Underworld Bride Trials 1 Playboy King - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,17
women fighters from the hall. I pressed myself against the wall to avoid being swept out with the first wave. I’d leave when two-thirds of them were evacuated.
Hell was as bloodthirsty as its reputation. The king didn’t even bother offering us refreshment before sending everyone to the arena to kill each other right after the orientation.
Only the survivors of the first trial would have their names recorded in the Underworld Bride Trials and be assigned quarters.
Cruel but practical.
Lives were cheap in my own kingdom as well. And I, the princess who lived, could do nothing for my people as I watched many of them be killed for the least offenses at the hands of our conquerors.
Hate for both my ex-mate and the Demon King seared my belly, filling me with angry energy, and my nervousness at the coming battle eased a little.
I turned, ready to follow the flow of the crowd and blend in, when a powerful female voice stopped me.
“Hey you, girl,” Esme commanded. “Stay where you are.”
My heart skipped a beat. Why had the king’s lead gamekeeper come after me?
Only Lucifer, my team, and I knew about the contract. No one else could have known that I came to assassinate Loki. I eased my breathing. Could this be about me violating his privacy, even though he’d been banging that woman in a public hall? I darted a glance toward the guards to see if they were coming toward me as well. If that were the case, I’d just deny it, and if that didn’t work, I’d fight my way out.
Esme stood alone in front of me. I turned to the side, pretending she was talking to someone else and jogged toward the flow of the crowd. I was nobody here, and she had no business fixing her attention on me.
“I meant you,” she said sharply, her Olympian and mage power slamming into me.
I shoved it back with a bite. I took no shit. Through the corner of my eye, I caught a surprised look flitting across her face before she flashed a smirk.
“You, silver-haired girl,” she said. “Don’t make me come to you and make a scene.”
I sighed and halted my step. My luck had run out. The mistress of the game had singled me out and wouldn’t let go until she got her bone.
Esme wheeled and pointed at half a dozen other contestants. “You, and you, and you will come with me for a quick interview. This selection is random. Earth’s viewers want to hear how you think and feel about these trials. We’re aiming for the highest rating among Earth’s reality shows.” She clapped her hands. “Warrior women, make the king proud!”
The other contestants who were also being summoned cheered, pumping their fists into the air.
“Yay! The whole Earth will see my face,” one of them shouted. “King Loki will notice me.”
Horny idiots. They might have just painted targets on their backs. But at least I wasn’t the only one to be called to follow Esme toward a side room.
She had her assistants bring the seven contestants into a backroom, but she hooked a finger toward me. “You come with me.”
I followed her into a small room with two chairs opposite a wooden table. It looked like an interrogation room, and my pulse raced as I checked to see if there were torture instruments lying around. I was no stranger to that kind of treatment.
But I’d stab this woman before I let her lay her hands on me.
“Why am I here, Lady Esme?” I asked as I stayed close to the door, refusing to move another inch.
She waved a hand and the door shut behind me. I drew in a breath. She had telekinetic powers.
“Sit,” she ordered, gesturing at the chair on the other side of the table.
“I don’t have time, lady,” I said, regarding her warily but keeping my face blank and my temper in check. “The trial is going to start soon.”
“Let it go on without you.”
“I can’t do that,” I said, my eyes on fire. “I signed the contract to participate.”
“You can withdraw right now. Walk away from all of this.”
“No.” I turned to leave.
“I haven’t excused you,” she said in a clipped tone. She was an authority figure in this realm, no doubt, but no one was in charge of me.
I grabbed the handle of the door and twisted it to the side, but it wouldn’t budge.
“I’m trying to save your life, you idiot girl,” she said.