Riley was determined.
At least, he had been determined right up until he left his dragon with those heartfelt promises and poetic parting words. But if he were being honest, that entire bravado only survived for about three meters before shriveling up and dying like a bug on a hot sidewalk.
The apparently sealed human did not dare look back. If he looked back, even for a fraction of a second, he was ninety percent sure he would sprint straight into Kael's arms and demand a refund for this entire experience.
Because this was not the easiest sight to swallow.
Riley Hale, the twiggiest twig who ever twigged, was walking behind, beside, or honestly just within the gravitational pull of a giant serpent whose tail he had never once seen the end of. And as if that wasn't horrifying enough, he was also being escorted by other guardians of various shapes and sizes, like they were on their way to either his coronation or his execution.
