Rex POV
The forest blurs around me.
Trees. Shadows. The smell of pine and earth.
I don't slow down.
Can't slow down.
My body protests every step. The transformation isn't complete. Isn't clean.
Scales ripple beneath my skin. Push through in patches. My spine curves wrong. Claws extend from my fingertips.
Half man. Half dragon.
The curse fighting me for control.
But I push through the pain. Force my legs to keep moving.
'Find her. Find her before it's too late.'
The dragon roars in my skull. Frantic. Desperate.
It remembers her touch. Her moonlight. The way she made the agony stop.
And now she's gone.
*****
The scent hits me first.
Blood. Fresh. Human.
And something else. Something wrong. Sulfur mixed with decay. Like flesh left to rot in dark places.
I s
