Page 1 of Gambling with Time

CHAPTER 1

Samantha

My wrist was raw from tugging on the chain attached to it. If I could break my thumb or dislocate it like I'd seen done in the movies to get out, I would have already. The supe that locked me up here hadn't returned. Alastor. I rolled the name around in my head. It felt familiar. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember from where. It didn't matter. He'd be dead once I got my hands on him.

He ruined my plan with that demon. I was so close to learning the truth, I could feel it. But it wasn't only him that did this to me. My gaze fell to my bindings. Ty. He'd betrayed me. And even that felt familiar. All of this was déjà vu, yet not.

My attention snapped up to the door as I heard the click of the locks releasing, one by one. I stood, my dagger at the ready. I might not get away, but I could fight, even if it was one-handed. As the thick door pushed in to reveal Alastor and his pet, I growled and lunged for him, coming up short.

There was a sadness in the depths of his eyes that didn't make sense, and he held a tray of all of my favorite foods. The animal trotted over to me, even with calls from his master to stop. I backed up three steps as it approached, wary of what it might do. One of its heads licked my chained wrist and whined up at me. While another nudged my leg as if trying to get attention. The last stared up at me, waiting for something.

"Samantha, they want your attention." Souls surrounded Alastor in a tight circle as he stepped closer. I eyed the floor, waiting for him to get to the point I could reach. Not that I could lunge at him again with the large three-head dog sitting at my feet. He seemed to know that too and leaned forward to place the food on a side table I could reach. "You should eat."

"How do I know you didn't poison it?"

"I've discovered recently that I'm similar to my father, so I'm sure poison wouldn't be the route I would take if I were to feed you something that you didn't like."

I took in the food, and he hadn't missed a single item that I loved. I narrowed my eyes when I brought them back to him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He tugged his fingers through his hair and sighed. "My father is Hades."

I choked on the literal air, coughing hard. "You're a God? That would make this a hellhound." I ran my hand over the head begging for attention, and its tongue lolled out the side of its mouth.

"That is Cer. He loves you too."

"Too?"

He nodded. My gaze dropped to the floor at his feet. He was still within range. If I could keep him talking, maybe I could get close.

A swallow worked his throat. "You have many people that love you, Samantha. You might not believe me right now, but I'm saving you from the Leyak and whatever he has planned. Then we need to save the others."

There was truth to his words again, and it agitated me. I wasn't sure why, but I felt like I should be doing something and I wasn't. It was right at the edge of my memory.

"How do I know you aren't working with the demon? You are both from Tartus. Wouldn't that make sense?"

"The only demon I would work with is Bellamy." Honesty again.

"The False Prince?" I stepped closer, and he backed up immediately.

He pressed his lips together and lifted his gaze from Cer to me. "He isn't a false prince. Is that what the demon is making you believe? Is that his plan? He wants to take over the Horde before he lets Osiris storm the Underworld?"

"I'm not sure who Osiris is, but the rest sounds like what he was trying to convince me of before you showed up and ruined it."

He tilted his head, studying me like I was saying words he didn't understand. "Ruined what?"

I threw up my hands, the chain rattling loudly in the room. "I needed to find out how deep the plan went before I took out the threat. But you somehow convinced my brother to help you kidnap me." I held up my chained wrist as proof.

"I made a promise to the girl I love that I would save you all. And I am going to follow through on that promise."

A pang went through me at the mention of some other girl. It was strange as if I wanted to be whoever he was talking about. He had said he loved me, hadn't he? No. He just said many people loved me. Disappointment settled in my stomach, and I took a step back. It was irrational.

He reached out a hand, as if he could stop me from retreating. "Are you okay? You look unwell."

I pressed my palm to my stomach. I felt sick. But it made little sense. None of this did. Sinking to the bed, I wrapped my chained arm around my waist while my fingers still gripped my dagger with the other hand. Not that I felt like stabbing him now.

"Samantha?"

He was worried. I knew it from how he said my name. But how? When I didn't answer, he closed the distance and dropped to his knees in front of me.

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