72. Princess Esemeray
PRINCESS ESEMERAY
The Rouskla was a creature of wicked and ugly, but Esemeray was much stronger and deadlier. She commanded her shadows, and they listened, dumping from her pores, and engulfing the slimy creature, squeezing the life out of it.
Esemeray basked in its death, savoring it without shame.
The creature lashed, fighting against Esemeray, opening its mouth of teeth rotted black but, before it chomped down, Esemeray embedded her nails inside its musky back and sliced down.
Just as the creature did to her, puncturing deep.
Its thin skin ripped open, bones separating, as she plunged further into its slender, gooey body.
The Rouskla shrieked, the eerie, silent lake rippling outward like a haunting symphony. Esemeray roared back, her throat and lungs burning. If anything were living in the lake, they no longer were, not with the frequency she just put out.
The Rouskla slammed its eyes closed, obsidian tar leaking out of its slits, inking the water.
Keeping one claw pinned in its back, Esemeray slashed at its throat, harder and deadlier than the last, ripping with every ounce of effort.
Riggs' bloody face flashed through her mind, fueling her anger, fueling her strength.
The Rouskla trembled, its jaw wide open, screaming in distress against Esemeray’s hold, scratching at the shadows wrapped around its torso.
This ends now.
With one hard swipe, Esemeray split the Rouskla in half, exposing its spine as the top half of the lifeless creature floated above.
In a blink, Esemeray headed to the surface, racing to get to Riggs, and shifted back into human form as she reached the shore. Mud wedged between her toes as she limped toward Killian.
He was sobbing and screaming and pleading for mercy, holding on to Riggs' body.
Her heart stopped.
No.
“Killian…” Esemeray winced, blood dripping down her spine.
As if the shadows sensed Riggs, they levitated along her palms, power humming along her skin, vibrating against her ears. Her knees slammed into the ground as she placed her hands against Riggs' cold chest. No…
Killian bellowed, tears streaming down his reddened face. “He’s dead,” Killian said in between sobs, “he’s fucking dead.”
Her body flushed, heat scorching every fiber of her being. A silent sob worked up her throat.
He’s not dead.
No.
Her head spun, the world around her blurring.
He’s not dead.
He’s not?—
“No. No, you’re wrong. No, Riggs, no!” She threw her body on top of him, her heart shattering into a million pieces, a fracture splitting her very existence.
“He’s not dead! He’s not! He’s not dead! You’re lying!” Esemeray wept, her eyes stinging, body trembling. Her breaths labored as she repeated the words over and over, trying to convince herself Riggs was still here—still alive.
Killian wiped his face, anger lacing his eyes. “What the fuck are you doing to him?”
Esemeray flinched, her shadows wrapping around Riggs as if they, too, were mourning him. “I-I don’t know what’s happening,” she stuttered, brows bunching as a blanket of darkness engulfed him, not an inch of his pale body shone.
As if she were shifting with no will, mist spilled from her hands and dissolved over Riggs.
Killian’s voice faded by the second. “What’s going on?”
As the last piece of Esemeray disappeared, everything became still.
Silent.
Heavy.
Where am I?
“Esemeray.” A faint whisper sounded, easing her sorrow, her pain. “Come here.”
“Riggs?” Esemeray questioned, spreading her hands in front of her and followed his voice through the fog of gloom. “Riggs!”
Is this his darkness? Or my own?
“I want to show you something, princess.”
Footsteps sounded beside her. She turned—nothing.
“Riggs?”
Is my mind playing tricks?
Am I hallucinating?
A final breaking point?
She waited for a response, but none came.
“Riggs!” Esemeray called again, louder this time.
“Over here.”
She turned and her entire world tilted.
The warm, salty breeze kissed her face, gently blowing her hair back as she approached the sandy cliff edge.
Her chest heaved.
There he was. Sitting on a rock, knees to his chest, staring at the night sky—staring at the stars.
“Riggs?” Esemeray murmured.
She didn’t understand what this was. His afterlife? The in-between? She carefully made her way to him, slowly reaching out to touch him. She gasped, pulling away as his eyes landed on her.
Brows bunching, she stared upon his skin—untouched, as if nothing ever hurt him.
“Riggs, where are we?”
“I wanted to watch the stars with you one last time.” He motioned to the endless depths impossibly high above them. “Here we are.”
She blinked. Unable to speak. Unable to move.
“Don’t be shy, come here,” Riggs said gently, reaching his hand out.
Anytime I touched Elora, she disappeared.
Esemeray slowly reached out for him, bracing herself for the worst, yet desperate to feel him. Just one touch, one last touch.
Her breath caught with his fingers intertwining with hers. Carefully, she hung her legs over the edge pressing against him.
“Are we dead?” She glanced at the waves violently crashing against the rocks, the mist kissing her face as she waited for his answer.
