Underworld Bride Trials 1 Playboy King - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,21
powerful legs.
That fucker was the definition of seduction, despite his cruelty, cynicism, and ruthlessness. Death and hellfire swirled in his eyes like burning dark stars. If I stared at them for too long, I wouldn’t find a way back.
As if the wind had shifted suddenly or a wire had snapped, the king’s gaze honed in on me and locked me in place.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
How did that happen? I was half-hidden in a corner.
My lips parted in shock, and my pulse spiked.
Look away. Look away, I willed him. It’s a mistake. Nothing to see here. I’m nobody, and I won’t do you any harm, not until the end.
His eyes turned a brilliant green, like Marigold’s. Carnal delight sparked in them for a fleeting second before anger, anxiety, and dismay darkened that beautiful shade of green.
I cursed my luck. It was the second time the Demon King had singled me out amid a thousand.
Why me? Irritation buzzed on my skin.
It felt like I was a magnet for bad boys, or worse, bad men.
Despite my worries and exasperation, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the Demon King either. My mind replayed how he’d fucked the vampire princess, who now stood proudly in the center of the arena for all to see and admire, enjoying the limelight while her coven protected her.
Snatches of the exchange between Loki and me that day flashed through my mind, and I remembered all too well how my body had responded to him. Watching him have sex had sent a wave of heat and an irresistible scent crashing over me. By the way the Demon King was staring at me right now with such hunger, he too, was remembering that day.
Time slowed and seemed to freeze as if the world held only two people—the Demon King and me—despite the noise. Despite the thick lust roiling off the contestants and the threat of violence dominating every inch of the arena.
My breath caught. It felt like a mystical force was pulling us together, making the connection between us blaze so strongly neither of us could stop it.
I ran a hand over my face. This was some kind of fucked up. I didn’t need this weird shit happening to me on the battlefield of all places, yet his intense gaze threatened to make me combust.
The contenders shouted Loki’s name and pumped their fists in the air to show their eagerness to bed him and their willingness to die for him.
To be his queen was their only dream.
“OMG, I think King Loki is looking right at me,” Darcy cried beside me. “If he could just let me fuck him once.”
The war drum started beating, and my heart pounded with the urgent tempo. Yet I let out a breath of relief. I could handle violence way better than lust.
A rush of adrenaline ran through me, but I stood still and remained cool.
The calm before the storm.
CHAPTER 9
Tessa
Just as I’d predicted, the slaughter started in the center of the pit as the large main groups crashed into each other.
Screams of pain, fury, and fear saturated the arena. Blood rage had no effect on me. I’d paid my dues, including earning many crisscrossed scars on my body, to gain cold clarity and clear purpose.
The gangs rammed their fists into their rivals.
Hand-to-hand battle was far more brutal than dueling with weapons. With blades, death came fast and cleanly.
A hoard of horned demonesses charged into another group of hornless demonesses, their sharp claws swatting at each other. Their species was bad news for contestants who didn’t have the advantage of sharp claws and a massive build.
It didn’t take long for severed limbs to fly through the air, intestines to spill out of many contestants, and blood to splash onto the hot sand.
Some contestants shouted their surrender but were too late, as their more powerful, vicious rivals pounded their fists or claws into their skulls, leaving their brain matter to spill all over the sand before they could finish their words.
Darcy stared in horror at a few others who stomped a pair of contestants into the sand over and over, even after the poor women were already dead. She turned toward the side of the fence and threw up.
I created two more feet between us to avoid her vomit. I didn’t ask if she was okay. Like everyone else here, she chose to participate. While Darcy heaved up her breakfast and trembled with fear, I tensed as a posse of five demonesses stalked toward our corner.