Hellfire Crown by Meg Xuemei X.
CHAPTER 15
Tessa
When Loki and I finally strolled out of the bedroom, properly dressed and holding hands, Mari and her demigods were in a food war against the dukes. The only barrier was a long table packed with dishes between them.
Esme was perched on a chair at the far end of the table, keeping a distance from everyone while browsing on her electronic tablet.
“What the fuck?” Loki shouted at both parties, who were guffawing as their food landed on their opponents and cursing when they got splattered by pasta. “These fucking immortals are so immature!” He turned to me, hellfire flashing in his eyes. “Look what I have to put up with daily. Can’t leave them unsupervised for two fucking seconds!”
“You’re the one talking,” Axel said lazily.
When the king yelled again, his dukes and our guests finally gave in and settled around the table, still giggling. At Loki’s presence, they were no longer bored, as they had a new target.
“That was good exercise.” Zak, the most serious demigod, wiped a tear from the corner of his blue eyes. “We should do it again next time.”
Loki waved a hand, and a gilded chair appeared at the head of the table. He pulled the chair up for me. After I settled in it, he parked himself in the chair next to me.
He was already treating me like a queen, and no one raised an eyebrow at that.
The Duke of Envy brought me a new tray with a mug of steamy black coffee on it. I thanked him and drank it.
Loki, on the other hand, poured several packets of sugar into his creamy coffee.
The king took a swig of his sugary beverage and took inventory of his guests with an irritated look on his handsome face, his hand resting on my thigh.
Marigold grinned at me. “Still like Hell, Flame Seeker?”
“How was the trip to the Void, Icy Dagger?” I asked.
Loki looked at me, then at his stepsister, not impressed with our call signs. But he was smart enough not to make any snide comments.
“It was a riot,” Marigold said, a spark in her brilliant green eyes. “Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon are still safely tucked in their cells. Their tempers are still intact, even though they haven’t had a visitor for a long time. We might have to eventually negotiate their releases after they mellow out and before the rest of the Olympians come looking.” She bit her full lower lip and looked a bit worried. “They’re Zak, Héctor, and Poseidon’s dads, after all. We can’t let them rot there.”
“They can rot in Hell for all I care,” Paxton said, cold ice in his violet eyes.
I’d studied the demigods’ history. Zak had been raised in Olympus as Zeus’ bastard son before he’d declared his independence and come to Earth. Héctor had been Hades’ favorite heir. The duo had only turned on their fathers when the Olympian gods had tried to harm Marigold. That was a line they wouldn’t allow anyone to cross.
Axel no longer had a father after Lilith had beheaded Ares to avenge her daughter.
The war demigod was the youngest of the four. He was only a few years older than Marigold. His father had been his hero since he was a kid, until Ares set out to take Marigold from his son’s bed to warm his. When Marigold had rejected him mercilessly, he and Lucifer had kidnapped her and taken her to the Underworld and tortured her for months, until Loki had found a chance to rescue her.
I could relate to Axel. It could really twist a person when the hero you’d looked up to your whole life turned out to be a monster.
Paxton had no relationship with Poseidon. The sea demigod had been abandoned at birth, had struggled on the streets, and been mixed up with drugs until Héctor brought him into the demigods’ fold. Héctor, however, had once broken all of Paxton’s bones for what he’d done to his beloved Marigold.
The four demigods had been rivals, and war would break out if you put all of them in one room. For Marigold’s sake, they now tolerated each other and had even formed some kind of brotherhood.
“Watch your mouth, Paxton,” Loki seethed. “The gods can rot, but not in my Hell. Respect my domain or get the fuck out.”
And then all the males got into a heated argument again—Loki and his dukes versus the demigods. Although they were an unwilling family due to their ties to Mari, the truce between Earth and Hell was still fragile. The Great Merge, where Hell had once dwelled upon Earth, initiated by Lucifer and Ares, was still having ripple effects.
Marigold smirked as I frowned and darted my gaze between the two rival teams. Their arguments hurt my ears.
“They’re always like that, these alpha males,” she said. “It takes some getting used to, but you’ll eventually learn to let them be as long as they don’t maul each other.”
I wasn’t a bantering girl. I was more of a kill-or-be-killed kind of woman. I might be new to the scene, but I was going to put a stop to it right now.
“Shut up for a hot second and focus on what really matters!” I surprised myself by roaring. “I’m fed up. You immortals have no sense of urgency. Should I toss my cold coffee in your faces to help you cool off?” Actually, I didn’t have any coffee left in my mug. “Lucifer is in the Underworld. He—”
Intense pain exploded in my brain, and I thrashed in my chair violently. My head smacked into the edge of the table. A force then tossed me across the room before Loki or anyone could get to me. I collided with the wall, but the pain of bones cracking was nothing compared to the agony that threatened to split my skull.
The blood contract forbade me from disclosing anything about Lucifer. I’d known the risk, but I had to get the message out to warn Loki and our allies. Yet I also knew there was no chance for me to tell them about Lucifer invading my dreams or anything else from this point on. If I dared to try again, the blood magic would kill me.
I curled into a tight ball and grasped my head, just to prevent it from breaking apart. My eyeballs felt like they were melting as well.
Loki was by my side in a nanosecond, gathering me into his arms. His Underworld power poured into me to ease my pain and strengthen me, as he’d discovered that he could feed his mate with his energy.
While everyone surrounded me in a protective circle and voiced their concerns, I’d been able to wrap my arms around Loki’s waist, my cheek against his shoulder.
“Let me check Tessa’s temperature!” Marigold said, pushing through the crowd.
She hadn’t told Loki about my connection to her either, and I hadn’t gotten around to it since so many things were going on.
