67. Killian
KILLIAN
Riggs would never believe this.
The desert sun faded dangerously fast, dipping into the horizon, scattering clouds of gold and lavender across the dim sky.
A strong force pushed against his face, lifting his eyelids as he clung to the back of Esemeray’s creature form.
He had no damn clue what she’d turned herself into.
He had never seen or heard of it before.
Riggs would know.
Esemeray called it a yenshallow before she shifted into the beast.
Killian’s slick palms gripped tighter into her obsidian fur to keep himself saddled, as her majestic wings beat fast and fierce, gliding through the heavens faster than before.
I feel like I’m riding on a cloud.
The yenshallow was otherworldly—nothing that belonged to this planet.
Somewhere that only belonged in a children’s book.
Her pig-like nose sniffed as she veered right. His blood chilled. She was headed toward a place he wouldn’t dare say aloud.
Dark Water Lake.
The glassy water glittered from above, its haunting, eerie feel drawing him in as they drew closer. And for the first time in a long while, he prayed to whatever God was listening that Riggs was not at the cursed lake.
Esemeray turned gracefully, her wispy tail twirling behind her. The ethereal midnight antennas on her head vibrated as if she indeed found Riggs.
Esemeray dipped down, descending toward the lake, forcing Killian to hold tightly onto her curved horns. As they plummeted, so did his stomach.
Izara stood alone, staring out into the lake, the water rippling as if something, or someone, was pulled under.
No sight of Riggs, but Storm was there, tied off to a post. Killian’s brows rose, heart thundering.
Where is Riggs?
“Princess, I’m going to need you to trust me on this!” Killian shouted, hoping she heard him. Esemeray nodded, relaxing some of the tension from Killian’s shoulders. “Land as far away from Izara as you can.”
A pit formed in his stomach, the same pit when he found his wife.
The feeling that he was too late.
The feeling of defeat.