Page 43 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
Armed, she raced back to Draco, who stood up to his full height and surveyed the area. All childlike and cute features had disappeared from his face. His feet were not at all clumsy, his eyes no longer moist but glowing dangerously. If she had encountered him in this form for the first time, she would have been terrified of him. But she hadn't, and his heart still beat together with hers in her chest, so she stood confidently beside him.
Tensely, she kept an eye on the competition area. No one should sneak up on them unnoticed, no one should hurt her friends. Therefore, she braced herself for the fight. Determinedly, she remained next to Draco, willing to stop anyone who entered the arena unauthorized.
But the area remained quiet. No one appeared, nobody shouted "Attack!" and not a single magic bolt shot at them from the darkness. Nevertheless, she felt the tension, the danger, as if she could see a horde of mages just waiting for the right moment to destroy them all.
Ralph and Magg came running into the arena, stared at Draco in disbelief, and hurried to Ava. "What happened?"
"The mages are nearby."
Magg spat on the ground. "It was obvious your presence would cause us problems!"
She could have probably figured that out herself, but the combat training was important. However, the others couldn't be put into danger. Feelings of guilt overcame her. As soon as the mages were gone, she had to find a solution. But in the meantime, she positioned herself next to Draco and gripped her daggers decisively.
"I'll do everything I can to protect you."
Magg laughed derisively, but Ralph elbowed her in the side and pointed at Draco, who was glaring at them angrily. His eyes were narrowed and smoke clouds shot from his nostrils as if he could barely restrain himself. Magg fell silent immediately but continued to glare angrily at the surroundings until suddenly a black giant shadow spread across the horizon, flying in their direction at breakneck speed.
Ava knew immediately who it was. She felt it. And although it shouldn't be, she was glad he was coming.
Kilian.
With a violent tremor, the huge fire dragon landed next to Draco. It was a miracle that both dragons fit in the arena. They were now the same size, and if Ava didn't know better, she would have guessed they were the same age.
Kilian jumped from Thalara's back, sword drawn. "The mages are on their way!"
"I know, my dragon told me. How do they know I'm here?" There was an accusatory tone in her voice, as she had only one person in mind who could have revealed her location.
But Kilian shook his head. "It couldn't have been Rob. I took care of him. We'll look for whoever is responsible later. First, we need to protect the facility. There are too many innocents." He pointed to Magg and Ralph. "You take care of the gate, we'll fly along the walls!"
The two rushed off, not questioning Kilian's order for a second, while the dragon fighter impatiently pointed to Draco. "Can you ride him?"
Her stomach sank deeper. Flying? So quickly? She looked at Draco, who nodded grimly. Out of necessity, she pushed aside all concerns. There was no room for fear. She would simply have to do it.
"We're ready."
"Then jump on. Up there, the mages can't get you."
She looked at him disappointedly. "Is that why we're scouting the walls instead of standing in front of them and fighting?" The others would be living shields while she was safe in the sky.
Kilian shook his head, clenching his jaw. "If I had a choice, I'd stick you with Lilly, but I know that makes no sense. So we stay together."
She swallowed, quickly averting her gaze, then tucked the daggers into her belt and placed her hands on Draco's scales."Is there anything I need to know before I climb on your back?"
"Hurry up! We need to get in the air!"
It appeared that Kilian's dragon came to the same conclusion and gave him a similar message, because without further ado, Kilian grabbed her by the legs and pushed her up. "Quick!"
Like a mountaineer, she fought her way up and climbed onto the giant dragon. No sooner had she placed her legs on either side of his back than Draco pushed off from the ground and spread his wings, launching them into the sky. The arena became smaller at a dizzying rate, and even Kilian's fire dragon looked tiny until the dragon fighter had also swung himself up and started to follow them.
Ava clawed her hands around the scales and leaned forward. It was damn shaky, and this time Kilian wasn't sitting behind her to hold her steady. But he didn't need to anymore. She was learning to fight. She was learning to throw daggers. And she would learn to ride a dragon, damn it!
"Stay high up so the spells can't reach you. We'll fly a round. Follow me!" Kilian's voice was used to battling against the strong winds. Ava heard him, although a strong gust of wind whistled around her ears. Draco followed the fire dragon like a pro and circled at a safe distance above the arena.
Either it was a false alarm or the mages knew how to hide, because they saw no one. It also remained quiet at the gate. Eventually, Ava felt Draco's neck muscles relax.
"Are they gone?"
He nodded."We're going down. Hold on tight."
