Hellfire Crown by Meg Xuemei X.
CHAPTER 23
Loki
A day had gone by, and Tessa hadn’t come out.
I paced like a caged beast in my newly remodeled and decorated suite in the red castle. My home had suffered two huge blows, one from me when I’d learned of Tessa’s betrayal from my archangel stepmother, and the other from the pureblooded archdemons’ uprising not long ago.
The archdemons were no longer a threat. We’d slain two of them. The last one dared not return after fleeing my realm. Their armies had all been incorporated into the dukes’ armies.
Why do you keep pacing? my wolf growled. You’re making me nervous. And what’s wrong with getting in the fucking trial, finding the crown for Mate, putting it on her head, and then carting her out? Mate will be overjoyed if we do all that for her. She always appreciates it when I put in some effort for her. You should do the same. She probably misses us a whole lot right now!
Keep thinking like a simpleton, please. I sneered, and my anxiety didn’t abate. I’m amused.
Like I give a fuck what you think of me, punk, the wolf snapped. But it’s time we check on our mate. She could be in danger!
We can’t even do that, I yelled at him, gladly taking my anxiety out on him. There are rules that even we can’t break!
Fuck all rules! My wolf snarled in disdain. When have we ever played by anyone’s rules?
The rules of the Bride Trials are different, I said in defeat. The Wild Hunt imposed them with a magical binding to make sure the trials were fair. I agreed to them.
Why did you agree to them in the first place and put our mate through hell? She’s rightfully the Queen of the Underworld, our true mate. She shouldn’t even have gone through the stupid, barbaric trials.
A bit of hindsight, isn’t it? I retorted. How could I know our true mate would come after all these years? I was alone for centuries!
That’s no excuse. And you should have held on to celibacy and stayed pure for Mate, the wolf scolded, then gloated. I was a virgin for Mate. Anyway, let’s find a way to check out Bunny and make sure she’s safe.
We’re blocked from the third trial. Must I tell you again? I said exasperatedly, half-mad at myself for lacking foresight and agreeing to the terms of the Wild Hunt. Not even I can see what happens inside the trial this time before a contestant comes out with the crown.
Our mate will come out with the crown, the wolf growled threateningly, as if he would bite their head off if anyone other than our mate dared to possess the Hellfire Crown. No one else deserves to wear it.
Just be quiet for a fucking second, I said, rubbing my temples. Now I totally got why Tessa complained about me talking too much. Let me think and find a way.
The trial even muffled the mating bond between Tessa and me. I’d been trying for hours to feel her to no avail. But I knew she was alive. I could feel that much.
I also realized that the Wild Hunt had actually been trying to get me to break the rules since the second trial, using my Bunny as bait. Esme had warned me of the consequences of going against the Hunt. If I ignored the rules and acted recklessly, I might lose my mate.
My head in my hands, I tumbled down onto a seat, defeated, worried, enraged.
I’d never felt this afraid and helpless, not even when I watched Tessa fight in the pit, not even when my wolf dove toward her in the canal in order to save her.
This was more than a dark feeling of panic. It was like a bad omen, and it was eating me up. A premonition was haunting me like an approaching nightmare I couldn’t shake off, and I couldn’t see the exact picture either.
A horrible idea hit me. What if the Hellfire Crown was cursed?
No. I shook my head. My mate was supposed to be the one coming out of the trial with the Hellfire Crown sitting on her beautiful head.
Still, I sensed sinister powers closing in on us from all directions.
Our mate might be in real danger, I told my wolf. Paranoid or not, I was unable to shake off this dark feeling. We need to break the barrier of the third trial.
That’s the first smart thing you’ve ever said, the beast said, and when he peeked into what had caused my panic, he howled in fear and rage, as if willing his storm of fury to chase the danger away from our mate.
