Ava hesitated. She hadn't expected this. Dancing would be a good cover, but she would lose precious time. Especially since she had no idea what the dance steps were. She opened her mouth to politely decline when suddenly all heads jerked towards the entrance of the hall. Even the gentleman no longer paid attention to her.
She stood on her tiptoes, looked towards the entrance, and froze. Five men were coming through the door. Their dark leather clothing clearly set them apart from the other male guests. Their confident and controlled movements spoke the language of seasoned fighters, not aristocrats.
The dragon fighters.
They all had the same hard, determined look on their faces, the dark clothing unsuitable for a ball, and a demeanor that made it clear they had no use for such events. Although the group already stood out like a peacock at a funeral, the man in the middle managed to capture the guests' attention even more.
He was taller than his companions, broad and muscular. His curved lips were pressed tightly together, his dark eyes sizing up everyone present and all potential dangers in a split second, and his chiseledcheekbones gave his face a courtly appearance, though he clearly placed no value on it.
Every one of his movements was controlled, his expression impassive, and his demeanor was that of a leader.
The band also looked at the newcomers and the music fell silent for a moment, but the couples on the dance floor had stopped twirling anyway. Even the king turned his face towards the entrance to look at the group. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He nodded to them encouragingly, although the dragon fighters were already moving in his direction, heading for the stairs to the platform.
Ava watched the scene with bated breath. She didn't need to listen to her excited heartbeat to know that she had found Kilian. And this Rob that Lilly had mentioned was certainly one of his companions.
The dragon fighters entered the gallery and bowed to the king and his family. Ava might be mistaken, but the bows seemed too brief to demonstrate subservience.
They talked among themselves, and Ava would have loved to have snuck closer so she could understand what they were saying. To hear what Kilian's voice sounded like—for it was his lips that were moving. All the while, his gaze swept vigilantly across the hall. Whether he did this to avoid being surprised by an ambush, or because he didn't want to give the king his undivided attention, wasn't entirely clear.
"I know when I've been beaten." With these words, the gentleman who had asked Ava to dance bowed and retreated.
Heavens, she had completely forgotten about him. Only now did she become aware that she had been standing motionless in the middle of the way since thearrival of the dragon fighters, just like most of the other women. Almost all of them were looking at Kilian, frozen or posing, fixing their hair and hoping to catch a glance from him or his men.
A dragon fighter was apparently a good catch, even though they didn't belong to the nobility—at least judging by their clothing and demeanor. Ava would have to ask Lilly about this later.
She turned away from the platform demonstratively. She wasn't one of those women who saw a great guy and forgot how to speak or breathe. She wasn't looking for a man in her life. But she did have to admit that at the moment, she wanted what most of the female guests in this hall were also dreaming of: to talk to Kilian.
But of course, she wanted it for a completely different reason!
With all this attention he was getting, how was she supposed to lure him into a corner unnoticed and show him the dragon egg? What was Lilly thinking, sending her to talk to a dragon fighter at a ball, of all places?
As she looked around for a solution to her problem, she noticed that many guests were staring at her. Did she have a stain on her dress? Had dirt landed on the hem? She smoothed her gown, but it was flawless. When she looked up, her gaze swept the gallery, and she froze on the spot.
Kilian was looking at her.
His dark eyes rested on her as if he knew she was hiding something from the king. More and more pairs of eyes flitted to her, but she wasn't supposed to be attracting attention! How long would it take for the king and his guards to notice her? It wouldn't be five minutes before they discovered her bag and demanded to search it.
Although her nervousness increased with every breath, she remained composed and floated as nonchalantly as possible into the adjoining room. The main thing was not to be observed. This Kilian was surely looking at someone else by now.
When she reached the room, she slipped around the corner to be out of sight of the guests, leaned against the wall, and took a deep breath. No one had followed her. She let out a breath of relief that could have rivaled that of a full-grown dragon and smoothed her dress to give her hands something to do. First, she had to calm down, and then she would figure out what to do next.
Two women hurried out of a side room into the ballroom, giggling. Word had probably spread about who had arrived. Ava walked in the direction they had come from and reached a room furnished with sofas and a grand piano. There were several small tables with appetizers and carafes, along with clean and used glasses.
Perfect. She could refresh herself here while recovering from the shock and quietly execute plan B. As if on cue, a servant entered, collected the dirty dishes, and bowed politely to her.
Before he left the room, Ava approached him.
"Excuse me, sir, would you be so kind as to inform Robert Kensington that I urgently wish to speak with him?"
The household employee bowed expertly. "Of course. Whom may I announce?"
"I'm Ava." When the servant raised his eyebrows questioningly, she waved it off. "Just Ava."
"Very well." He politely inclined his upper body and left the room.
She walked to a standing table and poured herself something from the carafe. Ice cubes and lime slicesfloated in a light-colored liquid. She took a sip and sighed. Lemonade. Delicious.
Should she sit on one of the sofas until this Rob came? It would probably take a while anyway, since he was still with the other dragon fighters—no, she wasn't thinking about Kilian—and with the royal family. She was definitely too excited for the snacks. She couldn't get anything down. But she would pocket two or three pastries for Lilly.
