On the other end of the line, Donovan fell silent for a brief moment after Ethan's question, the faint static stretching just long enough to set his nerves on edge.
"It's nothing serious," the old man finally replied, his voice rough but threaded with reluctant respect. "Ran into an old monster here in Ember City. Nasty one. We traded blows, and I shattered half his damned skeleton before he slipped away. Still… the bastard was strong. We had him cornered with hundreds backing us, and he still found a crack to crawl through."
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew the Ninth Granduncle's strength well. For someone to wound him, even lightly, and then escape such an overwhelming net spoke of a level of danger he had not expected to find in the so called mundane world.
Beside him, Lyla's expression tightened with quiet worry, but she said nothing, instinctively respecting the weight of the conversation.
