“Do you really think you’re the mistress of my house, Veronica?” he asked.
She parted her lush, red mouth, fear fogging her hazel eyes, and she slowly shook her head.
“I apologize, Your Majesty,” she murmured. “I was out of line.”
“Many women believe they can control men with sex,” Loki purred. “I’ve fucked over a thousand females, and none of them meant anything to me. If you mistake me for some weak man, you’ll only put yourself at a disadvantage.”
“It won’t be like this,” she said, softening her biting tone and adding a subtle threat. “I’m sure one day you’ll recognize my value.”
He ignored her and returned his attention to me.
“Coming in, Bunny,” he offered with an enticing smile. “I won’t bite.”
“You expect me to believe that? With that big bad wolf smirk?” I said. “You must think you’re cute when you hide your fangs.”
“I was trying to help.” He grinned wider. “I’m just a friendly guy. And I know you’re very much aroused. I know your type.”
“You know shit. That’s what you know and what you’ll get,” I sneered, my voice husky. “And you have no shame.”
He threw his head back and let out a snarky laugh. “What a mouth you have. I wonder what else it can do.”
He had the nerve to dip his eyes toward my lips.
“I can give you a list if you ask nicely next time,” I said sweetly. “This mouth can do wonders, but it’s also full of tiny fangs. I hope they catch your fancy.”
“My kind of fancy girl,” he purred again, then curiosity sparked in his heated eyes. “Why aren’t you afraid of me like the others?”
Afraid of him? I was a great assassin from another world and another time. I came to take his head! Lucifer had specific requirements.
I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Who are you?” he asked after a quiet moment. He must have sensed the surge of menace from me, though he didn’t appear alarmed.
The cocky bastard.
“Your worst nightmare, Demon King,” I said, heat and ice and hate swirling in my eyes all at once.
I’d never had such a lengthy talk with my mark before. Not knowing your target’s personal life made killing easier. Kept it businesslike.
Time to go.
Just as I was about to push the automatic button and let the bat hook lift me to the rooftop, three throwing stars darted toward me at once—one heading between my eyes, one flying above me to cut the rope, and one shooting straight toward my heart.
The vampire princess had had the stars hidden in her hair that tumbled down to her waist, and she was stealthy and fast.
Loki roared as he shoved her away, his fire magic rolling out to control the damage, but the throwing stars had nearly reached their target—me. He’d been caught off guard, and it looked like I was going to pay the price for their lovers’ quarrel.
A group of demons appeared on the rooftop, yelling and cursing as they spotted me. So that escape route was out of the question. I had no intention of entertaining anyone further for the rest of the day.
My state-of-the-art folded sanjiegun I’d pulled out from my boot earlier snapped open, three sticks linked by steel chains stretching straight and whooshing in the air. The sticks knocked away two throwing stars, and the chains caught the other as a souvenir.
I’d been trained with all weaponry, yet this sanjiegun remained my all-time favorite.
“Enough, Veronica,” Loki growled, his power lashing out and pinning her in place.
I really needed to go, but before that, I’d like to return a little favor. I raised my gun and discharged three rapid shots to match the vampire princess’s act. One fed into her white thigh and one into her shapely ass—she looked utterly shocked when that happened. The hybrid was powerful enough to survive the poison, since I didn’t aim for her heart, but she was going to have a hell of a time draining the poison from her vampire blood.
I didn’t kill without cause, and she wasn’t meant to be my target.
The last bullet bit into the massive cock depicted on the wall behind the couple, leaving a small joke for the Demon King.
After learning about the trials, I didn’t want to get the king all worked up suspecting that an assassin had infiltrated his palace castle, so I didn’t even try to shoot his cock. I wasn’t the one being fucked, and I wasn’t that nasty. And he wasn’t the one who had thrown the stars at me.
I also doubted my bullet could get near his person, as his shield had never dropped. He just hadn’t bothered to extend the courtesy to his partner.
I let go of the rope and threw myself backward, sailing through the red mist toward a side wall. I would make an escape from there while giving my opponents the impression of plunging to my death.
Loki roared as he dashed to the window, staring down, his face crestfallen. I dropped out of the king’s sight, leaving a bit of a mystery for him to solve.
I hoped he liked suspense and riddles. Most men I’d encountered who were still alive never did.
CHAPTER 4
Tessa
“Underworld Bride Trials?” Fayette blinked twice.
Then Dux blinked, turning to me from his crouched position by the hearth. “What the heck is that? And you want to enter the trials, Your Grace?”
My team usually didn’t talk to me that way, but they were so rattled that they no longer cared about court etiquette. They had been worried sick and pacing around the room in fear before I’d returned to them. It was just the three of us now after the others had been slaughtered and Archer had been taken. And it was the first time they couldn’t accompany me on a mission.
The air in the Underworld proved to be poisonous to Fayette and Dux. A minute after we’d alighted in Hell, they’d started to have bad reactions. Fayette couldn’t breathe right, and Dux’s skin blistered from the heat.
I came from the same winter realm, and I carried ice magic stronger than anyone except my ex-mate. So why hadn’t the roaring heat of Hell burned me? Was it to do with my destiny, since I’d been looking for the flame forever?
I’d managed to find a hidden portal to the Hell gate and gotten my team out and back to Earth. Once in Hell, it was easier to find a way out, especially when we found out that some regions of Hell merged with Earth’s surface, thanks to Lucifer’s ground work. His biggest achievements included breaking Heaven’s seal on Hell. I could see now why he was so bitter about being tricked by his own son and banished from the world he’d built from scratch.
While Loki had inherited part of the merged Earth, four demigods and their shared mate ruled the rest. Lucifer hated the four demigods and Marigold just as much as he loathed his son.
Lucky for us, the current King of Hell guarded this realm more heavily than he guarded the part of Earth that was under his rule.
Once I’d gotten my team out of Hell, wheezing and gagging and slightly burned, I’d searched for a specific place to get them settled.
Lucifer had briefed me about Marigold, the forbidden child of the unholy union between the uncrowned Titan King and a fallen archangel—Lucifer’s ex-wife.