and doors." She winked at the dragon and Lilly jumped off the bed.
"It's so cool that you can still talk to each other through thoughts. I want to be able to do that too." She smiled at the dragon, who also hopped off the bed and ran outside with her. Just a few centimeters more and he would no longer fit through the doorframes or be able to enter the building. Considering howmuch he had grown in a week, it wasn't impossible that he'd be too big by tomorrow.
After breakfast, Draco accompanied her to the arena, where the two mountain dragons were just landing and her fellow students were already training. Yes, she had dawdled a bit this morning, but who gets a visit from their dragon and immediately goes about their day as usual?
"Finally awake?" Magg taunted, but cast an admiring glance at Draco.
Ralph jogged over to her and smiled at Draco. "Wow, I didn't know you had already bonded with a dragon. Incredible. But he's so small. He can't possibly be big enough to—" His eyes widened as he realized. "Is that a hatchling?"
Ava nodded. "He's a little over a week old."
"And already this big?" His admiring gaze shifted from Draco to Ava, his eyes growing even wider. "So it's really true? You're the prophesied dragon guardian?"
She shrugged uncomfortably. It was strange to receive recognition for something she hadn't really done anything for. "Supposedly, yes. He came back to me last night."
"Impressive. Well, you'd better start running so you can finally learn to fight on him. If I were you, I could hardly wait."
Neither could she, which was why she was looking out for the master. If he saw that she had already bonded with a dragon, he would surely recognize that they could move on to the next level of training. Even though she probably hadn't bonded with the dragon in the traditional sense like a dragon fighter, surely Draco's presence would convince the trainer anyway.
But it wasn't Master Clark who suddenly appeared. Instead, it was a gigantic shadow in the sky that spread over the arena like a spaceship.
Another mountain dragon?
It came flying so fast, as if it were moving at the speed of light. It was huge and red, and before Ava had put two and two together, the dragon landed right in the middle of the arena. The earth shook, the mountain dragons moved aside, and the strongest dragon fighter in the realm jumped off its back.
Kilian.
He looked at her with wide eyes, ran towards her, and reached out his hands. He looked no less perplexed than she felt. "You're back?"
Ava's heart stopped beating. She swallowed, then swallowed again, but the lump in her throat wouldn't go away. Her knees turned to wax and threatened to give way beneath her, but by some miracle, she remained upright.
"Yes."
That was all she could manage to say as she remained looking at Kilian, unable to even blink. He looked so damn good. His dark hair, the chiseled features, the stubble framing his lips that had scratched her skin when they kissed. He was coming towards her, and she stayed frozen in place, unable to move or speak.
But what caught her off guard most of all wasn't his looks or his sudden appearance. It was his dark eyes, which remained on her as if he couldn't believe it. As if all barriers between them were falling. As if there was no one else, just the two of them. Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, washing over her carefully constructed, sky-high wall and descending on her like a hurricane.
Only now did she become aware of where she was. They were standing in the middle of the arena, the other students staringat her. Even Magg had stopped training and was watching the leader of the dragon fighters with undisguised interest. Ralph was even bowing slightly, with sincere admiration in his eyes.
But Kilian saw none of them, having eyes only for Ava as he came dangerously close. He took her hand. The simple touch sent electricity through her entire body. Heat rushed through her veins and threatened to shut down all her thoughts.
