How
Chapter 157 Bonus Chapter 9- Never Forget Dragons Don’t Do
‘Casual’ Dating
LEXI-10 YEARS LATER
I am in the kitchen with my mother loading up the dishwasher after dinner. Blake bought this house for us six years ago when we graduated from the Academy. Now that was a hard day. Not the graduation, that part was fun, but the moving out part… The Academy handled it very badly. First it kept hiding my things. Then random drawers vanished. Then one shoe from every pair I owned started appearing in completely different rooms. For a while my bedroom door actually disappeared entirely. Not moved. Just… gone. Blake was furious. Principal Istvan laughed so hard she had to sit down. It wasn’t until I promised to come back regularly that the Academy finally started cooperating again. And I’ve kept that promise religiously. Every Friday Blake and I fly down there together and help out in Layla’s medicinal magic class. Sort of like a student teacher. I still work as a healer too, of course. That’s what I always wanted to do. But people come to me now. This house is enormous, and there’s a whole separate section of it set up for patients. Warm waiting rooms, treatment spaces, herb gardens, everything I could possibly need. Layla helped me register officially as a healer years ago, though apparently being ‘the unicorn healer protected by a dragon’ meant word spread faster than the paperwork did. Blake is always hovering nearby while I work too, making sure I’m safe. Not obviously. He thinks he’s subtle about it. He’s not. But honestly, the deterrent of visiting the home of a dragon is generally enough to scare off anyone who isn’t genuinely seeking help. I do charge for healing, technically, but barely. Mostly enough to cover supplies and stop people from feeling
awkward about accepting help. I don’t really need to worry about money anyway. Blake collected more wealth over
the years than I think I could spend in three lifetimes, and somehow he’s still adding to it. I worried for a while
that it might bother him that I don’t earn as much as I potentially could. Instead he looked horrified when I
suggested overworking myself and reminded me that he was the one who wanted me seeing patients from home in
the first place so that I could stay safe.
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I did cut back my hours more four years ago though. Because four years ago, Gemma was born. Our daughter. Our
absolutely perfect little girl. Her hair is blonde like mine, though darker, more orange-gold than bright, her eyes
are Blake’s, bright molten gold that somehow already carry the exact same dramatic intensity. She is fearless, stubborn, clever and completely adored by everyone in this house. Especially Blake, though he tries very hard to
pretend otherwise whenever she wraps him around her tiny little finger for the hundredth time that day. I thought
balancing work and motherhood would be difficult, but Blake solved that problem in typical Blake fashion by
going completely overboard. Somehow he convinced my parents to rent out their house and move in with us
permanently so they could help with Gemma and any future children we might have. I still don’t entirely know
how he managed it. Although considering my mother now has her dream kitchen and my father has an enormous
workshop and library, I suspect bribery was involved. It’s a relief having them here though. Not just because of the
help, but because I know they’re safe. There are still people out there who would happily hunt me if they could.
Probably Gemma too once people realise what she might become someday. We still don’t know exactly what kind
of shifter she is yet. Maybe unicorn. Maybe dragon. Maybe somehow both. Layla says magical genetics are
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Chapter 157 Bonus Chapter 9- Never Forget Dragons Don’t Do ‘Casual’ Dating
‘complicated. Blake says it doesn’t matter because either way she’s going to be perfect. My father has taken the whole thing incredibly seriously. He’s spent the last few years studying magical education alongside human schooling so he can homeschool Gemma properly since sending her out to school on her own wouldn’t be safe. She’s four years old and already knows basic rune symbols, healing herbs, and approximately two hundred completely unnecessary facts about magical creatures because Grandpa keeps ‘accidentally’ teaching her advanced
material.
You would think all of us living together would feel crowded, but this place is honestly huge. I could scream from
one side of the house and nobody on the other end would hear me. The property itself is massive too. Big enough
for Blake to shift and fly whenever he wants, and for me to run in my unicorn form, which it turns out I absolutely
love doing. The first time Blake saw me running freely just for the joy of it instead of fear or survival, he looked so
happy. The real reason Blake chose this property though was underneath it. The place came with a network of
underground bunkers originally built by some incredibly wealthy human convinced the apocalypse was coming
any day now. Apparently he spent millions preparing for the end of the world and then ultimately died in a
completely normal car accident. Blake immediately decided the bunkers were perfect. He had them converted into
giant underground vaults and moved his hoard into them. I have never seen Blake so paranoid in my life.
Correction, when I was pregnant, he was worse. Significantly worse. Apparently discovering that his pregnant
unicorn wife (yes wife, he put a ring on it in our third year at the Academy) was carrying his child triggered every
protective instinct he possessed all at once. He followed me around constantly, glared at anyone who stressed me
out, and nearly had a breakdown when I slipped on wet grass one time and didn’t even fall over. Layla still teases
him about it. But everything turned out fine. More than fine, really.
