Yoa broke the surface with a gasp, unintentionally shifted back into his human form, his hair plastered against his face, water streaming down his chest. There was nothing but calm waves, the turquoise waters as far as his eyes could see.
His breath heaved in his lungs, and he scanned the horizon again. But there was nothing. The Akhlut was gone.
He remained in the water, searching. Waiting. But the feeling had slipped away like a whisper stolen by wind.
One thing he hadn't anticipated was the Akhlut's cowardice. He cringed at the term. It wasn't right. He was sure from the legends passed down through the guardians' that this was the most lethal of all the Ancients.
Coward it was not. Lazy or bored? Perhaps. The Akhlut tried to get an easy meal by claiming one of the children and when that didn't happen it only lingered a moment more, surveying the threat following it and vanishing after deeming him not worthy.
