She's Dying

*Ryatt*

We stood in silence against the beating of drums and the thrumming sounds of voices lifted in song. I’d watched the eclipse cast the entire world in shadow, the event making my own shadow powers sing. But my eyes were on the lake–still as glass–and my mate, who’d gone beneath the surface.

I waited. I tugged on our bond. She hadn’t closed me out, but the water acted like some kind of barrier between us regardless.

Then it happened. A few seconds after the first rays of moonlight returned, the lake began to glow and shift with soft, crimson energy that sent shockwaves across the rocky shore. I felt Ella’s power. It ignited my own like it had the moment she slid her hand in mine, and I brought her through the veil. It mingled, turning into something new, something ancient, something more powerful that I’d ever felt before.

My men had staggered to the lakeshore and fallen to their knees when she finally breached the surface of the water. Everyone had stopped what they were doin