“It’s not the fever,” Esme cut in. “We all found out last time that the blood contract would punish her severely if she revealed anything about Lucifer.” Her lips thinned. “Yet the lady still risked it.”
“Don’t ever even mention his name again,” Loki ordered me, his face still pale from the scare. “Let’s get you back to bed and rest.”
“No,” I said, clinging to him. “I’m staying. I promise I’ll just listen. I’ll play it safe.”
Loki picked me up, returned to the table, parked me on his lap, and cradled me protectively.
And then the Duke of Deception told the team about the murder in the palace. He narrated my part too, for fear that if I spoke, I’d trigger the bomb in me and suffer yet more great pain.
“So some evildoer tried to make Tessa believe that Loki was having an affair,” Marigold concluded.
“I would never have a fucking affair with anyone except my mate!” Loki growled. “And it’ll remain that way.” He scanned the table to see who was willing to challenge him.
They ignored him.
“And then that evildoer killed the human girl just to leave a message for Tessa,” Héctor said, folding his muscled arms.
“Why haven’t you found the murderer?” Paxton demanded. “Hell isn’t that big.”
“Have you found the gangs that bombed your skyscraper?” the Duke of Wickedness shot back.
“Keep yelling at each other,” Marigold said. “It’s very effective.”
“The message is clear,” Loki said. “Our old enemies have come, and they think they can mess with us by bombing your territory and killing a woman right under my nose.”
“Who’s the dead woman?” Zak asked.
“A half-witch,” the Duke of Deception said. “Our murderer picked a random victim.”
“What magic could disguise scent and appearance?” Marigold asked. “And more importantly, who has that kind of power of illusion?”
“I no longer have that magic.” Esme looked at Marigold. “I gave it to you. And very few beings can master the ability to deceive someone like Lady Tessa. He-who-shall-not-be-named is the master of manipulation and deception, but even he doesn’t have the power of illusion.”
“Many new powers have come to my realm,” Loki said grimly. “I fought the angel of death of unknown origin, just a few nights ago.”
“My king can detect any intruders in our realm,” said the Duke of Deception, “except for He-who-shall-not-be-named and the ones he has shielded.”
The death demigod glanced at me. “And he’s already here.”
My companions now wouldn’t even use his name to make sure nothing triggered the force behind my blood contract. As long as I stayed clear of pointing out Lucifer, I was fine.
“And the fucker must have brought a team.” Axel gritted his teeth.
A dangerous light flashed in all of the demigods’ eyes.
“And one of them has the power of illusion and isn’t afraid of leaving a message to issue a challenge,” said the Duke of Envy.
“Mom went through all the scenes in the Spyglass Hall in the Tower of the Void,” Marigold said. “We spent a whole day there helping her sift through the views, but we still couldn’t find He-who-shall-not-be-named. Mom said there were two possibilities—either he’d found a way to shield himself or he’s in this realm. Mom can’t see anything in the Underworld. But we already knew that the scum is here.”
Loki cursed profusely, worry and fear like dark clouds hovering over his face.
“The third trial will start soon,” the king said, glancing at me. “If my father is here, I’m afraid he’ll tamper with the trial, which will be sealed. Not even I can get into the arena. If anything happens to my Bunny…” He stopped, unable to finish.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, squeezing his hand to comfort him. “I’ll come back to you.”
He grasped my hand tightly, as if by doing so I’d never leave his side.
“The Underworld served both L and Hades.” Héctor nodded at Loki. “After my father departed, L turned the realm into Hell. You took it from him, and Hell accepted you as its new master. But it won’t deny its former ruler. You have to realize that the realm won’t go against him for you. As a former heir to the Underworld, I can see that it has decided to remain neutral if conflicts arise. In the end, the Underworld will side with the winner.”
I stroked Loki’s chin to encourage him. “You’re stronger than before. The new Asgardian power has awoken in you. Other than the power of the Underworld, you have the beast’s power.”
“Anything you need, Loki, you tell us,” Zak chimed in, lightning flashing in his eyes.
“We’ll stay here as a backup during the third trial,” Paxton offered, nodding at Loki and me.
“Fine, fine,” Loki drawled. “In fact, only my tight circle knew that the Bride Trials wasn’t exactly set up to get myself a queen or even pacify the unrest in the Underworld. We planned the Trials with Lilith in an attempt to draw out my father.” He looked at me, tenderness replacing the vicious edge in his eyes. “I just didn’t expect to meet my true mate from another world in the Trials.”
“We’ll increase Hell’s security,” the Duke of Wickedness said. “We’ll follow every trace and find out which gods have joined He-who-shall-not-be-named.”
“This is good. Less fighting,” Mari said. “Let’s take a break for dessert?” I contained a smile. The Titan princess always had a short attention span. She couldn’t sit still for more than five minutes. “And since it’s going to be a long meeting, we’ll have to stay for lunch. Dear brother, please tell your chef to prepare his signature roasted lamb.”
I’d learned that whenever she needed something from Loki, she called him brother. I bet Loki knew it too since he was giving her side-eye.
“Last time, Héctor gave the dish a five-star review, which is rare, considering how picky he is.” Marigold smiled fondly at Loki. “So, I want Axel, Zak, and Paxton to try it as well, in case they say I am playing favorites.” She gave each of her mates a glare in turn before waving a hand. “Anyway, we’ll eat on the garden terrace so we can also watch the lava fireworks.” She gave the demigods a sultry look. “Beloved mates, now’s the time to hand over your special requests to my dear brother. Don’t forget to order the top-notch demon brew and hellfire cakes for me.”
“Let’s also book the honeymoon suite,” Paxton said with a suggestive grin.
Loki threw me a dismayed look. He’d said they’d stay for lunch. The prophecy was now fulfilled.
“Don’t get used to staying here,” the king seethed. “Hell isn’t your rehab.”
