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Kage rubbed his chin. “Did I? I don’t recall.”

The fucking asshole.

“Yes. You did.” I breathed in deeply, trying to tamp down my annoyance. “Look, you know what I am.”

“A dragon,” Kage said bluntly. “Unless I’m much mistaken. An Infernus.”

Great. As usual, Kage knew more than I did.

“I can become a red dragon, yes. But I don’t have great control. My dragon … he’s bleeding through more often. I feel like I’m losing control, not gaining it.”

“He?”

“What?”

“You said he. As if your dragon was someone else. He’s not. He’s you.”

My lips twisted. “Well, it sure doesn’t fucking feel that way.”

Kage’s brow furrowed. “My wolf is me. There is no distinction.”

“And you have great control. Good for you. Can you teach me?” I asked.

“Just what exactly is happening?”

I ran my hands through my hair. “I can’t control when I shift. I can’t control the dragon even when I haven’t shifted. Like I said, it’s as if there’s someone else inside of me. And he takes control sometimes. He’s … violent. Twisted.”

Kage looked skeptical. “That doesn’t sound too different from the Blake Drakharrow I know.”

“Well, it is,” I snapped. “I killed a boy in the hall today, a blight-born. He was threatening Pendragon. I just … snapped.”

Kage frowned. “If he was threatening your consort, that doesn’t sound completely unreasonable.”

“No,” I agreed. “But I nearly killed another girl, too. She hadn’t laid a hand on Pendragon. And it’s not about that. It’s about the fact that I can hardly remember doing it. And that’s when it’s someone I don’t care about.” I met Kage’s eyes, willing him not to make me say the words.

“You’re afraid you’ll hurt someone who’s more important to you,” he summarized.

I nodded. “Yes.”

Kage was quiet for a moment, brow furrowed, arms crossed over his chest. I watched him in silence. He was a handsome bastard, I guess I’d give him that. And he’d been fairly gracious in letting me into his private space. That didn’t mean I didn’t still plan to get Pendragon out of his house as soon as I could.

“Look, Drakharrow,” he finally said, “you’re not wrong to be scared. I can see you’re cracking.”

“Cracking?” My blood pressure rose. “I wouldn’t put it quite like that. But you admit it, then. I’m dangerous.” I forced a laugh.

“You always have been,” Kage said dryly. “All of you Drakhar-rows are wildfires waiting to happen. That’s nothing new. Just look at your brother.”

I tried not to take offense—especially as he might have had a point. “I think you’re forgetting my father. Besides, you try being practically raised by Viktor Drakharrow and we’ll see how you turn out.”

“Sure. Point taken.” He stood up and stretched. “I told you I might be able to help. But I’d assumed things would go the same way for you as they did for me.”

I blinked. “And you don’t think that now?”

“No. My wolf is myself. You seem to see the dragon inside you as some other entity completely. And you’re talking as if that dragon is trying to, well, harm you. Harm people you care about.”

“Well, he fucking is,” I hissed. “He could.”

Kage nodded. “All right. Look, I’ve trained other Avari before. But what you’re describing … well, it’s not shifting. You’re not just having trouble changing and changing back again. You’re splitting apart at the seams.”