Demons relished inflicting pain and tormenting their prey before allowing the final death to befall them. They planned to pump terror into my veins before coming for me.
They expected me to shit my pants in trembling fear.
I sneered coldly.
As I took in the whole picture, scanning individual fights around the arena, I also noticed that the majority of the contestants were pureblood demons, and they focused on cutting down the half-breeds first. Huh, racists were everywhere, even in Hell.
If demons hated the half-bloods, then there must be a fierce power struggle between the pureblood archdemons and the half-bloods, like Loki.
The prince and his dukes hadn’t told me about their unpopularity in Hell, but suddenly I understood Loki’s position and how hard he must’ve fought to be where he was now. His title of “heir” must have been built on endless battles and bloodbaths, and it could be stripped off any time if another one fought to the top and proved themselves to be more powerful.
I almost chuckled at the irony.
I didn’t mind this racism and class separation in Hell. Instead, I would fuel the dissension and let Hell burn from the inside.
Maybe that was why Loki had gone to great lengths to kidnap me in the first place, then made a contract with Ares and Lucifer to take me out of the iron coffin. He needed a powerful ally, and given time, I’d be extremely powerful.
He probably held this illusion that I would help secure his future throne.
Last night, he’d insisted on me taking his blood.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” I had seethed.
“You’ve been tortured for months,” he’d said. “It’s a wonder you can still stand straight in front of me. Human food can’t sustain you. You’ll need a different energy source. At the moment, I’m it.”
“No, thanks, dude. I’ll pass,” I’d said.
“My blood isn’t as foul as you think, princess,” he’d said. “Either you drink my blood or perish tomorrow. And you won’t just be dead. A lot of demons in this realm hate me, and they’ll see you as my pet. It’s their every intention to brutalize you as much as they can, including raping you over and over in public before cutting you into little cubes. This trial will allow them to do that without fearing punishment or retaliation from me. Not even I am allowed to come to your aid during the culling before the bell rings.”
I’d swallowed, and he’d given me a dark look before his fangs appeared and he pierced the veins in his wrist. His blood had gushed out, scented like a new drug that I had never tried.
My hunger was piqued. I craved his blood as I’d once craved my demigods’. For a moment, I’d been deeply ashamed as unquenchable thirst blasted through me, feeling like I’d betrayed them, even though I’d never see them again.
“You’ve been reborn, Celeste,” Loki had said. “Embrace it. Shrug off your past skin. It doesn’t suit you anymore.”
Loki was an infamously great seducer, and he was leading me to dive headfirst into the dark path of no return with the enticing call of his powerful blood. But he was right about survival and many practical things.
“The Half-Blood Academy trained you the wrong way. Even the demigods tried to tame you, but I won’t. I want to unleash your wildness. I want you to reach your full potential and be the top predator you were born to be. Now drink.”
His black blood had dropped to the black marble, and I hadn’t wanted to waste it. I needed it to survive.
“I’ll drink from a cup,” I’d said.
I would never drink from his veins directly, afraid of what that would do to me. The last thing I wanted was to lust after Hell’s prince and be addicted to his blood.
No matter what, even though I knew I wasn’t going to see my demigods again, that was a line I wouldn’t cross. Not even to survive. Ares had once cursed me for my loyalty to my demigods. Even Hell wouldn’t take that away from me.
Loki had sighed, cut his wrist deeper, and poured his blood into a chalice of pure gold.
When I drank from the chalice, dark power had exploded on my tongue. It was very different from the demigod blood, yet it was equally potent and luscious.
“That good, right?” Loki had smirked before he uttered roughly, “I’ve never offered my blood to anyone else.”
I’d emptied the chalice, feeling alive for the first time since I’d been hurled to Hell. I wanted more of his blood, but I bit my lip to prevent myself from asking for more.
“Aren’t you worried this top predator might treat you like food, too, prince?” I’d asked instead.
He’d flashed a savage smile, his fangs sparkling white.