"Wasn't she leaking with more fire than before?" Aether muttered, confusion drawing a crooked smile across his lips as he watched Thalia slowly stand, her wounds sealing up in an instant. Phoenix flames exploded from her body in a violent burst... so intense!
The flames she wielded now weren't the same as before.
Back then, her fire had been wild, reckless—a weapon unleashed to protect everyone she loved, to burn away all threats.
But now… the fire felt different. Now, it was as if she was reaching for something she couldn't grasp—a hunger burning for the impossible, for the next height?
Aether didn't know for sure, but he wasn't planning to give her an easy victory over the bull monster… was he?
He narrowed his eyes, watching the bull monster lumber and turn.
Suddenly, the monster charged at Thalia's back, its hooves pounding like thunder.