Gemma absolutely adores the vaults. Which… probably should have been our first clue. She is obsessed with shiny
things. Completely fascinated by them. She toddled into the hoard for the first time as a baby and immediately
tried to crawl directly toward a pile of gold while Blake looked on like the proudest father alive. That, combined
with her general personality, made me pretty convinced she would eventually shift into a dragon. Because
honestly? That child has her father’s temperament. She is patient and sweet and loving right up until the exact
moment she decides she’s had enough. Then suddenly she becomes terrifyingly stubborn. And good luck to anyone
trying to tell her what she can or can’t do. She has absolutely no fear whatsoever and a level of determination
that would honestly be alarming if she wasn’t also so affectionate. The only reason she isn’t a total menace is
because she genuinely wants to help people. She likes being involved. She wants everyone included in things. She
comforts people when they’re upset, shares her toys without being asked and somehow convinced Citri to tolerate
being dressed in necklaces and tiny hats. Blake disagrees completely with my dragon theory, of course. He insists
she has to be a unicorn because, and I quote, ‘she is incredibly perfect and an absolute angel and how dare you
even suggest otherwise.’ So yes. He is completely smitten. Not that he tries very hard to hide it. He brings her
gemstones the way other parents bring their children stuffed toys. Tiny diamonds. Polished crystals. Gold trinkets. He lets her play dress-up with jewellery worth more than most houses while I sit there trying not to have a heart attack. Citri, meanwhile, remains the most tolerant orange cat in existence. He still clearly prefers Blake, but he is unbelievably gentle with Gemma. He lets her carry him around badly, drape him in jewels and dramatically declare him ‘King Citrine’ without complaint.
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10:35 am Pp
Chapter 157 Bonus Chapter 9- Never Forget Dragons Don’t Do ‘Casual Dating
I’m just putting the last dish into the dishwasher when Blake suddenly comes BURSTING into the kitchen. He
looks completely panicked. Actually panicked. My stomach drops instantly.
“What’s wrong? Where’s Gemma?” I demand, spinning around.
“Dad just called, she’s still with him… But he said… She shifted!” Blake blurts out quickly. His eyes are wide. For a
second, I just stare at him. Then the plate slips from my fingers and clatters into the sink as I immediately start
moving.
“What?” Mum says sharply behind me, already hurrying after us.
“Did he say what she shifted into?” I ask breathlessly as Blake and I rush through the house. Blake shakes his
head.
“No. He just told us to come outside and see for ourselves.” He answers.
“She’s so young, I didn’t think…” I whisper, my heart pounding.
“It makes sense,” Blake says immediately, though he sounds just as overwhelmed as I feel.
“She’s been exposed to huge amounts of magic her whole life. I shifted young too.” He reminds me. We hurry out
toward the gardens behind the house. Dad is standing near the fountain. And Gemma is lying on the grass beside
him, her legs all tangled up beneath her. I stop dead.
“Oh…” I breathe. Blake freezes beside me. Then I hear his breath hitch.
“She’s beautiful,” he says softly, sounding completely awestruck. And she is. She’s the cutest little unicorn foal I
have ever seen. Except… Not entirely unicorn. Her coat gleams faintly with magic like mine does, but instead of
white or gold, her fur is deep glossy black. Her mane and tail are orange-gold, bright as firelight, and her tiny
horn gleams the same colour. Even her little hooves shimmer metallic gold against the grass. She looks like a
unicorn made from smoke and flame. Gemma spots us and immediately struggles to untangle her legs, wobbling
upright with all the coordination of a newborn deer. I make a strangled emotional noise and rush forward,
dropping to my knees beside her. Blake is right there a second later, both of us reaching for her at once. Gemma
happily shoves herself between us. Then she snorts. A puff of smoke curls out of her nostrils. I blink.
“Huh… That’s new.” I say faintly. Dad bursts out laughing behind us.
“So… She’s… I’m not sure what.” I say slowly, staring at our daughter. Blake looks like he’s moments away from
emotional collapse. He’s staring at Gemma like she personally hung every star in the sky.
“I told you she was perfect,” he says immediately, sounding unbearably smug despite the suspicious shine in his
10:36 am P P
Chapter 157 Bonus Chapter 9- Never Forget Dragons Don’t Do ‘Casual’ Dating
eyes. Dad crosses his arms thoughtfully.
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“I reckon we should call her a cindercorn. Like a unicorn… but more fiery.” he declares cheerfully. Gemma nods
very seriously, apparently pleased with this. Blake lets out a helpless laugh and presses his forehead against hers
while she wiggles excitedly between us, smoke puffing from her nose again.
“Cindercorn it is.” He agrees.
Comments
Lisa McNew
15 Comments >
OMG! you really know how to bring out the extreme emotions! so glad we got to see Gemma can shift into! would have loved to read the proposal from Blake’s POV, I bet he ago… More
1 days ago
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10:36 am PP p
How Not To Fall For A Dragon
