Underworld Bride Trials 1 Playboy King - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,36
must finish the task and prove yourself to be a true romance buff,” I said. “I’ll tie the crystal around your neck after I record a message. Now get yourself ready. We have work to do, and time is of the essence.”
“On it,” the cat shouted back and jumped from the chair, her tail shooting up high.
I stared down at her small form sternly, making it clear that I was assessing her and judging her worth. Everyone had an insecurity issue, even a Hell Cat. “You can’t let anyone see you except Dux and Fayette, and you’ll protect the crystal with your life and let no one else touch it. It’s made from star material.”
Her eyes widened, and her fur ruffled.
“If you fail, Snow White, I swear on the soul of your king that you’ll never hear a dirty romance ever again.”
CHAPTER 15
Loki
“We’re thinking of spending the night here to watch the lava fireworks.” Marigold grinned at me across the table in the grand dining hall of Morningstar Palace.
I’d redecorated Lucifer’s former palace and used it only for official events. I didn’t live here, as it held too many bad memories.
My sister was worried about me, so she wanted to keep an eye on me. I’d been acting out of character since the trial started.
“Let’s party all night, Celeste.” Esme smiled at Marigold and ignored the glare of the death demigod. “We haven’t spent time together since Crack.”
“Whose fault is that?” Héctor growled.
“You’re intense, my love.” Marigold turned his face toward her and kissed him on the lips.
He immediately mellowed. When her lips left his, he moved to pull her back but stopped himself, acutely aware that we were all watching.
“It’s time you let go of your grudge and put things into perspective,” Marigold said to him. “Esme protected me, and without her gifting me the power of illusion, I wouldn’t have been able to lure Lucifer into the Void. She’s like a big sister to me.”
Esme’s eyes moistened, but she quickly swiped at them, then fanned herself as if the heat in the room had gotten to her.
“If you must blame anyone, blame Loki.” Marigold smirked. “He’s one manipulative, thick-skinned son of a bitch.”
“Hey,” I protested from my seat at the head of the table. “What did you say about being nice?”
The death demigod cast me a hard look. “Not to you.” His focus returned to his mate. “Lamb, we need to return before midnight, or Zak, Axel, and Paxton will all come looking for us. And then there’ll be misunderstandings. It’ll be a bloodbath. You know how fragile the truce is between Earth and Hell. Loki might be our family, but his demons and our Dominion soldiers don’t mix.”
Pythius cleared his throat from the opposite side of the table. “I don’t mind visiting the other demigods and informing them in person that the two of you are spending the night in the king’s castle.”
During the war between Earth and Hell, the Duke of Deception had somehow reached the demigods, gotten them to trust him, and brought them to Hell to rescue Marigold. As my spymaster, he could blend into any Earth setting. Even the demigods’ highly trained Dominion officers couldn’t recognize his half-demon heritage.
Asmodeus said with a grin, “We’ll bring out the best demon brew for Princess Celeste.”
The Duke of Wickedness and Mari had traded swords when they first met, and Mari left a hell of an impression by stabbing him.
“It’s been a while since we last saw Princess Celeste,” Leviathan said on Pythius’s other side. The Duke of Envy had once lusted after Mari—I could never let the demigods know that.
“My other mates will listen to Pythius, Héctor,” Mari said. “And Paxton is like a lie detector, so they’ll know Pythius is telling the truth about us wanting to stay overnight, even though Pythius is the Archdemon of Lying.”
“Duke of Deception.” Pythius corrected.
“Lying and deception are the same,” Héctor interrupted to back up his mate.
“If Paxton, Zak, and Axel insist on coming here, the Duke of Lying can bring them back with him.” Marigold winked at Pythius. “Therefore, there’ll be no misunderstanding or bloodbath. And we can all party in Hell and let loose for one hell of a night.”
Pythius, who was all about work, shook his head, not impressed with the princess’s plan.
“Furthermore,” Marigold continued, “let’s take the royal honeymoon suite. It has the best view of this realm, and we’ll take advantage of the full room service. Loki won’t mind picking up the tab.”