Maybe it didn't have to be all or nothing with her? I lowered my guard a tiny amount. Okay, then. Help me. I braced myself, but she didn't take advantage, only infused a bit of her nature into me. A jagged need for violence rushed up through me, turning the world into shades of bloodlust red. For the first time ever, I embraced it.

I kicked over the TV table, infused with a burst of strength. Grabbing the knife, I slashed the diwrmach's tendons through his now-tattered, dingy white ...