Page 57 of Ava's Legacy of the Dragons
Lilly pointed to Marcus. "This is my uncle, who has come to visit with his future wife."
"Isn't she enchanting?" Marcus shamelessly took advantage of the opportunity, grasping Ava's hand, andplanting another kiss on her cheek before nodding nonchalantly to the guards. But they didn't move aside.
"What do you have in the bag?"
Ava felt the dragon child's unease, yet she managed to give her voice a confident tone. "A change of clothes." That wasn't even a lie.
When the guard still reached out his hand, Lilly practically clawed at Ava's arm, and Marcus's grip tightened. Before Ava could figure out how to get out of the situation, one of the guards grabbed her bag, yanked it towards himself, and ripped it open, even though it was still dangling from Ava's forearm.
It happened so quickly that she couldn't do anything about it.
She held her breath while Lilly inhaled deeply, ready to hurl who knows what at the soldiers' heads, but the guard had already let go of her bag. "You may pass."
Ava hesitated in disbelief, but Lilly immediately pulled her forward, causing Marcus to move along as well, still holding Ava's hand. Once they were out of earshot of the guards, Ava leaned towards Lilly.
"What just happened?"
"How should I know? The egg must have done it. It hid itself."
"How? It glows so brightly that you can see its light as soon as the bag is open."
To her surprise, it was Marcus who answered. "Have you forgotten? Dragons possess magic. It protected itself. That's how we got out of the cave too. Now come on. If we wander around aimlessly, we'll attract attention."
Ava discreetly studied Lilly from the side, but the girl was looking around innocently and didn't even so much as steal a glance in her direction. In the end, itdidn't matter how they had managed it; the main thing was that no one had noticed the egg.
Talus wasn't as busy as the city where the king resided. Who could blame them? If this was an outpost in the fight against the mages, hardly anyone would want to move here or spend their vacation in this provincial town.
The displays in the shops were noticeably emptier than in the king's residential city, some businesses were closed, and the shop windows were covered with fabric. The only ones who had their shops open were a cobbler, a baker, a tailor, and—at the end of the street—a blacksmith, whose constant hammering pierced through the midday heat.
Marcus pointed to the blacksmith's shop. "I know the owner, let's say hello. Maybe he knows where we can stay."
But Lilly immediately pulled them in the other direction. "Have you forgotten? We can't draw attention to ourselves. If you really want to visit him, do it without us. But first, we need an abandoned warehouse, a cellar, or?—"
Ava nodded towards a side alley where all the shops seemed to be empty. "...or an abandoned store?"
Lilly's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! Preferably a bakery!"
"I don't think they left their merchandise behind."
"You never know."
They grinned at each other and turned into the side street. Marcus followed them hesitantly. If he continued to look around so uncertainly, it would only be a matter of time before the city guards questioned them. Far from agreeing with the plan, he shook his head.
"We need to be careful. Maybe the residents no longer run the shop but still live upstairs."
"We'll figure that out. The sooner we get off the street, the better." Ava wouldn't let him unsettle her.
Lilly pointed to his outfit. "Besides, you completely stand out in your clothes and sandals!"
Ava had to agree with her. Most of the townspeople wore leather or thicker fabrics; at least no one else was walking around in sandals. But Marcus just shook his head.
"Which I absolutely can't understand. Leather is so uncomfortable and thick. I love it when the air brushes over my skin."
Without participating in the conversation, Ava carefully examined the shops in the alley, which stood wall to wall. There wasn't a soul to be seen anywhere. When she tilted her head back to look at the upper floors, she felt hopeful. All the windows were covered with curtains, with no one peeking out from behind the fabrics.
She pointed to the shop with the most dust on the display window frames. "That store looks like it's been empty for weeks."
Lilly nodded at her approvingly. "You're becoming a good street accomplice."
