Page 20 of Taken to the Deadlands (Stolen Demon Brides #1)

Chapter 20

Mia

I had desperately tried to stay awake.

I knew something was going on with her. I tried to wait up to try and talk to her, but one hour turned to three and then six, and before I knew it, I had dozed off.

Panic woke me up.

Even in my sleep, I could feel the weight all around me. Suffocating me. There was something on me. Something I couldn’t fight off.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. No matter how many times I tried to gasp for air, I couldn’t.

My eyes shot open, and I sat up, trying to see what was suffocating me in my sleep. At first, I thought it was another wraith coming for me, but then a shrill whine hit my ears.

I searched for the sound and met the bright green eyes of Momo. She was looking at me with narrowed eyes, her tail swaying around her. She was sitting on my chest, but surely she couldn’t be the one making me feel like I couldn’t breathe.

She’s alive.

The last time I had seen her was when the demon who had taken me had threatened to eat her right before chucking her across the room.

Relief hit me at the same time as a sinking realization.

But wait, if she is here…

My eyes darted around the dark room. My clock glowed in the dark, telling me it was three in the morning, moonlight shone through the small opening in the wall of my room, and the musky yet homey smell of my run-down apartment filled my senses.

I’m home. How the fuck ? —?

I jumped up, pushing the covers off, and Momo jumped to the floor. The world tilted, causing me to drop to my knees.

I’m home.

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, nor could I make heads or tails of how I had ended up back here.

It made everything else feel like a bad dream.

My chest twisted. Was it a dream? Had my guilt about scamming the townspeople snuck up on me and given me some hyper-realistic dreams?

Then panic set in. The world continued to spin. My breath caught in my chest.

It was real, right? Am I going insane?

No. It felt far too real to be a dream. I had been waiting for Aris. I was going to talk to her about staying. I remembered it vividly.

I remembered the smell of the house. The smell of her surrounding me as I cuddled underneath the blankets.

I let out a shuddered breath and turned to look at my room.

The small space could only hold a bed, a small dresser, and a closet. The rickety window was closed, but the wind outside could be heard pushing against it.

Besides that, it was silent, and I was back to the lonely life I had once lived.

It was real.

I gripped the robe I had stolen from Aris’s closet. It was the only thing keeping me from spiraling. Because it didn’t belong here. Because it still smelled like her.

It reminded me that everything that had happened in the Demon Realm had been real . That Aris was real.

But then how was I…

“Aris?” I called into the darkness. Cautiously at first, then when no one answered, I tried again, louder. “Aris!”

For a second, I thought that maybe she could be there with me. But there was no reaction from the darkness.

I pushed myself up and bounded down the steps and into the shop below. I stopped in my tracks when I took in the sight of it.

Not a single thing had changed.

Maybe there was a paper or two out of place, but it looked like I had never even left the place.

Another, smaller yet just as painful emotion filled me.

No one came to check on me.

I wasn’t super good friends with anyone in the town, but I had been providing services to each and every one of them. None of them thought to come take a look?

I walked to the front, my bare feet slapping across the cold wooden floors.

Just outside my door was a pile of mail. Small for the time that I should have been gone.

Even the mailman didn’t care about me.

I fell to the ground, my eyes fixated on the empty street outside. There was not a single soul out there.

Frustration, pain, and loneliness built up inside me.

I wanted to push open the doors. Scream at the top of my lungs. Beg for anyone to pay attention.

Though I knew inside that no one would come.

To them, I would just be another person, unable to deal with the harsh realities of this world.

Momo’s high-pitched meow caused me to jump. She brushed across my side, causing my attention to turn to her.

With a small, sad smile, I picked her up and held her close to my chest.

“How did you survive without me?” I asked, knowing there was no way the food she had would have been enough.

She blinked up at me but didn’t answer. Not that she could anyway.

“Was it the rats again?”

This time her head tilted to the side. I forced myself to let out a laugh, but it was short lived. I buried my face in her soft fur just as tears started to prick my eyes.

“It’s just me and you, Momo.”