Page 83 of Gambling with Time

“I won’t hurt you? Right?” His concern in the middle of everything made me a gooey mess, and I shook my head.

“I’m pretty sure that this act created him in the first place, so he’ll be fine.” It was all he needed to hear before he thrust into me.

“Good,” he replied, dropping a kiss to my lips. “Now, be loud.”

He didn’t give me a chance to catch my breath before he claimed me and made sure anyone within listening distance could definitely hear every sound I made.

CHAPTER 46

Raiden

Sammy was snoring softly as I covered her up and stood up. Alastor slipped under the covers with her, and she snuggled into him in her sleep.

“I’ll be back soon,” I whispered. He nodded and pulled her closer. That was one good thing about this relationship. When one of us had to leave, she always had someone with her. It soothed me in a way that was welcomed.

Bellamy lifted an eyebrow and straightened as I turned around. “What do you think Baldwin would know that we haven’t already found out?”

A shrug lifted my left shoulder. “Just figured we should cover all the bases.”

“I should ask my mom if she knows anything,” Lex replied. He had a book in his lap, probably reading whatever he could find about the Golden Apple, which wasn’t much.

“Nyx made one of my brother's friends a God,” Bellamy said.

“Yeah, but he died first and was tied to her.” Lex placed the book on the coffee table and stood up. “I’ll meet you back here.”

Bellamy nodded. Then he moved over to the mirror and opened a portal to the red mountains, my original home. We moved through the surface and into the bedroom we shared last time we stayed there.

Swinging the door open, we startled a maid. A squeal and clatter followed our appearance. We helped her pick up her stuff after she realized who I was. It was probably a good thing she hadn’t shifted and tried to burn our skin off.

“Do you know where Baldwin is?” I asked.

“He was at the training grounds this morning,” she replied.

After thanking her, we left her to search out the training grounds. There was a lot I didn’t know about this place. Baldwin had done a good job of keeping it all going while I was gone.

As soon as we found him, a smile lit up his old face. “Raiden, what brings you two here today?”

I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips. “How do you know we need something?”

He chuckled. “You may not remember me, but I knew you as a child. You haven’t changed that much. So, what can I help you with?” he asked, wiping his hands off on a towel as he moved away from what he was working on.

“Do you know anything about the Golden Apple?”

His brow furrowed, and he shook his head. “Only the myth that it can give immortality, which as a dragon, I have no need of.” He shrugged.

“Do you know of anything else that does the same thing?” Bellamy asked.

“No,” he replied. “But the prophecy does say your hunter will live as long as the four of you.”

“Does it say how?” I asked.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

With a sigh, I crossed my arms. Logically, I knew that making immortality easy wasn’t something the Gods would do, but it was still frustrating.

“Why not ask the Gods you saved to give a blessing? Didn’t you help Apollo, not to mention all of them that call the Underworld home?”

“Hades said that Zeus would have to give a blessing.”

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