Hellfire Crown by Meg Xuemei X.

CHAPTER 18

Tessa

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two hundred and five contestants, the elite fighters who had survived the first two trials, waited in the banquet hall for the start of the third.

Bloodlust and a twang of fear tainted the air. I stayed away from the crowd and remained cool.

Charging into the trial headfirst, though unnerving, wasn’t too hard. It was just one battle after another. Either you died or you lived. The hardest thing was waiting for the next trial to begin, since the axe could fall at any time.

Esme was going over the rules. As usual, she was dressed in an impeccable suit and her hairstyle was perfect. The dukes flanked her. All looked fresh and gorgeous.

The third trial wouldn’t allow the contenders to bring any weapon. Other than that, all methods of violence were fine. Killing was encouraged. The goal was to obtain the legendary Hellfire Crown that the Queen of the Underworld would eventually wear.

Taking inventory of the contestants, Esme made a final announcement while avoiding looking in my direction. “The prize of the third trial is the king himself. Whoever fetches the Hellfire Crown will spend the night with His Majesty.”

Rage shot to my head. Jealous fire boiled in my veins, so much so that I’d have kicked Loki and all his crew in the teeth for whoring him out if they’d been near. That might be the reason that Loki hadn’t shown up, and Esme and the dukes stayed on the balcony, playing it safe while making the announcement and averting their gazes from my corner.

But then, the program had been set and the script written before I came into the picture.

My gaze kept searching for Loki, so I could still offer him a wrathful glare before I headed into battle. Spending a hot night with him last night wasn’t enough. I could still feel his kisses on my skin, his hands roaming all over me. He’d taken me from the front, side, and behind for hours. 

I was officially addicted to the king.

I swallowed sourly when I registered that I wasn’t the only one looking forward to seeing the king’s handsome face.

The contestants stood on their tiptoes, craned their necks, and searched for him.

Everyone wore their best armor and they had fully equipped themselves with all sorts of wicked weapons, expecting a hell of a fight. But now the guards were strolling around to make the contestants drop all of them.

My gaze travelled to the vampires.

They formed a protective ring around their princess.

Veronica was in red armor, standing tall and proud, as if she were already the Queen of the Underworld. As our eyes met, she flashed me a creepy grin, not shy of showing me her intention to pounce on me. I’d demonstrate to her who the mouse was in the Trials. Yet I couldn’t shake off an ominous feeling that things had gone very wrong.

Everything about the vampire princess was different and off, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.

I tore my gaze away from her and her goons. She didn’t matter. She never had. When we crossed paths this time, I’d take her down.

Right now, I needed to keep my mind on the game.

I took in the rest of the contestants—demonesses, valkyries, witches, Fae, and a few mixed species. After the slaughter today, their numbers would be greatly culled. I had a feeling about it.

The beautiful blue-skinned alien woman and the elegant Earth Fae whom the king had invited to his private dinner party were no longer in the hall.

A smile ghosted across my face when I saw the six shifters making a beeline toward me. They were my die-hard allies, now. It felt less lonely to have a team looking out for me.

Esme clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Ladies, before we send you off, His Majesty will give you his blessing!”

Loki stepped onto the balcony in a sangria-colored dress shirt that stretched over his cut chest, along with tight dark jeans and shining shoes. His thick hair was sexily tangled, his curvy lips tilted up sensually, and his eyes shone with dark promise.

The king in public was a different man than the one with me alone, yet no less seductive. He couldn’t help it, as incubus power was part of his essence. In any place and at any time, he could take my breath away. My rage receded. My urge to punch his face vanished. I sighed as I realized I’d accept him just as he was.

The women in the hall unleashed wild cheers and shouts. Everyone wanted a piece of the king’s hot ass, not caring that he was rightfully mine.

I just had to get the Hellfire Crown before anyone else.

Loki’s gaze landed on me, and when my look showed him my irritation and lingering fury, his grin only widened. His expression spelled, “You’ll just have to get the Hellfire Crown and claim me tonight.” Then, the next heartbeat, his smile was gone. Deep worry shadowed his eyes.

I didn’t want him to carry that burden alone, so I sent him my message with a snicker. You think the task is like getting you a glass of wine?

