Page 49 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
She smiled. "Sounds like you could use a vacation to visit your family."
He shook his head, the smile fading from his lips. "Today the area belongs to the mages."
She looked at him in dismay. "Is your family safe?"
"The entire village, at least almost." He gazed into the distance, his thoughts elsewhere, then blinked and spooned some soup into his mouth. After swallowing, he didn't continue his story, and Ava didn't want to push him.
Something must have happened that had turned the dreamy country boy into a hardened dragon fighter. Perhaps the conflict with the mages, the loss of the lands...
"Where does your family live now?"
"My mother moved north to live with my sister, my father didn't survive the times."
"I'm sorry." She briefly touched his hand, but quickly withdrew her fingers, though the urge to cheer him up remained. She looked into the distance, where mountains and fields were faintly visible in the darkness. "I imagine the whole realm to be breathtakingly beautiful. I'd love to see it all someday, the north, the south, everything."
"I'll show it to you." He grasped her hand but immediately pulled back, as if he hadn't meant to touch her and as if the words had slipped out without him consciously speaking them.
Nevertheless, she returned his smile. It felt good to talk with him alone, far from dangers, prophecies, and obligations. As if under this starry sky, there was just the two of them and anything was possible. But she didn't want to let the opportunity to ask questions slip away.
"Won't you be missed soon as the leader of the royal forces?"
He nodded. "I'll fly to the base in Talus tomorrow and sort everything out for my absence. Then I'll come back. Allan will accompany me and help secure the area so you and the other cadets can focus on training."
He wanted to leave—did that mean the mages would seize the opportunity and attack? Involuntarily, her gaze flitted to the arena and the dark shadows surrounding the training grounds. She didn't want to share her fears with him; he had his own life and wasn't responsible for her fulfilling her destiny. So she didn't look at him and kept her worries to herself.
Unexpectedly gentle, he stroked her hand. "I'm staying with you, whether you want it or not, Ava." Even when she wasn't looking at him, he could read her like an open book.
"I'm sure the king wouldn't approve of that."
He looked at her intently. "That doesn't matter. I'll prepare you for the fight against Elora. If I could, I'd fight it in your place, but for some reason, fate has assigned this task to you."
Yes, because her parents had brought her into the world of humans. Involuntarily, her hand moved to the necklace with the pendant in the shape of a broken heart. She had always believed it was a symbol that she wasn't lovable, but now she wondered if it rather symbolized how hard it had been for her parents to leave her behind.
Kilian followed her movements with his eyes. "Who gave you the necklace?"
She smirked. "Jealous?"
"Yes!" He laughed, Ava joined in, although they both felt it wasn't a joke.
"I think my parents gave it to me." She said it without pain, without frustration, but with the feeling that her parents had loved her. Just for that, the time with Master Clark had been useful. And she realized that this was the first time she had shown the necklace to anyone. Except for Aunt Helen, no one had ever seen it.
"What was your childhood like?"
Ava took a deep breath. Strangely, she felt ready to tell him about it. She trusted him, and besides, he had told her about his childhood days too. "My memories only go back to the day Aunt Helen found me in the forest. At first, it wasn't easy, but she's incredibly kind. She took care of me as if I were really... family."
They exchanged a brief smile before Ava continued.
"As soon as it turned out that I had been abandoned, she did everything humanly possible to keep me with her. I was shocked at the time, but she pulled me out of that state. She let me design the display window of her decoration shop, even though I have absolutely no talent for it. It looked terrible, but she left it that way anyway." She laughed to herself.
"Sounds like a great woman."
She nodded, filled with deep gratitude for her aunt. "At school, I was a loner and made it through out of necessity, but after classes, I always went to her shop. She taught me how to arrange bouquets, which I'm still not good at, but it was fun. After closing time, we usually walked along the river together. I enjoyed collecting stones even then. That's why we were there daily, and no matter how many stones I brought home, she never complained or asked me to take them back." She played with thebroken heart on her necklace, letting it slide through her fingers, which drew Kilian's gaze to the piece of jewelry again.
"The pendant is a rare piece, not normal gold, it seems. May I take a look?" As he reached out his hand, she leaned forward and placed the trinket in his palm. She was careful not to accidentally touch his hand and didn't raise her gaze, for his face was too close. The intimate conversation had created a familiarity between them that made it even harder for her to resist him. His scent enveloped her and pulled her like a magnet, getting her heartbeat to fall out of rhythm.
To keep him from noticing her distress, she looked at the pendant lying in his hand. Gently, he stroked the half heart with his thumb, as if it were an unimaginably precious treasure to him too.
"Beautiful."
