the sun a cruel mockery Posted on February 8, 2025 at 04:52:28 PM by Helios ☼ Akkadian
The dark draft's words had slid into Helios' ears with all the effect of a paralytic venom. Little thought made it through the scramble of the copper stallion's thought as Lucifer presented the choice to his son: the son he felt would latch onto the offer to leave the Dunes for his own purposes. Akkadian was mentally tougher than the other boys. That fiber and strength were Helios's reasons for choosing the spotted colt in the first place.
Now, Lucifer had turned it back on him. The deal was void. Kade would have his freedom, and still the Dunes would be continuously plagued by the black beast. The only question Helios could ask himself --frozen in place as Akkadian turned away and strode into the shallows-- was this: What have I done? He didn't offer any parting words to the brute. There were no pleas or begging. Kade was right: he was always going to leave the Dunes. No words could be said now to keep the boy here, not when Helios had offered him up so willingly as a shield.
Instead, the Arabian watched wordlessly as the two males drifted further and further away in the saltwater. He watched them until their bobbing heads and splashes disappeared. Then he kept staring. Helios stood frozen on that beach until the light and heat of day faded. How had he gotten to this place? How had the gallantry, the willingness to help others... the good he strove to exemplify turned into something so ineffective and weak? As the crescent moon rose higher in the sky, Helios finally turned away from the churning water to go back to his herd, where Mazikeen would be waiting to hear what happened.