Page 36 of Princess Redeemed

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I rise,brush off my arms and legs, and then touch my abdomen, letting my unborn child know we’re all right.We’ve come through the portal unscathed.

My vision is clouded, and I open my eyes wide, but darkness surrounds me.

“Rogan!”I shout.

But the sound of my voice seems to dissipate into nothingness.

Where am I?

My stepfather’s lair, I assume.That’s where this portal took me before.But I sense nothing familiar here.Nothing at all.

I walk, hoping I’ll get somewhere because through the thick fog I can’t see my feet.Can’t see where I’m headed.Can’t see anything, really, except my hand in front of my face when I concentrate.Something is blinding me, keeping me from Rogan.

Keeping me from?—

With my next step, the fog lifts.Before me stands a foreboding archway carved out of black stone.Onyx?Obsidian?I have no idea, and I don’t rightfully care.But then I see why my vision is no longer impaired.Torches flank the entrance, and they burn with eerie blue flames that cast obscure shadows seeming to writhe and dance along the walls.

But shadows of what?I’m the only person here.So how can I see shadows?

I walk closer to the arch, my heart beating at a pace that can’t be good for the baby.I close my eyes for a moment, breathe in deeply.Relax, Hannah.Relax for your child.

I open my eyes, but relaxation eludes me.Perhaps relaxation isn’t key.I touch my abdomen gently.I’ll protect you.

But to protect my child, I need to be on alert.My adrenaline needs to be flowing.

So relaxation?Not happening.

Etched into the arch are symbols I don’t recognize…but something in my body seems to know they’re inherently evil.

So yes.I’m in a demonic lair, but I’m not sure it’s Richard’s.

I continue forward and enter a vast chamber shrouded in a dense, smoky mist.More flickering torches line the walls, drawing my gaze to stalactites overhead.Are we underground?

Are we in the ether?Or are we still in my own plane of existence?

The combination of gloom and firelight makes my flesh crawl.

I brace myself, gather all the courage and love inside me.“Richard!Show yourself, you evil bastard!”

Nothing.

I take a few more steps on the uneven floor that’s strewn with knifes and arrows.Until?—

“Shit!”

A human skull lays in my path.And next to it…

Oh God…

It’s not human.

It’s canine.Possibly lupine.

Possibly…

No, no, no!I carry Rogan’s child in me.If anything had happened to him, I’d feel it.Wouldn’t I?