𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦

Chapter 13: Death

I had been waiting for this day since I had chosen to become a warrior. The day that we would choose our Ikran.

We had climbed to the top of the Hallelujah Mountains, to where the Ikran nested on the cliff sides.

"Who wants to go first?" A senior member of the clan had led us up here. This was our second rite of passage, if we failed this there was no coming back from it.

If we failed, we would be dead.

The rest of the children around me looked back and forth between each other. No one wanted to willingly go toward their death.

I looked at their faces, my eyes stopping on Neteyam's. He had dreamed of this day as much as I had. It was the only thing we talked about before the humans had returned to our planet.

"I'll go." Neteyam's eyes widened slightly at my declaration.

I approached our guide and he put his hands on my shoulders.

"Remember, your mount must choose you. Your Ikran will try to kill you if you have chosen them correctly."

I nodded my head and gripped the lead in my hands tightly.

I walked toward the nesting Ikran, some immediately flew away.

I chose a small female with light blue coloring and yellow marking.

'She'd be good to ride into battle'. I thought to myself. She looked agile and fast, the perfect mount for a hunter. I neared her and she hissed, taking a step toward me.

This was it. She would be mine.

But as I charged at her to claim her, she screeched and dove from the cliff, flying away into the sky.

I frowned, the other warrior candidates laughing from the safety of the cave they were hiding in. Except Neteyam, whose eyes followed my every move.

I took a deep breath, walking through the Ikran. More dove from the cliff as I neared.

So many had fled that I had feared that I wouldn't find my mount.

Then a loud roar came from above.

I looked above me and saw a large male stalking toward me from the cliff above. He dove off the ledge and landed hard before me.

He was unlike any other I had seen.

He was bigger than any male I'd seen that day. The others stopped laughing behind me as the Ikran took a step toward me. Then two.

"You're mine." I announced, and he hissed angrily at me, showing all his beautifully lethal fangs. Yes, he was mine.

He would be mine, even if it killed me.

I charged and Neteyam yelled my name from the cave.

My course stayed true as I threw myself at the Ikran, wrapping my legs around his strong neck.

He thrashed and rolled and bucked, trying to get me off of his back.

I tried to bind his mouth shut but his mouth clamped around the lead, taking it between his teeth and throwing me to the ground.

The wind was knocked from my lungs, and he lunged. I rolled out of the way, his face hitting the ground.

I got to my feet and staggered toward him, even as he snapped at me.