Page 32 of Flirting with Death

Brook fingered a necklace with a green gem inside a locked cage. "There is a lot of magic in here." She placed the chain back where she had found it before moving further into the room.

"How are we going to find the jewel the mage wants?" Alastor asked. Cerberus sniffed at a large golden statue of himself and let out a low growl from his center head.

Raiden tugged his fingers through his hair as he made a slow circle, taking in the large amount of treasure we had to go through. "Maybe we'll get lucky," he said.

"And maybe we will stay for a few days, after all," Bellamy replied. When I looked over at him, he was putting down an object that looked like a magic lamp. "No wishes for me." He shrugged and moved on.

"We can divide and conquer." I moved to the far end of the enormous room. A golden throne stood against the wall, as if the owner of the treasure would come here just to be with the stuff in this room. "Where do you think they got all this stuff?"

"Dragon's collect things over time," Raiden replied.

"This was over a long time ago." Lex whistled as he cast a look over the task before us.

"Centuries," Raiden agreed.

"I think this was my mom's," Alastor said. He lifted a bracelet that was made of tiny little flowers. "Her mom gave it to her. I can remember her wearing it."

"I think you mean dragons steal things over time," Bellamy snickered, and an answering smile spread over my face. Raiden shook his head but smiled at the teasing. Maybe this, whatever was growing between all of us, would work out. Bellamy and Alastor hadn't even been picking at each other for at least an hour. Progress.

"Beautiful things catch our attention," Raiden replied. His gaze settled on me, and warm, fuzzy feelings filled my stomach as a smile stretched my cheeks wide.

"Except sharing is caring," Bellamy said. He placed yet another genie lamp back onto a pile as I glanced over. Was he actually searching the room for a magical lamp? His tail swiped up one from the floor, and he grabbed hold of it, rubbing the metal with his thumb. When nothing happened, he sighed and put it back down.

"What are you doing?" Alastor asked, catching the same thing I had.

"Looking for a genie, of course. Dibs, by the way," he said, while snagging up a fourth metal lamp.

"Genies aren't real," Alastor scoffed.

"I saw the movie," Bellamy answered with a shrug and grabbed yet another one. "There should be a carpet that can fly in here, too."

Brook started giggling, slapping her hand over her mouth when everyone looked at her. I couldn't help the chuckle that built up in me too, and before long, we were in a fit of laughter, tears running down our faces, and our cheeks aching from it all.

"That is a kids' movie," Raiden said, as our laughter died down. He walked over and plucked the newest lamp from his hand. "None of these have genies in them. I'm pretty sure they were gravy bowls that my ancestors swiped from dinner parties they attended with the gods."

Bellamy glanced at me and then Lex, before he tilted his head to the side and said, "Then there is no harm in trying. Right?"

Raiden shook his head and moved away from him as he rifled through a chest in his search.

"Bellamy is right, this is going to take a while. I'll go tell Baldwin that we will stay for a few days after all." Raiden shut us into the vault as he left. I glanced around at our group, seeing what the dragons probably saw, a mismatched party.

CHAPTER 19

Lex

The vault door shut with a foreboding click, sending a shiver down my spine. Being back in the Underworld always made me slightly uneasy, like something would somehow trap me here. But I realized it wasn't being stuck here I feared, it was being away from the people I cared about. Like I told Bellamy, I could picture Sam here, ruling over the horde and keeping even the most evil in line. And now I realized it would be more than that, a prophecy from the dragons and a future made by my sisters. We were in for a wild ride.

I watched as Bellamy rifled through the treasure in search of lamps. What would he wish for if he could? He had come to the mortal world seeking freedom from his responsibilities. Maybe he would wish for that.

He lifted his bright red eyes and met mine, a toothy smile on his face as he rubbed his hand along the metal surface. I moved to his side and lifted my eyebrow, the corner of my mouth quirking up as I watched him.

"You have everything you want right here in this room. What would you wish for?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but it would be cool to have a chance. Maybe I could wish for the muse to be set free, or my father to have another child to take my place as king, or—" He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck, his tongue poked into his cheek. "But there really isn't an easy button in here, is there?"

"Doubtful," Alastor replied, and Bellamy shot him a venomous glare. It was more than it had been before he closed the portal. This felt like it was full of resentment instead of the need to press his buttons. What happened between them? "I agreed with you, Bell."

"What is with you two?" Sam stepped between them, a buffer to both of their frayed edges. "If we are fighting with each other, we won't see the danger that is coming for any of us. Can we sort this out and put it to bed?"

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