Chapter 172 – Flames and Steel
The wyvern lashed out with another sweeping strike of its tail, the air howling with the force of it. Ethan ducked low, boots skidding across scorched stone as the massive appendage crashed into a pillar behind him, shattering it into a rain of burning rubble. Smoke coiled upward, mixing with the heat of the beast's fire until the whole chamber seemed wrapped in a furnace haze.
The monster was relentless. Every wingbeat churned gale-force winds, feeding the firestorm. Its scales gleamed crimson in the light, hide marred with gashes, blood streaking its flanks where Ethan, Xarion, and the soldiers had struck. But even wounded, it refused to yield, fury driving every movement.
