How Not To Fall For A Dragon
Chapter 127 127- Do Not Let Him Pick You Up Off The Ground
LEXI
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I run. Or at least, I try to. It’s not graceful, not fast, and definitely not what I should be capable of in this form. My legs don’t quite
respond the way I expect them to, my balance is off, and every step feels just a fraction too slow, too heavy, too clumsy. The adrenaline
that carried me through the fight is fading now, leaving behind a deep, dragging exhaustion that makes my muscles ache and my
movements sluggish. My head is still pounding, every stride sending another pulse of pain through my skull that makes the world tilt
slightly out of place. I can’t keep this up. I’m not getting far enough, fast enough. Running isn’t going to work. I need to hide. Somewher
enclosed. Somewhere I can disappear. Somewhere I can think. Somewhere Blake would look. The thought hits hard, sharp and immediate.
I need to find Blake. I veer around a corner and finally slow, stumbling slightly as I try to listen past the ringing in my ears. My chest
heaves, breath coming too fast, too shallow, but I force myself to focus. Footsteps. Are there footsteps? I strain to hear, trying to separate
real sound from the pounding of my own pulse. Nothing close. Not yet. Okay. That gives me a moment. Maybe two. I need to shift back.
Right now, I’m a giant, glowing target. White coat, gold accents, practically shining. There is no hiding like this. No blending in. No
slipping away unnoticed. I need to be human. I try, and immediately hit a wall. Shifting back is hard. So much harder than shifting into
this form. My body resists, or maybe it’s my mind. Everything feels tangled and uncooperative, like I’m trying to grab onto something that
keeps slipping through my fingers. Focus. Blake’s voice echoes faintly in my memory, calm and steady. Relax. Control it. I almost laugh.
Calm down? Right now? That feels completely impossible. My heart is racing, my breath is uneven, my thoughts are scattered and loud
and panicked. I don’t know if I CAN do this without him. The thought lands heavily, threatening to pull me under again. I don’t know if I
can do this without Blake… For a second, panic spikes again, sharp and overwhelming. I would cry, but I can’t. My body won’t let me. Do
unicorns cry? Do horses cry? No. Stop. I can’t think about that right now. I don’t have time to fall apart. I need to focus. But I can’t do
this alone- The thought cuts off abruptly as another mental voice pushes through that sounds an awful lot like Ellorie. ‘You are
spiralling.‘ I inhale sharply, forcing air into my lungs. What would she say right now? That I’m capable. That I don’t need Blake. That I
need to stop doubting myself long enough to actually DO something. My parents would agree with her. Layla… She would remind me that
I’m a shifter. That this is natural. That I can do this. And Blake… If he were here, he would help me. He would guide me through it, steady
and certain. But if I asked him if I could do this on my own… he wouldn’t say no. He wouldn’t tell me I couldn’t. That thought steadies
something inside me. I’m not calm. Not even close. But enough. I can have a meltdown later. I force myself to take a breath. Then
another. Not trying to be calm, just trying to stay present. Blake said to focus on how it feels. On the form I want. On being myself. But
calm isn’t something I can reach right now, so I don’t try. Instead, I focus on what I do feel. My racing heart. My fast, uneven breathing.
The heat in my body. The dizziness. The pain. The way my head feels like it’s splitting open. That’s me. That’s human me right now.
Panicked, Hurting. Alive. I hold onto that. I’m not judging the feelings, just feeling them, accepting them. They are all part of me, no
matter what form I’m in. I am not calm. But I am still me. And somewhere in the middle of that chaos, something shifts. There’s a flash
of light, sharp and sudden, and my body changes again. The world tilts as my centre of gravity drops, my limbs shrinking, reshaping, and I
stumble as I land awkwardly back in my human form. I suck in a breath, swaying slightly where I stand, everything still spinning just
enough to keep me off balance. I’m human. I made it back. But damn, I’m a mess. My hair is sticky where blood is still slowly dripping
down my temple. My head throbs relentlessly, making it hard to think clearly, and my limbs teel weak and shaky like they might give out
at any moment. I press a hand against the wall to steady myself, forcing my breathing to slow just enough to stay upright. But at least
now I’m small enough to hide.
