Page 12 of Flirting with Death

"Why can't you just speak freely? Why use these puzzles?" Frustration built, and if I didn't love my mother, I would have shaken her until she told me what I wanted to know.

"I've already told you more than I should have. I just hope it doesn't change what they already foretold. You should go. Your hunter is waiting." She stood and crossed the space between us. In a smooth motion, she wrapped me in her shadows, showing me the only love she truly knew. When she released me, a new shadow creature slid against my skin. The fox stretched along my ribs before it curled into a ball along my left side. "Take Taila with you. She will protect you well." She dropped a kiss to my cheek before she stepped back, her shadows dropping away fully.

She left me standing in the middle of the room. I needed to go back to Samantha, but how would I tell her that my sisters had meddled in my life, and now she had no choice but to be on this course with me?

I wasn't sure how much time passed as I stood there. But the house grew quiet before I made my way out of my childhood home and out onto the path that led to the Horde. If Bellamy was still alive, he was a part of this as well. I had already felt it deep inside, something connected us, even Alastor was someone I would need to accept.

The palace was dark as I approached. No parties lit up the ballroom windows, and demons didn't litter the lawn. It was eerie, as if no one lived there anymore. The once magnificent palace had been a source of joy and merriment for years for the Horde. They filled its grand halls and chambers with laughter and music, and its sprawling grounds were normally alive with revelers. But now, the palace was a shadow of its former self. Its halls were empty and silent, and its grounds were barren and devoid of life. All that remained was a deep sense of sadness and a reminder of the hope that has long since gone.

All of this told me that Bellamy was dead. The King had shut himself away in his grief. He had gone through a similar phase when his first son had gone missing, but there still had been hope. Now, the very air wept with the lack of it. The throne room was empty, not even a servant scurried through the halls. I continued my search. I wasn't sure what I would accomplish talking to the Demon King, but I cared for his son, and he should know that he wasn't alone in his pain.

A troll lumbered down the hall, and when I called out, she turned toward me, a scowl on her gray face. Although, with trolls, you never knew if they were smiling or frowning, so maybe it was pure joy that faced me now.

"The King has already left," she grumbled. Her voice was like rocks being crushed beneath the wheels of a car on a gravel road.

"Where has he gone?" I stepped closer. She seemed friendly enough.

"To slay the hunter that took his son's life," she replied. While panic spread through my limbs, making me feel heavy, the troll didn't seem to care either way.

"The hunter didn't do it," I said. Not that my words would make a difference at all to this demon.

She canted her head to the side as her gaze narrowed on me. "What do you know of Prince Bellamy's death?"

Anything I said would end badly for Samantha now. The King was coming after her or her mom. I could protect her, but I wasn't close to her mother. It was best to leave the misconception and deal with the fallout.

"Nothing. I will return to speak to the King when he comes back." She studied me as I backed away. I sensed the mistrust that came from her and saw it in her aura, but she didn't say a word. I had to get back to Sam.

CHAPTER 8

Samantha

Raiden helped me break into Lex's apartment as the bar was ready to close. I curled up on his couch as I waited for him. Tyler had texted a while ago talking about crazy shit, so Rai headed out to make sure he made it back home safely. So it was me and the silence. All I could think about was how we would find the muse. It kept my mind off of other things, like Bellamy and Alastor. Neither one should hurt as much as it did, so I pushed the feelings away.

A portal opened, and I scrambled to my feet, ready to fight, when Lex stepped into the room. His startled gaze landed on me, my shoulders relaxed as my brain recognized that it was him. I was in his arms before the portal snapped all the way shut behind him. He held me close, his warmth seeping into me.

"You're back," I said. I leaned back to run my hand over his cheek, the fine hair of his beard was comforting beneath my fingers. "I missed you."

He smiled down at me, the side of his mouth tilting up in a crooked grin. "You did?"

"I did." I grinned back. Lex had become a safe harbor for me, always there and dependable, with no secrets between us. "What did you find out?"

"My mom knows something, but she talks in riddles that make little sense. My sisters have told of my fate, and they intertwined it with yours and the men you care about."

I felt my smile fall away as a frown took its place. "Well, there are only you and Rai now," I said and forced a swallow down my suddenly dry throat. Would I ever get used to it?

"I'm not sure about that. Alastor will return. There is no way that he has spent his life waiting for his true love to show up to have a romance like his parents, only to just disappear once he found you." He sighed and pulled away.

There was more that he held back. It wasn't a lie that I sensed but an omission. That didn't mean he was keeping a secret from me, he just got back. Geez, Sam, pull yourself together. You are becoming a stage three clinger.

I curled up on the couch as he moved around his apartment. "How did you get in? Not that I'm complaining. I'd be okay if you were always here."

Warmth spread in my chest at his words. I wasn't ready to move in and live with him, but to know I had a place, it meant the world to me. "Rai has a talent for entering places he shouldn't be. I think it has something to do with his firefighting training honestly, because when we were kids, he didn't know how to do that."

"I can get you a key," he said. He disappeared into his bedroom for a minute and returned with a key. He held it up with a smile before he placed it in my opened hand. I curled my fingers around the cool metal. I had a boyfriend, and he gave me a key to his apartment. And it made me feel all gooey inside. Who was I? "Are you hungry?"

"No. Are you avoiding telling me something?" I finally asked. I couldn't hold it in, and once I started, the question just slipped out.

His brow furrowed as he dropped to the chair opposite me. The fact he picked a spot so far from me had the tiny hairs on my arm raising. I would not like what he had to say.

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