Underworld Bride Trials 1 Playboy King - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,15

near the back of the hall, using a giant demoness as a shield. Amid a sea of women, she alone stood out like a bright star.

My gaze drank in her features that I hadn’t been able to see when she’d worn a tight mask. My power as the new King of the Underworld granted me the ability to catch every detail even from this distance, like how her long, dark eyelashes cast shadows on her high cheekbones that clearly marked her as a high breed.

But I couldn’t tell her exact race.

She could be a High Fae, judging by her translucent, perfect skin, but she wasn’t just Fae. Her elegant ears were as round as mine. She wasn’t my kind, though, or any other species I’d ever encountered. If I wasn’t mistaken, I would say she shared a magical signature with Mari, my beloved stepsister.

This female was a puzzle. Why did I have to screw Veronica that day and put me in a tough situation with this new girl? I should’ve been wine tasting instead when she showed up, and then I could invite her, and then seduce her, and everything would’ve gone well from there.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her even though there were over a thousand women between us, all craving my attention, until a warning chimed in my head.

The Bride Trial, Loki.

Esme nudged me as she noticed my slip.

The trial, of course. I came to address and encourage over a thousand contestants before sending them to the arena to fight to the death, mostly.

I shook my head, suddenly disgusted with myself.

Fuck.

Why did I even bother with this farce in the first place? It was coming back to bite me in the ass before it had even started.

My critics had slammed me hard, claiming I just wanted attention, while others declared I was trying to undermine the Earth Princess’s coming engagement to her four demigods. Some even had the gall to insist I found it funny to have a troop of women battle to the death over me, which proved how utterly despicable I was.

In truth, the Bride Trials were a political move, masterminded and planned by my advisor Esme and my dukes, to secure my reign as the new King of Hell and boost Hell’s reputation.

When my father ruled, he’d made sure the majority of the full-blooded demons hated half-bloods like me. Maybe he was afraid that one day I’d replace him and had taken precautions.

Lucifer respected nothing but great power and brutality. If a stronger candidate came along, he would discard me as his heir without blinking. I’d survived a century of his abuse through sheer will, ruthlessness, and brutality, and risen to the status of heir. Even after becoming that, I’d never felt safe under his rule. I still wasn’t safe even though he was gone.

A few tribes were already talking about forming a united pureblooded demon army to overthrow me. They wanted the old glory under Lucifer’s rule, even though he’d brutalized them all.

I was nothing like my father. I had no intention of seeing daily carnage. It got old very fast. My adversaries refused to see that I was the new king who had better sense, taste, and style than my father. They might think I was soft, but if the riot started before I could stop it, I’d rain down the dark storm of hellfire on them.

The Bride Trials were the first chess move to prevent a civil war, drawing everyone’s attention. But I did not rule out the prospect that the loudest archdemons who opposed me might take this opportunity to strike me under the false impression that I’d be distracted. I’d use the smokescreen of the Bride Trials to strike back, eliminating the worst threats to my throne of blades and bones and fire before Lucifer could come “home.”

I wasn’t naïve enough to think that he’d be gone forever. My archangel stepmother Lilith, Lucifer’s ex-wife, and Héctor, the death demigod, killed the God of War together, but Mari informed me that Lucifer had escaped the Valley of Monsters in the Void, where we’d banished him.

Deep in my bones, I knew Lucifer would come for me. He was extremely vindictive, so he’d settle the score with me. And I’d be waiting right here.

My gaze stayed with the mysterious girl, mesmerized by the faint icy light radiating from her skin, and I felt a stab of worry for her. If she hadn’t signed up for the trials, I could’ve protected and