Page 3 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
She slipped under the bush, slid across the ground, kicking up dust, and pushed herself to her feet. Hunched over, she waited to see if the guard had noticed her.
He didn't react.
She exhaled soundlessly.
She tiptoed her way forward, meter by meter, along the rocks until she saw the hut. Four horses were tied to a stake and standing in the shadow of the wooden hut that would serve as a small stable. The animals snorted—maybe they'd heard her? But the soldier remained seated on a stool next to the door, bored, chewing on a blade of grass.
She quickly took a step backward before he noticed her. Although his face was turned in her direction, he looked so tired, as if he had just finished three guard shifts in a row. Good, then she'd be able to surprise him. But with what? Her untrained fists?
She searched the ground until she found a stone she could use to knock him out. Violence wasn't really her thing, but she had to get back and she would do what was necessary. Lilly needed her. The dragon child needed her. And heavens, how she wanted to give Rob a piece of her mind!
And she wasn't about to get started on the topic of Kilian.
Tense, she pressed herself against the rocks and crept slowly around the curve, holding the stone in her right hand, ready to strike. The soldier didn't hear her. For a second, she peeked around the corner. He was still chewing on the blade of grass and staring tiredly into space.
Wonderful. Luck was finally on her side. She'd be happy if it kept going like this!
She jumped around the boulder, raised the stone, and was about to strike with all her might. But just before she could hit him, he leaned to the side lightning-fast, grabbed her around the waist, and pushed her over.
"GOT HER!"
With a dull thud, Ava fell to the ground. The shock threatened to paralyze her, but she shook it off. Instinctively, she scrambled to her feet and hurled the stone at the soldier. He raised his arms to protect his face. She used that moment to run to the horses, untie the first one from the stake, and jump on its back.
"Hyah!" She dug her heels into the flanks of the brown animal, which immediately started trotting. She galloped past the rocks, but just before she left the clearing and reached the plain, six border guards blocked her way, barring the exit. They awaited her with drawn swords.
Ava reacted spontaneously. There was only one way she could escape the king's men.
Break through!
She spurred the mount on, intending to jump over the soldiers and push through whatever was necessary to escape, but the captain let out a whistle, at which the horse stopped on the spot.
"Hyah! Hyah!" She dug her heels into the animal's sides, but it didn't respond. "Go, horse! Giddy up!"
The brown horse didn't take a single step.
The soldiers surrounded her in seconds before she could jump off and run away. The captain came running up with an ugly grin. And when she looked at him directly, she recognized him as the one who had sworn to remember her face. The one she had escaped from that first day she'd spent in this world. And who had declared himself her personal arch-enemy.
Why hadn't she been able to place his voice immediately?
Angrily, she snapped at him. "Let me go! I haven't done anything wrong!"
"Do you really think we believe a single word you say?" He spat on the ground. With a victorious grin, he raised his hand, in which a stone glowed purple. "Do you see this?"
She saw it, but didn't know what he meant by it. "What is that?"
He snorted contemptuously. "This is a magic finder. And because you stole a dragon egg, you're charged with dragon magic. You can't escape us. We'll find you anywhere." With those words, his men yanked her off the horse's back and pulled a sack over her head before she had a chance to defend herself.
Chapter 3
Ava saw nothing as her hands were tied behind her back. "That's too tight! You're hurting me! HELP!!!"
The captain spat on the ground. That wasn't the only reason she'd have recognized him from among hundreds. He reeked sourly, as if his foul mood had eaten through his body. "You'll be hurting a lot more soon. Do you know what we do to assassins in this kingdom? We don't waste time!"
The border guards laughed. Ava reared up and pulled her hands apart to prevent the soldier from tightening the knot further. It was bad enough not being able to see anything through the sack on her head. "I'm not an assassin! The dragon fighter lied to you because he wants to prevent me from coming back!"
"Insulting a high-ranking dragon fighter goes right on the list of your offenses. Better keep your mouth shut, or we'll have the right to kill you on the spot. Which would suit me just fine."
"Why would I attack the king?" Snorting with rage, Ava twisted her upper body, but someone grabbed her and another soldier tightened the restraints so she couldn't move.
