Underworld Bride Trials 1 Playboy King - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,31
And Marigold never put up with any of their shit. She had a warrior’s heart, yet she was also a sensitive girl.
I ignored the insufferable death demigod as I mused about Tessa—the biggest riddle in my life.
“Don’t let your short dick do the thinking, Loki.” Héctor’s booming voice jerked me out of my reverie. “Be smart, man. That girl could be an assassin, as ruthless as she appears.”
Though harsh and irritating, Héctor’s words rang true. My encounter with Tessa while I was fucking the vampire princess flashed in my mind.
She’d carried a weapon when she’d come to check me out, like an assassin would’ve, but she didn’t fire at me. Instead, she fed two bullets into Veronica’s ass and one into a painted cock on the wall behind us.
“Who are you?” I’d asked her, taking in her sexiness and deadliness while keeping my shield in place.
“Your worst nightmare,” she’d said, frost in her eyes, before sailing into the red mist and disappearing.
I slumped into a chair, feeling a chill crawling up my spine. What if she was indeed an assassin?
Did it matter?
Why was I being a romantic fool, expecting this girl to be different than the others, thinking that she might see something in me other than my throne and power?
I was such an asshole. I sighed. Hadn’t I started this whole Bride Trials fiasco?
Tessa. The name rolled silently and intimately over my tongue, and my attention shifted to my next plan—I needed to seduce her.
“What the fuck, Loki?” Héctor sniffed and cursed. “It’s disgusting.” He pulled Mari against his chest, ready to teleport out. “We gotta get out of here, Lamb. The air is polluted by his arousal!”
CHAPTER 13
Tessa
The guards herded the contestants toward Hell’s Academy, which stood by a gloomy beach. From now on, no contestants were allowed to withdraw or surrender. We would either perish or move forward to the next trial.
My gaze drifted away from the black waves crashing onto the shore of black sand. Nestling against the glass-like dark sea, the ebony mountain spewed red lava.
I followed the crowd through the jagged iron gate of the academy, guarded by a squad of giant, axe-carrying pureblooded demons.
The elite groups of vampires, shifters, demons, and valkyries strutted at the front. They’d have the first pick of the buildings and quarters. Every contestant was required to stay in Hell’s Academy for the entire trials, but the guards and the assistants didn’t bother assigning us rooms. As soon as the demons shoved the last contestant into the academy grounds, they shut the gate and vanished from sight, most likely going to an orgy.
I’d have to hunt for my quarters or kill the former occupants to get one. I moved away from the majority of the contestants as they fought for the larger, shiner buildings.
I strolled into a half-ruined garden between two black buildings. Halfway through, I stood very still, listening to a consistent scuffling sound and light footfalls heading my way.
I shifted my position, a sense of danger climbing up my spine.
I was being stalked.
As the thought registered, shadows peeled away from a three-story building near the ruins and darted toward me, their speed amazing.
Vampires.
Veronica’s minions had come for me. She must have noticed earlier how the Demon King looked at me in the grand hall, as she’d been watching every twitch of his face.
She had decided to take out any potential threats at an early stage, which was fine by me. I had a feeling that sooner or later she was going to show up at my door.
In no time, a dozen vampires surrounded me. I stood with my back against a broken stone column. I remained silent and regarded them warily, and a fleeting look of surprise passed over the vampires’ cold, hard faces. They’d expected me to run and scream, like their other helpless prey.
Vampires didn’t look bad when they didn’t show their fangs or leer at people. These vampire women appeared refreshed, which meant that they hadn’t been in the arena. The vampire princess had brought an army, hellbent on being the new Queen of the Underworld. This lot acted as her assassins between the trials.
They closed in on me silently, wanting to get the job done quickly and quietly, unlike the loud demons. I wasn’t the chatting type either, so I appreciated their silence.
I attacked before they could use their high speed and go for my jugular.
I had a few weapons hidden on my person, even though weaponry wasn’t allowed in the arena.