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“Trust me?” he said, more a statement than a question.
“How can I not?”
He chuckled and with a gentle motion, we took flight. I pressed my face into his chest, unprepared for the fact that he could fly! After a few moments, I felt my body relax and mold against his, watching the scenery below us. Then a thought hit me.Did Isolarel know where he was going?
"Let me show you my world," I whispered into his ear, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
"Just lead the way, my queen," Isolarel replied, his mandibles vibrating with what I took as silent laughter.
As if to confirm the connection our souls had, we landed in front of the library. I looked at him curiously but his attention was caught elsewhere. My heart sank when I saw police officers milling about, asking questions to the locals and investigating the scene.
A gasp came behind us and I turned to find one of the locals with her hand covering her mouth as she stared at everything that was Isolarel. Fear stabbed me as I took a step in front of him but Isolarel wouldn’t have it, sticking his arm out and stopping me.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Protecting you,” he easily replied.
“I-Is that—” the local started but couldn’t finish.
“That can’t be real,” said another local.
“Have the gods come to visit us?”
“He has to be a god, look at him!”
Because many of the locals still harbored a lot of the older traditions and superstitions… This could go alright, or horribly wrong.
When the first person fell to their knees and bowed, everyone around us slowly followed. It was a bizarre moment that was hard for me to comprehend.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to find one of the officers looking between me and Isolarel. He took a moment before he spoke and I was beginning to wonder if we would be able to live peacefully here after all.
“We’ve gotten calls from the people in the area that they witnessed Mr. Redding leave into the desert but never return. Were you aware of his disappearance a month ago?” One of the officers asked.
“I saw her go out with him!” someone cried out. “She’s the assistant!”
My face blanched.A month? How could a month have passed when it had only felt like a week? Perhaps time moved differently in the realm of the gods than it did down here.
We began to approach the grand entrance of the library when a hushed silence fell over the crowd. I could feel their eyes fixated on us. Unexpectedly, two policemen emerged as if waiting for us and I stopped in my tracks, the hairs on the back of my neck standing. This wasn’t going to be good.
"Halt! Khepria Sayed! We have questions regarding the untimely demise of Mr. Redding," one of them called out with authority.
Isolarel stepped in front of me, pushing me behind him. His voice took on a tone I had never witnessed before. "Do you dare brandish a mere mortal weapon in the presence of a god?” he sneered, taking another menacing step forward while my heart hammered in my chest. “To threaten the woman that belongs to me?”
Oh no. I was suddenly unsure how everything was going to unfold. Isolarel’s back tensed as his carapace began to darken in color as if prepared for war.
“You all are about to become witnesses to what happens when a filthy human dares to threaten what is mine.”
Eyes widened around us, a few of the locals taking a step back from their bowing positions. The clacking of shaking metal began to rattle in front of us from the officers’ trembling hands as they struggled to maintain their grip and authoritative stance. I quickly looked around us, trying to find a solution when a single gunshot echoed through the air, ricocheting off the protective shell of Isolarel’s back.
His fury erupted. Isolarel seized the officer by his throat at incomprehensible speeds, lifting him to eye level—which in his fully healed form stood at what I could only estimate as seven feet tall. No one, including me, doubted that he was ready to end the officer’s existence.
"Say hello to Anubis for me," he chuckled without humor.
Tension was thick enough to steal my breath as I leapt toward Isolarel with a scream to get his attention as everyone else cried out in fear in their desperate attempt to escape the wrath of a god. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and pressed my cheek against him to calm his wings from fully extending in preparation for flight.
"Isolarel, please. They mean you no harm, my love."
I snuck a look over my shoulder, my gaze sweeping over the now panicked crowd. Some of the locals fell over each other as they ran for safety. I took a shuddering breath, just wanting this to end and for us to come back to my second home—in peace.