“No, princess.” He swept her hair back, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. “You are not dead.” A small frown. “But I am.”
She trembled, holding back her tears. “How…how am I seeing this? Seeing you?”
Riggs shrugged. “I don’t question the gods or why they give us these final moments.”
A tear slid down her cheek, her voice breaking. “I cannot lose you.”
Riggs caught the fallen tear with his thumb, her tear glowing off his skin. “You allowed me another friend, a best friend.” Riggs' eyes watered. “You showed me what true love feels like, and I am forever grateful for that.”
Esemeray’s body weakened, chills spreading down her spine. “I cannot lose you, I cannot.”
Riggs placed his hand on her heart, the heat from his palm seeping into her soul. “You will never lose me. I will always be here…forever.”
Esemeray wept, placing her hand over his, not daring to let go.
“I love you,” Riggs whispered, wiping her tears once more. “Don’t cry little bird. I’ll always be with you.” He pointed to the night sky. “I’m everywhere now. I’m the stars that shine. I’m the wind to kiss you. The warmth from the sun to hold you. Do not cry.”
“B-but,” Esemeray stuttered, her heart collapsing.
“Close your eyes, Em. I want to show you something.”
Esemeray’s heavy lids fluttered shut, light flooding her vision.
A heartbeat later, and everything went silent.
“Riggs?” she whispered.
No response.
She opened her eyes, and Riggs was gone, her stomach dropping.
“Riggs!?” Esemeray screamed his name, the world so bright as if the light from the heavens spilled around her.
Static overpowered her ears, color bursting into her vision.
Esemeray blinked, a rush of happiness flooding through her chest. Thousands of butterflies flapped their delicate, colorful wings across an open meadow full of flowers, dancing in the sun.
A little boy around ten snuck across the vibrant speckled grass with a net in hand, crouching low. His dark hair and eyes looked all too familiar. He may have looked younger, shorter, but she knew that smile.
It was Riggs.
Is this his memory?
“Got you!” Riggs shouted with childlike enthusiasm as he gently cupped the net in his palm, examining the insect he captured, his eyes full of awe and excitement.
“Riggs! Did you get it?”
Esemeray turned toward another little boy around the same age as Riggs. His hair was similar, short and dark, but that’s where their similarities ended.
“Get over here! Hurry Ryker!” Riggs called out, holding a green butterfly in his hands. “Isn’t she a beauty?”
Ryker beamed. “Is that really for me?”
“I told you I’d catch you one.” Riggs laughed, carefully showing the butterfly.
Ryker looked intently before embracing Riggs. “You’re my best friend.”
“Forever,” Riggs said, squeezing his eyes shut as if he was soaking in the moment. “Until the day we die.”
“And even after…” Ryker whispered.
That’s the little boy that died.
Riggs' best friend.
Tears welled in her eyes, a heavy weight filling Esemeray’s chest. The butterfly resting in Riggs' palm was the same butterfly she found in his journal.
Even after death, life could be beautiful.
White flooded her vision once more, and she found herself back in the pit of darkness.
Trying to wiggle, coldness seeped into her phantom body.
She focused on her power coursing along her skin, strong and alive.
She willed it to warm the space surrounding her, willed it to fill the vast void with love, with hope.
A fluttering pulse beat along her wrists, along her mind, nearly vibrating her soul.
Even after death, life could be beautiful.
She repeated Riggs' words over and over as she willed her power—commanded her power—to save him. To save the little boy who wanted to save his friend, to the boy who saw nothing but the beauty in the world.
If anyone deserved to live, it was him.
Save him.
An overwhelming presence of emotions filled her thoughts, her mind, and her soul as she sent another wave of power.
She would give him every last drop of it, if it meant seeing him smile, hearing him laugh, one last time.
From the moment he walked into her life—for the first time in eight years, he gave her life—a purpose. She would not lose him.
Save him.
Her shadows traveled outside of her, enveloping Riggs completely. Esemeray sent another wave, again and again—giving him everything. She focused on the scar on her chest where her power once screamed to be unleashed, focused on flying, of being free.
She reached for her power and screamed, “Save him!”
Save him!
Save him!
Save him!
Save him!
A burst of light flooded her vision, flashing violently.
The icy space surrounding her warmed, a constant beating filling the spot where her heart was located—where his heart was located—then a rush of blood filled her veins.
A sense of gravity pulled Esemeray down, then up, then down again, her stomach turning inside out. Then black mist flooded her vision.
She blinked. Once. Twice.
The outside world coming into sight. Stars twinkled above her, waves crashing along the shore, overpowering the intense weeping—Killian.
Riggs.
Blinking the blur out of her vision, Esemeray grunted as she turned her aching body, attempting to prop herself up on an elbow, but failed, her face falling in the cold mud. Her mind was as mushy as the surface. Esemeray wiped her eyes clean, and focused on Riggs.
She blinked, unbelieving her own eyes.