Ethan dusted off his hands, thinking it was finally over.
Then a violent gust slammed into his back.
Cindara had looped under the bridge and come up behind him. The wind pressure from her wings hit like a wall.
Ethan grabbed the railing on instinct.
He bent his knees, then kicked off the deck and sprang upward, narrowly slipping past the sweep coming from behind.
Cindara's ambush failed.
She twisted in midair, right hand clenched into a tight fist, and shot at Ethan again.
Ethan was still airborne.
Cindara was already on top of him.
He couldn't drop back to the bridge and reset, so he snapped both legs back in a hard kick. His soles shoved the air, generating a tight, spinning ring of airflow behind him—just enough to "hang" him for a fraction of a second.
He lowered his hands.
Locked his eyes on the onrushing Cindara.
Cindara's punch drove straight for his face.
Right before impact, her figure vanished from the front.
The next instant—
She reappeared behind him.