I carefully peer around the corner, pressing myself as close to the wall as I can. My heart is still racing, loud enough that I’m half convinced it’s going to give me away, but I force myself to stay still and just look. The hunters are still here. I can see movement, shadows shifting, figures crossing the courtyard, but they’ve spread out now. Split up. Searching. Looking for me. I still can’t tell how many there are, not with the way my vision keeps threatening to blur again and the way they keep moving, but there are enough that I don’t stand a chance if they find me like this. Okay. I have two goals. Stay hidden Find Blake. Everything else comes after that. I instinctively reach for my phone, only to realise it’s not there. My stomach drops. I was holding it when I left the dorms with Ellorie. Now it’s just… gone. Dropped somewhere. Maybe in the hallway. Maybe outside. Maybe… Ellorie. The thought hits hard, sharp and immediate. I
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Chapter 127 127- Do Not Let Him Pick You Up Off The Ground
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suck in a breath, trying not to panic all over again. She was with me when they grabbed me, but not when I woke up. They went for me
Just me. So she should be fine. She has to be fine. I cling to that, pushing the worry down because I can’t afford to spiral again right
now. Focus. Where would Blake be? He said he was looking for Professor Matthews. So… potions lab? Or wherever Professor Matthews
lives. Which is completely unhelpful, because I have absolutely no idea where that is. I don’t even know if he lives on campus. So. Potic
lab it is. If I can’t find Blake, maybe I can find Layla. She might be in the medicinal magic classroom. Or she might not be. She might
have gone home. She might be anywhere. That’s not exactly a reliable backup plan, but it’s better than nothing. Okay. Plan. Potions lab
first. If Blake isn’t there, check medicinal magic. If neither of them are there… Then I find somewhere safe. Dorms, maybe? Although
that’s probably the first place anyone would check. Great. Love that. I take a slow breath and shift my weight, preparing to move. To gel
to the potions lab, I need to cross the courtyard and get back into the main building. Which means open space. Which means exposure.
Fantastic. I stick to the edges as much as I can, keeping low, moving quickly but carefully, using shadows and corners to break up my
outline as I creep along the perimeter. Every step feels too loud. Every movement feels too obvious. I’m hyper–aware of everything, the sound of my breathing, the slight scrape of my shoes, the way my heart won’t slow down: But somehow… It’s working. I’m getting close
I’m only a few metres from the doors when someone calls out.
“I see her! Over there!” The shout cuts through the air like a knife. Shit. So much for subtle. I don’t even think. I just run. All pretence stealth is gone as I sprint for the doors, adrenaline surging again, pushing through the dizziness and the pain. The doors fly open just
before I reach them.
“Thank you,” I breathe, not even sure if I say it out loud or just think it as I dart inside. The moment I’m through, the doors slam shut
behind me and I hear the distinct click of them locking. That’ll slow them down. Not stop them. But it should buy me time. A minute.
Maybe two. Bug it’s still just a door, and anyone willing to kidnap someone isn’t likely to balk at property damage. I don’t waste the tim I take off down the hallway, heading in the general direction of the potions lab, but something immediately feels… off. It’s dark. Too dar The Academy usually lights the halls as soon as I step into them, warm and bright and welcoming. Not this time. This time it stays dim,
shadows stretching long across the floor, corners deeper and harder to see into. It’s helping me hide. It knows. The thought sends a
strange flicker of comfort through me, even now. I keep moving. A door to my right creaks open. I hesitate for half a second. That isn’t
the direction of the lab… Then I turn.
“Well… okay then,” I mutter under my breath, trusting the Academy. At this point, I don’t really have a better option. I follow. Another
turn. Another hallway. Another door opens just before I reach it, like the Academy is guiding me step by step, pulling me along a path I
don’t fully understand. An office door opens ahead of me. One I’ve never been in before. I slow slightly, cautious now, my instincts
prickling. Why here? I step closer, peering inside, and then I hear a voice.
“Huh? Is someone here?” He calls out. My stomach drops. Professor Cage! I freeze. Footsteps approach the doorway, steady and
deliberate. Why the hell would the Academy bring me to him?!
Comments
7 Comments >
Rossella Marika D’Alterio
Wow. I can’t wait to know what happens next. And I love how Lexi uses everything she learns and how you described thr fury of unicorns when they feel in extreme danger!
15 hours ago
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
