Zane sat on the edge of the cot in his cell, his fingers drumming absently against his knee. Three days. Three days in this strange world, and he had spent most of it locked up, shuffled between this cell and an interrogation room where they grilled him about his origins and purpose. Oddly enough, the concept of him coming from another Earth hadn't shocked them. Apparently, such occurrences weren't entirely unheard of after all this was a world of magic, a lot of things his version of earth considered impossible were considered rather normal here. What did concern them, however, was his stated goal: to kill a Royal Demon single handedly.
That, apparently, was tantamount to suicide.
His release had come abruptly. No explanation. Just a curt command to stay within the vicinity until further notice. With no other option, he decided to explore. The base, as he now realized, was massive—part cathedral, part fortress, and part modern training facility. High stone walls surrounded the compound, Symbols glowing faintly in the corners of every corridor. Shadowhunters walked past him, some nodding in acknowledgment, others ignoring him entirely. Every one of them bore strange black tattoos—some intricate and elegant, others jagged and harsh.
After wandering aimlessly, he stumbled upon an open courtyard filled with the sounds of combat. His gaze locked onto a figure moving with precise, deadly efficiency.
A girl.
She was beautiful, he noticed almost immediately, in a way that was sharp rather than soft. Her long dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her exposed arms bore the same tattoos as the others. Yet something about her presence felt different. Maybe it was the way she moved—fast yet undeniably lethal. Her black training gear clung to her toned frame, and despite the sweat glistening on her skin, she didn't seem even remotely tired.
It seems the girls of these earth possessed beauty that was unnatural, first Lilith then even the girl that saved him from Leo who he still didn't know her name and now this one.
"You're staring," she said flatly, tossing her training blade onto a nearby rack. Her voice was cool, indifferent.
Zane blinked, caught off guard. "I was just—" He cleared his throat. "You're fast."
A small pause. Then, without any real enthusiasm, she said, "Thanks."
He hesitated before stepping further in. "Mind if I join?"
She didn't respond at first, merely studying him as if deciding whether he was worth her time. Then, without a word, she nodded toward a pair of training gloves.
Zane took that as permission.
He slipped them on and faced her, raising his hands into a defensive stance. The moment the match began, he realized just how outclassed he was.
She was brutal. Every strike, every movement was calculated and efficient. He was strong—he knew that—but she moved like she had already predicted every one of his attacks before he even thought of them. In minutes, he was flat on his back, staring up at the sky, his chest heaving.
This girl didn't even look winded.
He groaned, pushing himself up. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, beautiful?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Not particularly, you're barely sufficient for a warm up."
Zane huffed out a breath. "Brutal honesty. Love that."
She walked over to the training bench, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a slow sip before finally speaking again. "You're not bad." He barely registered what she said as he let his eyes feast on her plump sculpted butt but then eventually shifted his gaze reluctantly.
He scoffed. "I'm literally on the floor right now."
She shrugged. "And i'm a shadow hunter, that's natural. But still you have potential."
"That's just a nice way of saying I suck but could suck less."
The girl didn't confirm or deny it, which he supposed was her version of mercy.
As he sat up, rubbing his sore shoulder, he decided to push his luck. "So, what's the deal with the tattoos?"
"Runes," she corrected. "They give us our abilities."
Zane frowned, glancing at the various markings across her arms. "Magic tattoos?"
She gave him a look, unimpressed. "Not exactly."
"Well, I'm obviously new to all this. You can't expect me to just instantly understand everything."
Mia took another sip of her water before finally relenting. "Shadowhunters aren't born with abilities. We're trained. Then, when we reach a certain age, we go through a ritual. After that, we can use runes—some permanent, some temporary, all very painful. They enhance our strength, speed, endurance, and grant us abilities normal humans could never dream of."
Zane considered that for a moment. "And you became one because…?"
She hesitated. "I was an orphan. Most of us were. If you're not born into it, you're recruited. They took us in, trained us, fed us, gave us purpose."
"Gave you weapons and sent you to kill things," he mused.
The girl didn't respond. Maybe she didn't see a need to.
"So, what exactly is your purpose?" Zane asked after a beat.
"To protect humans from the things they don't know about," she answered simply. "Mostly demons. But also rogue warlocks, vampires, and anything else that threatens the balance."
Zane leaned back, resting his forearms on his knees. "And what about a specific type of demons, the royal kind?"
She raised an eyebrow. "The Royal Demon?"
"That's the one."
She let out a short, humourless laugh. "You're serious?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because royal demons aren't just 'enemies to hunt.' They are apocalyptic forces. It takes the best of us to even have a chance of stopping one. The only reason they don't walk freely among us is because of the barriers put in place by higher beings."
Zane was silent for a long moment. "And yet, one's here now."
Her expression hardened. "Yes. And it's been taking Shadowhunters, so we need to stop it and find them."
His mind immediately flashed back to the warlock—Lilith. He frowned. "And Lilith—what's the deal with her in all of this?"
The beautiful shadow hunter exhaled slowly, as if debating whether to even bother explaining further. "Lilith is a Royal Warlock, one of the highest-ranked of her kind. Only warlocks of her calibre can divine a Royal Demon's location. We had spent weeks tracking her, gathering restraining artifacts from headquarters, securing measures to either neutralize her or negotiate a deal. And then you dropped into the middle of it and ruined everything."
Zane winced. "Yeah, sorry about that but i don't remember seeing you on the team..."
He would have definitely noticed if someone like her was on the team.
She didn't seem interested in his apology. "Alaric didn't send me because he thought I was too emotionally involved. My sister is one of the ones taken."
Shit he had stumbled on Mia, Leo's crush. Suddenly sweat seemed to grace his neck as he subtle looked around for signs of the broody man.
Then he realised she had told him something rather personal and he had yet to reply. "I'm… sorry."
He really was, maybe it was because she looked like the incarnation of a war goddess but he really thought she was a nice person, after all she seemed to know he was responsible for the mission failure yet she still told him about this world though the beating might be her way of getting back at him.
Mia gave him a long look before standing. "Don't be. Just know that whatever plan you think you have—you're not ready."
Zane watched her walk away, the weight of her words while very heavy he couldn't help but wonder if she was also this heavy.
Dammit you just met her you perv! Get it together!
He slapped himself before he dived too deep into that particular alluring rabbit hole.
Not ready? Maybe. But that had never stopped him before.
And it sure as hell wasn't going to stop him now.
Now how does one become a shadow hunter around these parts.