Lucius POV
I left the school with one purpose carved into my mind like scripture — to kill a dragon and drag a reckless little witch back to my clutch where she belonged.
Simple enough in theory. Bloody in execution.
But I wasn't stupid enough to charge into dragon territory without preparations. Dragons aren't beasts — they're ancient, cunning, and vindictive. A true dragon knows how to hide, how to wait, how to toy with you before you even realize you've walked into its trap. And right now, I was in no shape to fight one.
My demons — the dark cores of my power, the sentient hunger inside me — were still gone. Either fighting or bargaining with the god of the underworld himself for that witch's damned soul.
They'd been gone for hours now.
Every immortal second stretched like a century without them. I could still feel the hollow where they used to pulse inside me, whispering violence and power, promising blood and dominance. Now it was empty — cold, quiet, wrong.
