Page 54 of Obsidian Dream

Slowly, the bones and flesh covered their skeletal limbs.Painstakingly, each creature becomes more humanoid with each step.Each one of the creatures bore more of a passing resemblance to him than the previous one, until the last appeared to be a monstrous, distorted carbon copy of his form.

He finally counted twelve of them, in various stages of birth.At least three of them bore his Atlantean eyes, another two had his dark skin.His legacy.

Growls and short sharp sounds came from their throats as they moved toward each other and then looked at him.

They watched him like he was their prey.

“It is fortunate that the humans and Atlanteans have left us many fine tributes in their weaponry.My children—my gallu.”The god turned to face him, a grin worthy of a bloodthirsty queen on her face as she surveyed her subjects.The lids of the nearby tomb floated from their placement, moving off to the side before they came crashing down.The scent of decaying bodies and shriveled flesh filled his senses.

One creature opened its mouth.

The animalistic screech pierced his eardrums even as he curled into a fetal position, covering his ears and shutting his eyes.Sticky blood trickled down his fingers.

“Show your mother how well you hunt.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

TALIK

Talik kneeled nextto Khalida, careful not to touch her.She held on to her knees, rocking slightly back and forth, her body hunched over as her breaths came out ragged.

Pain and guilt covered her scent.It hit him hard, making him scramble backward.Memories he had tried to forget were hurtling back to the forefront, forcing him to re-evaluate his old decisions.Nothing mattered.

He couldn’t change the past, no matter how much he wanted to.

“They used Sidra,” Khalida whispered.

Every word was like a knife to his chest, one that twisted deeper with each passing second.Talik closed his eyes as he let her anguish roll over him, let it become his.A part of him sighed in relief.Khalida knew it hadn’t been real.But that hadn’t stopped her from trying to grasp onto the memory.Hadn’t stopped her from running through the catacombs until she was isolated.

Alone, just like she had been five hundred years ago.The grief would forever be below the surface, entwined with who Khalida was today.Just like it would forever be a part of him.Talik pushed down the dark thoughts that crawled from the edges of his mind.They were never far away.

“Khalida.”He reached out to touch her but stopped himself before he made contact, quickly withdrawing before she noticed.He had lost that privilege a long time ago.He wanted to give her the time to mourn, but time was something they didn’t have.They were no longer alone.“It was the Anki manipulating you.”

Khalida’s head snapped up.Her eyes glowed with fury.They appeared neon in the darkness.She stood and shook herself before she slowly drew the sword.“You heard it as well?”

Talik nodded.But unlike Khalida, he’d immediately known it wasn’t their daughter.Winding back time and rewriting history was not something even the ancient gods could do, no matter what their whispered promises alluded to.“Yes.”