Page 17 of Hunted on Halloween

Tieran wiped the tears from her eyes and then kissed her. It was slow and drugging.

She wanted to spend the rest of the night right there with his kisses on her lips and his arms wrapped tightly around her.

“We have to do this, don’t we?” She looked up and met his eyes. She wanted him to say no, but she knew the answer was yes.

“What do you want to do, Tia?” he asked.

“How can you be so blasé about this? We’re going to die.” She wanted to stomp her feet because this wasn’t how her life was supposed to go.

“I’ve been dying for hundreds of years. Being told that the end is near or even that the end is here makes no difference to me. I’ve prepared. The question is, have you?”

Hearing him say that was a shock to her system. He and his people were prepared to die. She never thought of dying. Her thirtieth birthday was coming up, and she was planning a big party for herself while being determined to land that job that she’d been dreaming about.

Was she prepared to die? She didn’t want to leave it all behind, but if the only way to stay with Tieran was to follow him, she’d say goodbye to her life and hello to a new one even if she didn’t know if there was life after death.

“I’m going to follow you wherever you go.” She pulled his head down and they met in another kiss.

“I’m taking you back to your house for another cozy moment in your bedroom, or I’m looking for a stronghold. It’s up to you, Tia. You decide how we spend the rest of this night.”

She held him tight, a sense of wonder invading her heart. “When this is all over,” she told him, “I’m going to find myself a shrink and an enormous bottle of champagne. Maybe a never-ending bottle.”

“You have to share the champagne with me,” he chuckled. “I’ll be your guard standing outside with my arms crossed over my chest while you talk to your shrink to make sure no one disturbs you.”

“That’s my man, the strong, silent type.” She gave a soft laugh. “All right, decision made. Let’s go find a stronghold and destroy a curse.”

“That’s my queen,” he said. “Strong in the midst of her weakness.”

Tia kissed him one last time because if the world was going to end, she needed as many kisses as quickly as possible to make sure that she took them into the hereafter.

“You’re back,” Calista said in a dry voice. “Now I must fumigate that room to get the thoughts of my daughter kissing some guy, even if it is the one that she’s mated to, out of my mind.” She grimaced.

“Mom, the things I’ve done in that room, let me tell you.”

“I’m not listening,” Calista said loudly. Then she started humming some song that Tia didn’t know. “Go save the world,”Calista said, “And take your vampire and shifter wolf with you. Thank you.”

“Mom, what will you be doing?” Calista pulled out two party hats that saidTia!, and then she went to the refrigerator and pulled out a cake that said, "My daughter saved the world."

“I’ll be sitting on the porch in Rylin’s arms, in my party hat, eating cake and blowing on party favors. When my neighbors, the necrotechs, come out to see what’s happening, I will laugh in their faces.” She plopped a hat on her head.

“That’s what I’m going to be doing. What are you going to be doing, sweetheart?”

“I’m going to be saving the world. Isn’t that what every witchling dreams of?” Tia laughed and shook her head. How could her life drastically change in less than twelve hours? It really seemed like magic.

Tia took her king’s hand and then walked towards the door.

“Wait, don’t forget Bryce,” her mother said. “You can come back and eat cake after you save the world.”

Bryce stood and bowed low to the queen’s parents before he caught up with Tia and Tieran in the doorway.

“She who knows,” Tia said, referring to her mother, “has just declared that you are part of this process, too. Let’s get this party started.”

Tia walked through the doorway, but she couldn’t go any further because she needed to ask this question, even though it had no bearing on what they were about to do. “Mom, why is your door blue? I thought it was just a style choice growing up, but now it seems like there’s more behind it. The only two doors I’ve ever seen that were blue in our whole town were yours and mine.” She gave Rylin a soft smile.

“The blue indicates safety for the monsters and invites them to come in and regain their sanity.”

“Then why is my door blue?” It wasn’t like she was ever planning on inviting a monster in, and Tieran did try to kill her.

“Didn’t the monster who is the new high king regain his sanity.” Tia gave her mother a look of respect and a small bow because she realized her mother knew way more than she was telling anyone. Then she laughed.

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