Light swam in his eyes. Return to me, woman, and wear the crown. And I’ll let you pour the wine on me and drink from me tonight.

I flushed at the implication, yet I rolled my eyes. I’d have to fight with everything I had to take the crown. I’d let no one but me touch him.

A look of satisfaction rippled across his face.

We couldn’t exchange our secret language any longer. The king tore his heated gaze away and surveyed the crowd of women fighters who would walk over each other’s corpses to wear his crown and ride him.

“Good luck, ladies.” He waved and purred, and then he was gone.

Before anyone could shout for him to return and say a few more words, a black gust swept over the banquet hall.

The Wild Hunt magic was as thick as rain.

The third trial had started.

A dark vortex sucked us in, its walls made of hard, howling wind. The shifters had been torn away from me. We were in different layers of storm. In my space, I vaguely discerned a valkyrie, a demoness, and a hybrid witch spinning with me inside the wind.

I tried to pull my magic to me and wasn’t surprised that the Wild Hunt neutralized any power inside the vortex. I’d have to resort to hand-to-hand battle if others assaulted me. Without my sanjiegun and magic, I felt vulnerable.

Just as I’d expected, the demoness and her witch friend lunged at me even in the vortex.

I’d killed dozens of their respective kinds, and the rumor on Hell’s streets was that I was the king’s favorite. Only no one outside Loki’s circle knew I was actually his true mate, who now had to fight all the false mates to stand by his side.

The valkyrie stood neutral, for now, but she was ready to explode into action too.

The giant demoness used her height advantage and slashed her claws at me. The black witch tried to spit a death spell at me, but the force of the wind threw them back before I could counter.

All they could do was glare at me. I winked at them, which riled them up even more.

“Your ass is mine!” the demoness yelled and gulped, her words slurring in the storm. 

I flicked my middle finger at her to tell her, “Come and get it. You might even like it!” since I didn’t want to let the wind get into my mouth.

Then the wind was suddenly gone, and the immense air pressure lifted off me. The vortex spat me out between rows of thorny hedges.

The valkyrie wasn’t with us anymore, though I heard a muffled scream that was cut short. Yelps and shouts increased everywhere, but not in the same space as mine.

Where had the Wild Hunt brought us?

The demoness and the witch, however, were still with me. Actually, as fate would have it, they sandwiched me.

“Finish off the king’s whore before we leave here,” the witch hissed, like she was the boss.

The two chicks, one huge, one average, closed in on me.

“I’m not his whore.” I smirked. “I’m his mate, the true one.”

“You can dream, short-life!” the demoness spat.

“Your kind usually call me cunt,” I offered.

“Die!” the witch shouted, lunging at me. A death spell shaped like a flying scorpion shot toward me.

I wondered how many beings she’d sacrificed to make that spell.

I ducked, and before the witch could blink, I dashed behind the demoness as she watched and waited for me to go down, a grin twisting her deformed lips. The demoness gave a surprised yelp at my reflexes and speed, and I shoved her toward the witch.

The demoness stumbled forward, and the death spell slammed into her chest. The demon chick screamed and dropped with a thud, rolling and slapping the ground as the spell ate her alive.

The witch stared at her friend, then at me, dumbfounded and angry.

“Shit happens,” I said.

The witch hissed, fear fogging her eyes. Then inky shadows gathered in them as she tried to conjure up another black spell. I reached her in a blur. Dragging her by the hair, I hurled her toward the demoness with my Titan strength.

Her arms flailing, she landed on top of her friend. The spell jumped onto her and latched on. The witch shrieked in agony, like a pitiful, dying black bird.

“Bye-bye, girls,” I said, not looking back as I sprang toward the other end of the thorny hedges.

Iron walls that stretched so high that no one could climb them surrounded the entire field. And who knew what was beyond the walls. It could be worse.

Two paths opened on either side of the thorny hedges. To the left was another row of high hedges. To the right, a field of cornstalks extended endlessly.

The Wild Hunt had brought us into a maze of mazes.

I considered for a second and chose a change of scenario. I turned right and stepped between the columns of cornstalks.

Instantly, the path to the hedges sealed behind me.

This maze could shift, manipulated by the Wild Hunt magic.

And it seemed like the only way to go was to move forward.