𝒜 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉 ℴ𝒻 𝒮𝒸𝒶𝓁ℯ𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝓉ℯℯ𝓁

Chapter Twelve - Ava

Chapter Twelve - Ava

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a soft, golden hue across the royal gardens, making everything look bathed in warmth and tranquility. The light filtered through the leaves, illuminating the vibrant colors of the flowers, the deep reds of the roses, and the velvety purples of the violets. I knelt in the midst of it all, feeling the earth beneath my fingers, cool and solid. I carefully tended to the blooms, trimming a few of the roses that had grown unruly, their thorns sharp against my skin. The fragrance of the flowers mingled with the rich scent of the soil, usually enough to ease the tension that always simmered within me.

The gardens were a place where I found an odd sense of peace, even in my current form. Being a maid was not something I enjoyed—far from it. The knowledge that I served the king who had slaughtered my family, who had hunted dragons without mercy, should have filled me with rage. But here, among the flowers, I could almost forget the weight of it. The task of tending the royal gardens had become a strange comfort to me. It was a way to keep the restless part of me—the dragon inside—calm. The connection to the earth, to nature, was grounding in ways I couldn't explain.

But today, no amount of peaceful gardening could settle the storm brewing inside me.

As I worked, the faint sound of voices carried through the air, drifting from the courtyard just beyond the garden's archways. I paused, fingers still on a thorny branch, my senses sharpening instinctively. Every muscle in my body went still, my focus shifting. The voices were familiar. It was Ash and his brother, Dante. They were training again, their swords clashing in rhythmic strikes that echoed against the stone of the courtyard.

For a moment, I hesitated. Eavesdropping was dangerous, always dangerous. But I couldn't help myself. The urge to listen, to know what they were saying, was too strong to resist. I heard from the other maids in the palace that Asher had been hunting the Moonlight Dragon for weeks—hunting me—and he didn't even know it. The irony of it almost made me laugh, though the sound never left my lips. How strange it was, to be hiding in plain sight, living among the very people who sought to destroy me.

And my kind.

The sound of steel clashing against steel rang out again, followed by Dante's voice, strained from the exertion of their sparring.

"You're getting faster," Dante said between heavy breaths. "But speed alone won't be enough against something like the Moonlight Dragon. But I still believe that the dragon is a myth, a legend told when we were kids."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of my true form. I stilled, my hand resting lightly on the stem of a rose, my thoughts suddenly focused entirely on their conversation. Ash's response came soon after, his voice lower, more serious, carrying a weight that sent a chill through me.

"I know," Ash said, his tone heavy with the responsibility he felt. "That's why we need more than just strength. We need to understand it—how it thinks, how it moves. It's not just a beast. It's intelligent, cunning. We can't afford to underestimate it."

A shiver ran down my spine. So, he had realized that much. He discovered that much about me, well, the dragon version I mean. I should have expected it. Asher was clever, far more than most humans. He didn't see the world in simple terms of black and white, of good and evil. He was methodical, thoughtful, and now I could feel the danger growing. My fingers tightened around the pruning shears as I fought to keep my breath even. I had been careful—so careful. But was it enough? Had they uncovered something more? How did they discover it?

Dante's voice broke through my thoughts, interrupting the moment of dread building in my chest. "Have you learned anything else from the texts in the library? Something that could give us an advantage?"

There was a pause. I could almost feel the weight of it, the tension building between them. My mind raced. What else had Asher found? Was there something hidden in the ancient texts that I hadn't anticipated? I hadn't lived as long as the ancient ones, like the Mother Dragon, but in the twenty-four years if my life and in that time, I had read those same texts, understood the lore they contained. But knowledge had a way of resurfacing, of being twisted and interpreted in ways I couldn't always predict.

Finally, Asher spoke again, and his voice was quieter now, almost hesitant, as if revealing something he had only recently uncovered. "I found something," he said. "The Moonlight Dragon can take human form."

My blood ran cold.

He knew. He had discovered the one thing I had gone to such great lengths to keep hidden. My heart pounded in my chest, but I forced myself to remain calm, to keep my hands steady as I pretended to trim another rose. I couldn't let them see any change in me. I couldn't let them know that their words had pierced me to my core.

They couldn't know that what they were talking about and them standing over there affected me. 

"Human form?" Dante sounded skeptical, almost disbelieving. "That seems like something out of a fairy tale."

"It does," Ash agreed, but there was a certainty in his voice that sent a fresh wave of fear through me. "But the texts say it's true. The dragon can blend in, hide among us, and use its magic to create illusions. If it's been watching us, waiting, it could already be close. We wouldn't even know it."

His words struck harder than I had anticipated. They wouldn't know it—because I was right here. Watching them. Listening to them. Playing the role of Ava, the quiet maid who tended the gardens and blended seamlessly into the background. The truth was so close to the surface, and yet they had no idea.

And I intended to keep it that way, for the better.

I forced myself to move, to continue working, though my mind was spinning. Had I left any clues? Had I made any mistakes that could have tipped them off? I had been so meticulous, ensuring that no one suspected anything unusual about me. But now, the weight of Asher's realization made me question every move I had made. Every glance, every word. I couldn't afford to make even the slightest misstep. Asher was dangerous. He was clever, and his determination was relentless. He was getting too close.

A bit too close for my liking.

Dante chuckled, breaking the tension, though his tone was lighter than the conversation warranted. "If that's true, we'll have to keep an eye on everyone. Maybe the Moonlight Dragon is the old steward, or one of the guards. Could be anyone."

Ash didn't join in the laughter. His voice was steady, serious, and filled with the weight of his mission. "We can't afford to joke about this. If the dragon is hiding in human form, we need to be vigilant. We can't trust appearances anymore."

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling the weight of my disguise more heavily than ever before. For months—years, even—I had survived by blending in, by using my magic to twist light and shadow, to make myself seem inconspicuous. But Asher was getting too close to the truth. He wasn't looking at the world with the same naivety that most humans did. He was questioning everything, seeing beyond the surface. And that made him more dangerous than any hunter I had ever faced.

I couldn't allow him to get any closer to the truth.

I straightened slowly, wiping the dirt from my hands as I looked down at the roses I had tended. My heart still raced, but outwardly, I remained calm. I had to be. Asher was growing more suspicious, and I couldn't afford to let even the smallest hint of my true nature slip. I would have to be more careful than ever.

But as I stood there, the weight of Asher's words lingered in my mind. He was relentless, driven by a sense of duty and honor that I had come to respect, even admire. And for the first time in years, I felt something I hadn't expected: a twinge of regret. Not for the choices I had made—those were necessary for survival—but for what I knew would have to come next.

Asher was getting too close. He had to be stopped. But I couldn't help but wonder... was there another way?

The thought flickered and then was gone, replaced by the cold, hard reality of the situation. Asher was a threat. And if I wanted to survive, I would have to deal with him before he uncovered the truth.

As soon as I get the money to pay the king's taxes, I'm getting out of this palace.

And I'm going to leave the kingdom right after. 

What can possibly go wrong?