Page 34 of Dragon My Crazy

I scooped her up out of Emmett’s arms, ignoring the way his gaze burned into me.

Melly’s scales were warm against my skin as I carried her into the playroom, hyper-aware of Emmett following close behind. The scent of him filled the space between us, making me think of that dream again.

Once inside, I set Melly down. She immediately waddled toward her toys.

I’d been here for over a week now, and Emmett and I had gotten into a routine that was altogether way too familiar and domestic. We’d visited Solstice two more times with Melly, including for the story time, which she loved despite being too young to pay attention.

I was so distracted by the virile dragon man next to me that I almost didn’t see it happen.

As Melly reached for her favorite rattle—because of course her favorite toy is the one that made the most noise—her claws shimmered and changed, shifting into tiny, perfect human hands. I’ll never get over how strange chubby baby hands looked on a dragon’s body. But the realization that I was witnessing something huge let me overlook it for the moment.

I gasped. “Emmett, look!”

He was beside me in an instant. “She did it,” he whispered, the aww in his voice clear.

Melly, oblivious to our shock, shook the rattle with her new hands, giggling like it was the best thing ever. Then she grabbed another toy, her fingers curling around it with surprising precision.

This was big! This was proof. It meant Melly had a human form waiting beneath those scales, a whole other self she could grow into.

Emmett’s fingers brushed mine, his voice rough. “You did this.”

“No.Wedid this. You’ve been trying to help her for months. I just gave her better reasons.”

Melly let out a huff, dropping the rattle and reaching for the stuffed dragon. Her human hands gripped it tightly, her tiny fingers exploring the fabric with curiosity. The wings made a crinkling sound.

Emmett’s hand found my waist, his touch sending a shiver down my spine. “We make a good team.”

I turned to face him, my heart pounding as his gaze dropped to my lips. “Yeah. We do.”

We stood there for a long moment, and the joy of witnessing our first big breakthrough turned slowly and insidiously into something else altogether. My brain, traitorous thing that it was, decided to remind me of the dream that had welcomed me into the day.

A low sound came from Emmett’s chest, like a sustained growl that he was trying to hold back.

And, despite Melly being right there, completely oblivious to what was happening, he cupped my cheek—

The sound of something crashing to the ground shattered the moment.

We jerked apart just in time to see Melly perched on top of the shelf like she’d scaled Everest. She let out another triumphant chirp, her wings flapping uselessly as she teetered on the edge. She was knocking over everything in her way like a cat on a mission, her eyes focused on the package of Goldfish crackers.

Melly’s depth perception, like her impulse control, was still very much a work in progress. She launched herself toward it with the boundless confidence of a child who had never once considered that gravity might possibly apply to her. She missed. Her wings snapped open, but they were too small; she only managed toshove herself off the shelf. She let out a shriek as she plummeted headfirst toward the floor.

Without thinking, I flung out my hand.

A rush of power surged through me, something I hadn’t quite felt in years. The cushion on the window seat ripped free of its spot, flying across the room like it had been shot from a cannon. It landed with a soft whump directly beneath Melly.

She hit it, bounced once, and then waddled away without so much as a backward glance.

I stared at my own hands. They were shaking. They were glowing too, faintly at the fingertips, the light already fading.

“I just used magic,” I said, very stupidly.

“You did.” Emmett blinked at me, clearly not following.

“I can’t control my magic.”

He frowned. “But you had a spell on you that hid your magic, didn’t you cast that?”

“No, my son did that to protect me.” I looked down at my hands and then over at the mirror attached to the wall. Sure enough, my aura was back, glowing around me. “I can try to recast it, but I can never tell if I’m going to succeed or set my clothes on fire.”