Compared to these brutes, I looked like a tender flower.
But that didn’t mean flowers wouldn’t kill. The cannibal kind could turn these Hell boys into fertilizer before they even saw it coming.
“She’s exactly my type,” Leviathan said. “But we need to fatten her up.”
I was a bit surprised that the dukes spoke to their prince so casually. Demons followed a strict hierarchy, even more so than the Dominions.
As if reading my thoughts, Loki let a faint smile ghost his lips. “Only when we’re alone. My dukes grew up with me. Their loyalty is unquestionable.”
And he’d let me share his table with him and his inner circle.
“You aren’t a stranger, Celeste,” he said softly.
If he was trying to get me to trust him, he was wasting his time. I was never one to trust to begin with, not even with my demigods. I’d come a long way toward completely trusting and accepting them, and I’d still kept the secret of my dark origin from them until the last second.
I shoved away my regret. It wouldn’t help me survive in this place, just weaken me.
“Will we get to ride her tonight, Loki?” Leviathan asked, lust swirling in his eyes.
I leaned back and drank my water. A wave of cramps twisted my stomach. Despite my hunger, I should have taken it easy. I’d been starved for too long, and now I was having indigestion.
I waited for the cramps to be over, keeping my face a blank mask.
“Not if you want to keep your dick attached to your balls, Hell boy,” I said. “And I’ll make sure your little pinky penis won’t grow back.”
Asmodeus bellowed with laughter this time.
“What?” Leviathan’s face reddened in anger. “Let me show you, and you’ll know the size of my cock.”
Loki waved a hand at him to stop the Duke of Envy from unzipping his fly.
Asmodeus snickered. “She’ll do that. She almost beheaded me, and she pondered severing my horns. This chick walks on the wild side.”
He was regenerating faster than I was, but then I’d been weakened for months. My bleeding had stopped, but my energy remained low. A hunger that couldn’t be sated by food gnawed my insides.
If I didn’t get a proper feed, I wouldn’t survive tomorrow’s trial, whatever it was. In the past, I had needed to mate with my demigods for a full recovery.
“Females have to wrap two hands around my dick,” Leviathan said, unable to let it go. I guess males were like that whenever a woman criticized the size of his manhood.
“Then go fuck them or yourself,” I said.
Yet I didn’t feel the aversion I’d thought I would feel toward Loki and his dukes. The other demons I’d met all had repulsed me.
Was it because in Hell my demon blood dominated my Titan heritage?
“This isn’t the night to debate dicks,” Loki snapped. “Treat Princess Celeste how you want to be treated. And she’ll treat you the same. She has the capacity to do just that.”
“I don’t give a shit how they treat me,” I said flatly. “And I don’t expect any more from demons.”
Loki gave me a look. “They’re also half-human, including me. I thought you were mature enough to get over hating the demon part of you. Believe me, princess, you’ll need the power of your demon blood to come out on top in this place.”
He was right. I was just being mouthy. Wherever I went, whatever I went through, the attitude was the one thing I couldn’t shake off.
“She won’t survive the first few minutes of the trial,” Asmodeus said. “She fought well against me, but it won’t be one-on-one in the pit. Hundreds of the contenders will swarm on her at first sight. She looks exactly like the perfect meal for a pureblood demon. They’ll enjoy tearing her apart.”
“Then it’s our job to make sure she lives through tomorrow,” Loki said. All playfulness left his darkly handsome face. “First, you’ll need to feed properly, Celeste.”