The wind howled through the desolate alleyways, carrying with it the faint scent of blood. Jim stood at the edge of the battleground, his eyes glinting with something dangerous. The fight was over. The dragonblooded had slain the drake, but instead of a sense of victory, there was a void — a gnawing hunger in him that could never be filled.
He stared down at the creature's corpse, his chest rising and falling as he wiped the blood from his face. The taste was still fresh in his mouth. Not sweet, not like he imagined it would be, but thick, metallic. Like power.
Behind him, Cassie knelt, her fingers trembling as she adjusted her sword. She had been with him the entire time, her presence the only thing grounding him in this world. She never judged him, never questioned what he became in the heat of battle. No, she looked at him with a kind of reverence, even awe. She was the only one who understood the twisted pull inside him.
"Jim," she said softly, her voice laced with concern. "You're… different."
He turned to face her. His grin stretched wide across his face, but it wasn't a joyful expression. It was something more primal, something feral.
"Different?" he echoed, his voice low and dangerous. "I'm more than I've ever been, Cassie."
Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she stepped closer, her gaze drawn to the black scales that now marred his skin. It was a subtle change, only visible when he allowed it to surface, but to her, it was like a revelation. She could feel the shift, the unease in his being. The dragon inside him was pushing its way out.
"You're slipping," she whispered, almost as if she were speaking to herself. "The dragon inside you… it's becoming too strong."
Jim's laugh broke the air, dark and twisted, as he slowly crouched down, running his fingers over the bloodied ground. He let out a shaky breath, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment, and when they opened again, they were sharp, glinting with the madness that had begun to take root.
"I feel it," he said, his voice trembling with the hunger he could no longer deny. "The power. It's beautiful, Cassie."
Her breath caught in her throat, but she didn't step back. There was something dark in her eyes now, something that reflected his madness.
"You like it, don't you?" she asked quietly, her gaze intense.
Jim didn't respond immediately. He stood up, the grin still plastered on his face, his eyes wild. He wanted more. More of the blood. More of the power. The world seemed to fade away around him, and all that mattered was the hunt.
His mind flickered. Another scent — this one was stronger, more familiar. Another dragonblooded.
A figure emerged from the shadows, a tall, cloaked man with eyes glowing a deep amber beneath the hood. The stranger's lips curled into a sneer, the kind of expression that told Jim this man saw him as nothing but a beast to be put down.
"Well, well," the man said, his voice thick with disdain. "The Dragonblood. I've been looking for you."
Jim's grin widened even more, sharp and hungry. He could feel the shift inside him, the dragonblood stirring beneath his skin. The hunt had come to him.
Cassie stepped closer to Jim, her eyes narrowing on the figure in front of them. "Who are you?"
The man didn't respond right away. His eyes never left Jim. "You don't need to know. I'm here to take care of a problem."
Jim's hand twitched, and in that moment, his claws were out, his body transforming in a flash of dark scales. The hunger within him flared up, driving him into a frenzy of anticipation. He could already feel the rush of power. The man didn't even flinch when Jim lunged at him, but Jim didn't care. He had tasted blood, and he was hungry for more.
The clash was brutal, the sound of metal scraping against scales, the crack of bones. Jim's claws ripped through the air, the man's strikes barely grazing him. The world faded again as he focused on the kill, that familiar rush of adrenaline flooding his senses.
Jim's teeth sank into the stranger's neck, the warm blood pouring over him. The man gasped, struggling to breathe, but Jim didn't stop. He could feel it — the deep, satisfying crack of the man's neck breaking beneath his grip.
And then, a dark, twisted laugh bubbled from Jim's throat.
He could see the terror in the man's eyes, could feel the warmth of life draining away, but he didn't care. There was no sympathy in him, no guilt. Only power. Only the madness that twisted inside him and wanted more.
As the life drained from the stranger, Cassie stepped forward. She stood just behind Jim, her eyes wide with a twisted sort of admiration. She watched him with a smile — not the innocent, unsure smile she had once given him, but something darker. Something that reflected the madness inside him. She smiled with him.
"Jim…" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind, but filled with a wicked satisfaction. "You're perfect."
Jim pulled away from the dead man, blood dripping from his teeth. His grin hadn't faltered for a second, his eyes still gleaming with the madness that had started to consume him. He could see the look on Cassie's face — that smile that twisted her features in the same dark satisfaction that gripped him. She was no longer just a passive spectator. She shared his madness.
He let out a laugh, quieter this time, but still twisted. "Perfect, huh?" He turned to her, eyes glinting. "Are you sure you mean that, Cassie? You know what they say about perfection."
Her smile widened, as though it was a secret only they shared. "I mean it." Her voice was soft but laced with an edge, her obsession with him growing more palpable by the second. "I've never seen anything so... beautiful."
Jim's gaze softened for just a moment, but only for a moment. He wasn't sure if it was her smile that sent a flicker of warmth through him or if it was the madness that made everything feel connected — her, the power, the bloodshed. In the end, they were all the same thing.
He brushed his bloodied hands together, the scales glimmering under the fading light. "We're not done yet." His voice was low, almost a growl.
Cassie didn't argue, didn't pull away. She stepped closer to him, her hand brushing over his bloodied face with a soft, almost reverent touch. "No," she said, her voice barely more than a breath, "not done." Her eyes locked with his, a knowing, fevered intensity radiating from her. "We'll find them. Together. Your father…"
Jim's heart clenched at the mention of his father. The hunt was on again — the next step of the hunt. He could feel it in his blood, that pull, that undeniable urge. His father had abandoned him, and Jim would make him pay for it. For the betrayal.
"We'll find him," Jim muttered, his voice cold. He grabbed Cassie's wrist, his grip firm and unyielding. "And when we do, it won't be just his blood spilled."
Cassie nodded, a dark fire igniting in her eyes. She was with him, through it all. They were two halves of the same twisted whole, and nothing — not even his father — would stand in their way.
Together, they walked off into the shadows, the wind howling louder behind them.
End of Chapter 3