Chapter 293: Victory in Defeat After more than a dozen explosions had shaken the area, I was covered in pine needles and splinters that had fallen from above. One of the large white wolves looked for comfort with its head in my lap. I remember when Oscar was a puppy, he was afraid of thunder and lightning. I empathized with the wolf. His brother had pushed himself behind me, trying unsuccessfully to hide under the log I was seated on. I figured the pair would have left if not for their master’s dinner cooking nearby.Raelia approached the firepit, irritably cleaning pine needles out of her hair. With a bit of awe, she said, “Fifteen lightning strikes, each with tremendous power. Her aether well must be immense.”Glasha grinned, not hiding her happiness that we were impressed. “It is, but it is because she can channel aether from ley lines. This cabin sits at a minor nexus. But I think she reached her limit trying to impress Tarnasha.” I followed Glasha’s eyes to a stumbling Mynasha coming down the path. She was only wearing a thin brown shirt that was soaked in sweat, leaving little to the imagination. Tarnasha carried her bundle of clothes.From a distance away, Mateo was whispering loudly to Benito, and it didn’t take much to figure out what it was about. My own curiosity took hold. “She is using a spell form for the convergence affinity? Does she need to be … naked for it?”Glasha stared at Mynasha, who was struggling to walk. “It helps. If she didn’t, channeling that much aether might set her clothes on fire.”“How is she not burnt?” I asked, realizing how much aether she had just channeled in seconds. “Is her aether tolerance that high?”Glasha chuckled. “No. I understand why you would think (...)