Page 79 of Gambling with Time

“Last time I saw my parents, they were talking about having me take over the throne. And now that we have handled Osiris—”

“You think he will just have you take over right now?”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

She nodded, a soft smile on her face. She was glowing lately. Happiness looked good on her. And it was enough to distract me from seeing my father. I crossed the room and pressed a kiss to her plush lips, and she wrapped her arms around me to pull me down.

“Do you think the guys will be back soon?”

“Bell said it wouldn't take too long,” I replied.

She sighed and pressed her mouth against mine in another kiss. “I hate surprises.”

“You’ll like this one,” I promised.

“I know what else I’d like,” she suggested. Then she dipped her tongue into my mouth, dancing with my own as we deepened the kisses.

With more restraint than I actually felt, I pulled back, slowing until our kiss was nothing more than gentle pecks. “Later. We don’t want to keep Hades waiting.”

She pouted as I pulled back. “After you are King of the Underworld, we can do whatever we like, when we want, right?”

In these moments, when all I felt was love and I was brimming with happiness, it felt like I could give anything Samantha asked of me without a second thought. My heart soared with joy, and the world seemed to dance around us, filled with endless possibilities. This was just the start.

“Anything we want, I promise.”

She grinned and slid off of the bed. “Well then, let’s go make this official.”

She thread her fingers through mine, and I couldn’t help the laugh as she tugged me toward the door. Cerberus popped up off the rug and followed, his tail wagging excitedly as we headed for the throne room.

My parents looked up as we entered the room. They had been whispering to each other, in a way that reminded me of Samantha and me.

“Alastor, you’re late,” my dad said, attempting to sound cross, but the smile on his face didn’t disappear.

“We would have been later if I had my way,” Samantha said.

Both my mom and dad grinned at her words and shared a look. “Son, the first thing you need to learn is, your woman comes before all else,” my dad said. “As long as she is happy, ruling is a simple thing.”

He brushed his fingers over my mom’s cheek in a loving gesture I knew well. They had always been open with their affection, my father used to tell me it made him stronger. If his people saw how openly he loved, they would know there was also the other side of that coin. I never understood that until now. Emotions didn’t make you weak, they made you strong.

“When your mother returns to Olympus, I will be going with her. We will be back when Fall returns. But while I’m away, you will rule in my place.”

I nodded. So much pride shone in his eyes for me that I had craved for so long, I had always thought I was a failure, but all along, I’d only been growing like the plants I could control. And he hadn’t seen me as a failure, as though he knew what I’d become.

In that moment, I realized I could forgive him for toying in my life, because it brought me to Samantha and back to Lex and Bellamy, and even Raiden, even if I’d never forget the wounds and scars he’d caused. I was who I was supposed to be, even if he had forged me in the fire to get me here.

“Eventually, you will take over in full, but we have no need to rush it.” He paused and studied me. “You did well in finding a solution to keep Osiris at bay. You will make a good King.”

“And Samantha will make a great Queen,” my mom murmured. “When the time comes.”

Samantha squeezed my hand, and I turned to her. A world of love resided in her gaze, one I looked forward to spending forever with. We would find a way to keep her with us. But that was a problem for another time, and if the others find what they went to visit Morpheus for, it could be closer than either of us knew.

* * *

Raiden stepped through the mirror first, followed by Lex and then Bellamy. I couldn’t read their expressions and hung back as Samantha launched herself into each of their arms.

She was so different from the girl I first saw in Lex’s club, yet still similar, allowing love in had changed her. It hadn’t made her soft, not exactly, but it did remove that fear she had seemed to live with.

All of us had changed for the better.

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