Page 70 of Flirting with Death

The others were waking up from whatever had knocked them out. Lex let out a low, pain-filled groan just before the magic hit him. Alastor and Bellamy were awake enough to experience the terror of the moment right along with me. The magic moved in slow motion as it reached out for them. Bell scooted away from the strand that was approaching him.

"Hold the demon," the mage instructed, and I watched as Lex reached out and wrapped his fingers around Bell's tail.

"No, Lex, let go!" I screamed. What was in that ruby? What kind of magic could turn us against each other? I focused on the one making its way to me, and my chest seized. Everything was happening at once, but that power couldn't touch me.

The vamp stepped away as Raiden approached, giving me a second to fight, and I grabbed onto that opportunity with both hands. I tore one of my smaller blades out of my boot as I dropped to my heels for a better angle. Then I twisted my torso and swiped the sharp knife into the vampire's tendons at his ankles. He screamed in pain as he dropped to the floor. I popped back up and jumped away from the slowly seeking tendril of power.

When Bellamy climbed to his feet next to Lex, I realized it was too late for them. Raiden was in front of me. I would have to go through him if I was getting out of there. But I couldn't do it, I couldn't hurt him on purpose. The small dagger clattered to the floor as I held my hands up. This was it. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my sight. All I could see was the dim aura around each of them. Except for Alastor, his aura was still bright. He could get away.

"Alastor, go, you can save us!"

He stumbled back a few steps, his wide eyes on mine. I watched as he swallowed hard. He didn't want to run. Cerberus tugged on his clothes as the red line grew closer. He rubbed his palm against his chest right above his heart as if he was in pain. And if he was feeling even a fraction of what I was at the moment, we felt the same.

Tears trailed down my face as I watched him open a portal behind him. He shook his head in denial, even though he was doing what I told him to do.

"Please," I begged as the tears slid down my face, and Raiden's firm grip bruised my arm.

"Awe, isn't this touching? Seize the God," the mage ordered. But it was too late. The portal snapped shut behind Alastor and Cerberus, giving me a sliver of hope before the red magic twisted around my leg and sank into my skin.

I wiped the useless tears from my face—that I didn't remember crying—with my free arm as I eyed the dragon that was holding me. Then I lifted my lip in a sneer. I was in a room full of demons, and I didn't remember how I got there. But I was the most powerful hunter in centuries. I could get out of this. I cast my attention around the room, looking for the glint of my dagger. I must have dropped it.

"Let me go if you want to keep your hand, dragon." I attempted to shrug him off when a demon stepped into my view.

"Looking for this, hunter?" he asked, and I didn't like his tone. He held my dagger up, like the prize it was. "Let's have a chat about our future."

"The only future you will have is dusty," I promised.

He laughed as if I told a wonderful joke and then gestured at a table behind him like we were going to have a civilized conversation. When I didn't move, the dragon tightened his hold on me and lifted me into the air, dropping me into the chair across from the demon.

"You are amusing, my dear Samantha. It seems you bumped your head because you don't seem to remember me," he replied.

I rubbed the back of my head. Was that it? The reason I didn't remember how I got here? And how he had my dagger in the first place? Why weren't there more injured demons in the room? None of this made sense, so I settled across from him, not that I had a choice with the freaking brute force standing behind me and quite literally ready to breathe fire down my back if the burnt smell of sulfur was any indication.

"Who are you?"

"The man you love," he sighed.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed at even the suggestion. I flicked my gaze around at the others in the room, landing briefly on the blue-skinned demon across the room. If I was a demon fucker, it would be him, not the repugnant one sitting in front of me. I eyed the man standing next to him, somehow knowing he was a demi-god. It seemed all the monsters were playing with each other in this room.

"Samantha, we go through this more than I care to admit. I think it is the spell," he said, pulling my attention back to him.

"Spell?" I asked. Something poked at my subconscious, telling me that was important.

"A rival, he took your memories of us," he said, and his face fell as if that truly saddened him. "You are to be my queen. You said you would control the demons before they made it to the mortal realm. Don't you remember any of that?"

I flicked my eyes to the blood-red-eyed demon across the room. It felt familiar, his words, but still false. The demon with the blue skin flicked his tail and straightened his shoulders beneath my attention.

"Ah, you remember Bellamy, the false prince," the man said. "He is the one that came up with the plan. He doesn't want to rule, isn't that right, prince?"

He shook his head once, his white hair flopping across his left eye, but he never broke eye contact. It felt like he could eat me up, and I would let him. My lips parted in a soft exhale as the scent of rich, hot chocolate filled the room.

"Lexington, remove the prince," the man demanded.

I faced him again. Should I play along? Pretend that I remembered? No. That would make him suspicious because I was sure he was lying, so there technically wasn't anything to remember.

"The plan feels familiar," I admitted.

It was the only truth I could find. I shifted in my seat and warm hands landed on my shoulders, as if I was going to bolt. Another strange awareness filled me at the touch, and I angled my head to see the dragon holding me. I rubbed at my chest as a pang of sadness went through me. He was acting like a stranger. That thought made little sense. He was a stranger.

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