Zetterburn laughed, a sound like a landslide of hot coals. "Home? This is your home now. Ash and bone."
"Fragile!" Zetterburn snarled, raking his claws across the shield. Green sparks flew. "Just like all your kind!" rivals of aether ness
It caught Zetterburn in the open mouth.
The lion prince of the Fire Armada wasn't just a rival. He was a cataclysm. His fur was a cascade of dying embers, his mane a roaring inferno that warped the air around his scarred muzzle. Every time he exhaled, a puff of superheated ash and contempt billowed towards Ness. Zetterburn laughed, a sound like a landslide of hot coals
Zetterburn stumbled forward, off-balance for a heartbeat. It was all Ness needed. He didn’t think. He acted . A lifetime of batting practice and fighting possessed moles took over. He swung the Louisville Slugger not at Zetterburn’s head, but at his front paws. Ash and bone
Ness tightened his grip. The psychic pulse of this strange, elemental world was a chaotic drumbeat compared to the steady hum of Eagleland. His PSI felt… muffled. Sluggish. Like trying to shout through a pillow. But the fire in Zetterburn’s eyes was real. The heat on his cheek was real. And the quiet, desperate courage that had made him face Giygas was still real, too.
A rival.