As Henry kept healing, a lot of the roc's wounds slowly closed up. Its condition improved at a visible pace.
Before long, the unconscious roc cracked its eyes open again, dazed and unfocused.
Then its gaze landed on Ethan's group—and the confusion snapped into pure hostility.
Ethan signaled Henry to stop. He stepped to the front of the roc and spoke slowly, keeping his hands where it could see them.
"Easy, big guy. You're this strong, so I'm guessing you're not stupid. You can understand me, right?"
"We just risked our lives to pull you out of the Winged Clan's hands. If it weren't for us, you'd already be dead—and they'd have dug out your crystal core. You know that."
Henry's healing had been deliberate. The roc was awake, but it still couldn't move.
Even so, if it screamed and drew attention, they were in trouble. So Ethan laid everything out immediately.
The roc was too strong for Skinny Pete to control, which was why Ethan hadn't even called him over this time.
