The Rise-Book II

The air still thrummed with unspoken grief, a heavy shroud settling over the forest. Ethan's ragged growls echoed the pain that tore through my own heart. The ancient tree, a silent witness to horrors long past, swayed ominously as if waving us away.
"Ethan, no!" I cried, tackling him to the ground as his fury threatened to consume him. His eyes blazed with a bloodlust I'd only glimpsed in the tree's haunting vision.
"I'm going to kill him," he snarled, trying to wrestle free, his beast clawing at the surface.
"I know, I know you are, but we can't—not yet!" Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to pin him, the bond between us howling with an agony that mirrored our own. The image of Thomas, alive and breathing on this land, mocked our pain. But righteous fury wouldn't bring justice; only solid proof would.
