Page 61 of Ava's Legacy of the Dragons
"I'm really looking forward to meeting you."
"And I, you."
They remained close together. Ava held the egg pressed against her, and it felt as if the young dragon's tiny feet were also wrapping around her.
Chapter 23
Ava must have fallen asleep, because when she woke up, it was pitch black. Someone had spread several blankets over the dragon egg to prevent its glow from shining out onto the street, probably Lilly, who was lying asleep next to the egg.
"What were you thinking?" an all-too-familiar voice sounded from the living room.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Kilian.
Although he spoke quietly, she had heard him immediately. She had probably been awakened by his voice.
"Because we had no choice. Where else could we have hidden?" That was Marcus. He sounded indignant.
"Where's Ava?" Firm boot steps sounded, and the next moment someone yanked open the bedroom door. The faint glow of the candle Marcus had lit in the living room came into her room and blinded her.
She sat up abruptly. Kilian stood in the doorway, his massive body forming a giant shadow, which allowedher eyes to quickly adjust to the light. In two strides, he was beside her bed. His chest rose and fell as if he had been running.
"Are you alright?"
"We managed to escape Elora's men a second time. The egg is safe." She waved it off as if this had all been in a day's work.
Kilian glanced fleetingly at the pile of blankets the egg was hidden under before looking back at her. He ran his hand through his hair.
"You can't stay here. There are rumors everywhere about a dragon egg. Someone has betrayed the secret, maybe it was even Elora's men, to keep you away from the cities."
"Then it's good that we're here. No one noticed us and the house is empty." She whispered so as not to wake Lilly. The girl really needed to get a full night's sleep.
"No one noticed you?" He snorted. "There are hardly any visitors in town, so everyone knows about the strange couple and the girl staying within its walls."
"Oh." Now she did get nervous.
"Everyone saw that the man was shopping at the market in the late afternoon and entered the house of the old shoemaker who left town five years ago because he was too old to continue the business."
Ava turned pale. "They know we're here?"
Kilian nodded and held her with his dark gaze.
"But they don't know we have an egg. At least no soldier has come knocking on the door."
"They don't knowyet, which is why we have time to disappear."
"Right now? But the dragon feels comfortable. Hecould hatch any moment. Besides, the egg shines like a spotlight. It would be noticeable if we carried it through the city in the middle of the night."
"How long will it take for people to make the connection between the rumor of the dragon egg and the strangers hiding in an empty house? We have to take the risk."
Did he have to make so much sense?
She looked at Lilly, who hadn't moved. The fact that she hadn't woken up despite Kilian's arrival spoke to how much she was gradually coming to trust Ava. He wasn't even being quiet this time. Or else it was just her body was demanding the sleep it desperately needed.
"Don't wake her yet. I'll pack everything and then we'll go."
"Every minute counts, Ava!"
