Cain stepped onto the training grounds, his boots crunching softly against the dirt. The sun was low, casting long shadows over the field where training dummies stood like silent sentinels. His eyes immediately landed on Maris, standing in the center with her spear gripped tightly in both hands. She was alone, her back rigid, her golden eyes locked forward as though she were waiting for an enemy to appear.

He frowned. She had texted him to come meet her, but this was not the usual Maris he had come to know. Normally, she was either fiery and smug or challengingly blunt, but now… she was silent.

"Maris," Cain greeted calmly, taking a few steps closer. "You asked me to come. What is it?"

She did not answer. Her body remained still, the only sound the faint whistle of the wind that brushed across the field. Cain tilted his head, studying her carefully. Something was wrong. He could feel the tension in the air like a coiled spring.

He tried again, softer this time. "Maris, what's on your mind?"

The sudden crack of her spear butt slamming into the ground startled a flock of birds from the nearby trees. The sound echoed across the field. Maris finally turned her head, her face shadowed, her golden eyes glowing faintly red.

"Is it true?" she demanded, her voice low and heavy with restrained fury.

Cain blinked, caught off guard by the raw venom in her tone. "True?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

Maris' grip on her spear tightened, her knuckles white. Her head snapped toward him fully now, crimson sparks flaring behind her eyes. Her voice rose into a growl that was half words, half roar. "Do not play dumb with me, Cain. Tell me now. Are you related to that pig-like bastard?"

Cain's body went still. For a moment he said nothing, watching her trembling form, her scales faintly glowing as if the rage inside her was feeding her blood. And then, unexpectedly, a deep laugh rolled out of his chest.

Maris' face twisted in fury. She took a step forward, her crimson-tinted aura flaring around her. "You laugh? At this?"

Cain raised his hand, trying to calm her. His smile lingered, but his voice was serious. "The pig-like bastard… yes. He is my older brother."

Maris' breath hitched, her jaw tightening so hard he thought her teeth might crack. Her spear shook in her grip, the wood groaning under the pressure of her hands. The scales along her forearms rippled, deep violet taking on a crimson sheen.

"Why," she hissed, her voice trembling with wrath, "did you not tell me?"

Cain frowned, tilting his head slightly. "Because it should not matter to you. My family situation is my own. Why do you care so much?"

Her aura flared violently at his words, the heat of her wrath pressing against him like a physical weight. The crimson in her scales spread, and cracks formed in the ground beneath her feet. Her breathing turned ragged, her chest heaving as if every breath was a battle.

"Why do I care?" Maris growled, her voice warping under the weight of her fury. "Because that bastard was the man my father tried to sell me to as a concubine. He is the rot I swore to destroy. And you… you carry his blood."

Cain's eyes widened. "He tried to force you—"

The rest of his words were cut off as the ground beneath Maris exploded, shards of dirt and stone flinging into the air. Her body vanished in a blur, moving faster than most eyes could follow. Instinct took over. Cain's form shimmered, his Blink ability activating, and in the next heartbeat he reappeared in the air.

Directly below him, the spot where he had stood was carved into ruin. Deep gouges tore through the earth, lines of raw destruction radiating outward like claw marks from a beast. Maris stood at the center of the devastation, her chest heaving, her crimson aura raging wildly.

Cain narrowed his eyes, his expression shifting from surprise to grim focus. He could feel it now. The madness in her eyes. The crackling aura of Wrath gone rampant.

She lifted her head, her gaze locking onto him in the sky. There was no recognition there, no trace of the proud but composed Maris he had fought before. This was raw instinct, hatred given form.

Cain clenched his fists, his heartbeat quickening. Damn it. She has lost control.

"Maris," he called down, his voice firm, trying to cut through the haze of rage. "This is not you. Calm yourself before you do something you will regret."

Her only answer was a snarl that shook in her throat, her spear snapping upward in a blur. The crimson glow around her body flared like fire as she launched herself into the air with frightening speed.

Cain's muscles tensed. Every instinct screamed at him to fight back, but he hesitated. This was not a spar. She was actually trying to kill him!

A sharp, guttural sound burst through Cain's mind, like a hiss mixed with a growl.

Cain winced at the noise as he blinked out of reach of another strike, reappearing several feet away. "What was that supposed to be? Got any bright ideas to deal with this?"

"No," Gaius answered, his tone edged with genuine surprise. "That sound was me realizing what she is doing. Maris is undergoing Dragonization."

Cain frowned, rolling his shoulders as he readied himself for the next rush. "That doesn't sound like a good thing right now."

"It is not," Gaius said firmly. "Dragonization is a blessing when guided. It elevates a dragonkin beyond their limits. But she is not guiding it. Her emotions and rage has seized control. If you do not calm her, she will lose herself completely, and the Academy will have a rampaging dragon to put down."

Cain cursed under his breath as Maris tore through the earth to reach him, her golden crimson eyes burning with unrestrained fury. Each glare struck him like a physical blow, filled with the kind of hate reserved for mortal enemies.

"Why can't I have a single normal day," he muttered, blinking aside once more as her spear carved a gouge where he had been standing.

Maris pivoted, her aura flaring brighter, the crimson glow racing across her scales. Her gaze never left him, sharp and predatory, as if nothing else in the world existed but him.

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