Page 20 of Hunted on Halloween

Suddenly, the demon found an opening, sinking its jagged teeth into Tieran’s arm. A snarl tore through the air as Tieran’s free hand lashed out, his claws ripping into the demon’s side, pulling hard. Black blood gushed from the wound, dripping onto the scorched earth beneath them.

The demon dug its claws deeper, rending flesh and bone. With a guttural growl, Tieran drove his other hand into the demon’s other side, his claws puncturing the thick, armored hide. A shriek escaped the creature as it released its grip, its strength fading. Tieran bellowed, lifting the demon with inhuman might and slamming it into the ground with a sickening crunch, triumphant.

She looked up to see the wolf Bryce was fighting was also on the ground. “Your people?” Tia whispered low, wanting only Tieran to hear her.

“They’ll live,” he grunted.

“Now, it’s time for us to go see what’s on the other side of this distortion field.”

“Distortion field?” she asked. She’d been thinking of it as more of a curtain, but now that he mentioned it, it did look like there was a distortion in the air.

“It’s meant to take us from one place to another. Unless I have missed my guess, I believe that when we walk through this distortion field, we will be back in the mirror universe.” Tia’sstomach dropped. There were lots of things she wanted to see, but the world they came from wasn’t one of them.

“I’ll step in first,” Tieran said.

“Please, my king,” Bryce interrupted. “It is my honor, my duty, and my privilege to protect the royal family.” Tieran executed a perfect bow, honoring Bryce.

“From this day forward, Bryce, you will be the protector of the queen.”

“Thank you, my king,” Bryce said.

“Tia, you will walk in after Bryce, and I will walk in after you, giving you as much protection as possible.”

“I don’t like knowing that the two of you are putting your lives on the line to take care of me, but I understand. More importantly, I appreciate it.” She wanted to say something flippant to lighten the mood, but the realization that this wasn’t who she was anymore stayed her tongue.

If she was going to be Tieran’s mate, and she was, nothing in this world was going to stop her, including death. Then she had to embrace becoming a queen. In this moment, the most important thing was to let her mate and her subjects know that she could fulfill her duties. Her subjects, if anyone at any point in her life had suggested that she would become royalty, she would have laughed her ass off. Look at her now.

She wasn’t playing at being queen, and there were a lot of lives, including hers, on the line. It all came down to what she was willing to do. “I’m ready.” She reached out to Tieran, who took her into his arms and gave her one final kiss.

“After this is over, there will be time for you and me.”

She nodded, knowing that she had to believe they would come out victorious no matter what she saw when she crossed into the mirror plane.

Bryce looked back at her with a faint smile, and then he stepped into the distortion field.

Just like with the monsters on the other side, once he stepped through, Tia couldn’t see him. Tieran held onto her arm for a few seconds, keeping her still. Then he gave her a gentle push against her back, and she, too, stepped through.

Her mouth dropped the minute she reached the other side. There were monuments that stretched high into the sky that were beautiful and gleaming. There were other parts of the city that looked like it had been destroyed.

There was filth on the streets, but not animal filth or filth from monsters. It was the debris that her people left behind. Vast monuments of destruction that couldn’t be moved. How had Tieran’s people lived here for so long and managed to eke out life in this world? No wonder her people left it.

There was no way humans would be able to survive this kind of destruction. “Where are the trees?” Tia turned around, realizing there was more destruction than she originally thought. Humans ravaged this planet, depleting all its resources.

“We have two groves with trees and flowers and plants that we cultivated back to life. There are segments of our people that need nature. The oceans were destroyed, although we were able to save one or two minor oceans,” Bryce said.

“The lakes were a little easier to bring back to life, but there are no fish in them. This plane is dying, and the only thing that has kept it going is my people,” Tieran told her.

“How do you live with that demonic laughter? It sounds like someone went mentally insane and then started laughing.” It took all her strength not to put her hands over her ears.

“I believe they timed that to go off when the distortion field appeared. The necrotechs are aware of the prophecy and have spent their lives looking for the one who would bring it to fruition. That person is you.” He pulled her close. “Your mother, being an intelligent woman, hid you right in front of their eyes.”

Tia wasn’t sure if her mother deserved an expensive gift or a good yelling at for letting her walk into all of this blindly.

“The stronghold is over here?” Tieran asked. He thought it would be on his world where the necrotechs could guard it.

“The prophecy mentioned tall, beautiful buildings. I believe that whatever this curse was created and crafted before the necrotechs left this mirror plane.” Tia said.

It made sense to her. “I bet the prophecy was given while my people were still living here, which is another reason why it mentions the buildings. What do we do now?” Tia asked.

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