"Nonsense. I'm just wondering how he could have noticed the egg. After all, it was in my bag the whole time." She waved it off. "What kind of place is this grotto?"
"They say mountain dragons used to breed there. But they haven't done that for a long time. They've retreated to the high mountain ranges."
"So there are mountain dragons, fire dragons, and air dragons, right?"
"Exactly. The fire dragons are the typical fighter dragons. They're the biggest, the most powerful, and can breathe fire."
"The others can't?"
"They can, but not the kind of fire salvos that turn entire streets to ash. They're considered aggressive, but that's nonsense. They're just temperamental."
Ava prayed she'd never encounter one. "What can you tell me about the other types?"
"The air dragons are almost extinct. There are only about ten left. They used to bond with dragon riders often, but at the moment there's only one who has done that. The others guard the borders."
"That's why I encountered one when I came to this country."
"That makes sense. They control the wind and fly faster than any of the other dragons. Their eyes are snow-white and they spit steam clouds that are incredibly hot. You don't want to see the blisters that result.But they can also burn you within seconds with their hot breath."
Good thing the air dragon hadn't demonstrated that to her. "Besides these two types, there are only mountain dragons, right?"
"No. There are mountain and swamp dragons. But you won't see swamp dragons. They're timid, even more so than mountain dragons. But some mountain dragons have still bonded with dragon riders, probably because they had no choice. And in the past, there were many other types, like ice dragons, but unfortunately they're extinct."
Ava took a mental note of all this information, though she would of course return to Aunt Helen someday, and then all this dragon knowledge wouldn't matter. But for now, every detail could mean the difference between life and death.
"How far is the grotto where we're meeting Kilian?"
"It's outside the city."
That meant they had to get past the guards at the city wall. Ava didn't have a good feeling about this. "Please tell me you know an underground tunnel we can use." She really didn't want to encounter the soldiers again, especially not her special friend. How many more times would she manage to slip away from him?
"Of course, and before that, we'll pay a visit to an acquaintance of mine. You need different clothes." She pointed to Ava's soaked hem. Without the hoop skirt, the dress was far too long and constantly dragged on the ground. Now it was damp almost all the way to the waist.
"Good idea. With what I'm wearing, I'm way too slow and I stand out."
"And it's far too dirty to face Kilian in."
Ava forbade herself to blush. "As if that would matter..."
Lilly laughed. "You can't fool me. Your face is glowing even in the dark. We don't need a lantern at all."
"You're exaggerating!"
The girl laughed again, and it sounded so carefree that Ava couldn't help but grin as well.
Chapter 10
The contact Lilly had in mind was someone who worked in a mansion on the outskirts of town. The canal system spread throughout the entire city, and eventually Lilly took a stone staircase that led to a cellar. Ava breathed a sigh of relief when they finally left the sewage tunnels behind.
They passed through a cluttered cellar room to reach a courtyard that was already sinking into darkness. However, the pale shimmer of the stars illuminated chicken coops, arbors, and a simple, unadorned house. Behind it could be seen the outlines of a magnificent estate, with lights burning in some windows. The curtains were drawn, so it wasn't possible to look inside nor appreciate the residence in its entirety.
They crept across the yard to the servants' house, and Lilly knocked twice briskly, silently counted to three, and knocked twice again, this time a little softer. Surely an old cook would open the door, embrace Lilly, and beg her to finally move in with her.
But when the wooden door was silently pushed open, Ava was quite surprised. It was a girl, thirteenyears old at most, who opened the door. She had braided her dark blonde hair into a long plait and wore a rust-colored linen dress with an apron over it. In her hand, she held a lamp and shone it in their faces.
"Lilly, what are you doing here so late? You know you should come in the morning hours."
"I know, but we had no choice. We need inconspicuous clothes for Ava, and a bite to eat wouldn't be bad either." With these words, Lilly tilted her head, pushed out her lower lip, and widened her round eyes. With that look, she might even have been able to soften the king's soldiers.
