Hesi's fists stayed clenched even when she had been forcing them to relax since she was summoned from the bridal palace. She's lucky to have been given time to mentally prepare due to what Kharta told her the night before. The other girls didn't even know when it's coming.

As much as she has seen blood on others and had felt pain countless of times on her own body, she wouldn't want to plunge into it on her own and walking up to the demon prince's palace with nothing but a flimsy vial of poison and the clothes on her body seemed like the perfect description of it. The torches were burning even if there's sunlight shining upon the trees and bushes ushering Hesi towards her doom. The water in the pool sparkled as if inviting her to jump in and drown just to avoid her fate inside the dark room.

Just like how the summons worked for the other girls, two Mayaware soldiers flanked Hesi, each holding spears whose tips could pass off as swords in length. Real swords hung in their sheaths by their belts and the no amount of punches and clever maneuvers could put a dent on their metal armor. In short, the Demon King was sending a message to everyone who encounters these soldiers. Don't do anything funny and you might live.

Emphasis on might.

Hesi swallowed against the growing lump on her throat and forced herself to look forward, to never let her chin drop a slight degree down even when her back was as stiff as a board and her legs almost developing minds of their own and starting to resist her. She wouldn't back down, even if the fear curling at the base of her stomach wouldn't let her intestines off its claws.

All of this would be over as soon as she slips the poison into the Prince's food. Soon. It would be over soon.

Because if not, it's going to be Hesi's blood all over the floor and her body torn to shreds. Who knew, she might join her family to where they ended up—be it paradise or hell.

They stepped inside the palace and the darkness had never felt so...oppressing. Even when Hesi had been here before, today was just different. Her breathing became uneven. Shallow. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on taking deep breaths. Calm. She could do this. She'd see the other women again. She could do this.

When she opened her eyes, a metal door stood in front of her. Thick chains kept the door's handle in place and the acrid smell of dried blood and rotten meat curled inside and wafted into the corridor. Hesi didn't even bother trying to stop her hands and her breath from shaking. No one in their right minds would approach that door yet here she was.

For her family. To avenge their wrongful deaths. To end the demons' reign. This was for them and not for Hesi.

She could do this.

The chains clinked and clanked as the Mayaware guard to her left stepped forward bearing a gold key in its hands. The key slotted into the lock, twisted. WIth a loud click, the lock broke free. Strong hands gripped her arms and hauled her forward when she loitered too long at the gaping void in front of her the moment the metal door swung open on rusty hinges.

"Clothes off," the Mayaware on the right hissed, flicking its forked tongue at her. Through the padded helmet covering its forehead but certainly not its slitted eyes, the soldier's gaze told her it had orders to tear her apart on the spot should she attempt to run. Hesi stared at them, not quite understanding what they meant even though it was crystal clear like the water from the pool outside.

Then, the soldier grabbed her by the collar. Hesi lashed out and slapped the hand away and yanked her own clothes off her body. The memory of having her breasts and the rest of her skin out for all to see was still sore in her mind. Still, being naked and breathing with bloodthirsty demons was loads better than being naked and not.

She dropped the pile of garments to her feet, nodding at the soldiers flanking her as if saying, Satisfied? She reached up and wrapped her fingers around the combs, pins, and ornaments adorning her hair. "Jewelry too?"

The only answer she got was a painful shove to the shoulder. She righted herself just in time for the door to shut behind her with a loud clang. From the other side, the chains clinked once more and the lock clamped shut with a finality that sent an avalanche of dread in Hesi's gut.

"Welcome," a silky voice said from the darkness. Darpeh, they couldn't even light a single lamp in here? "Please, have a seat."

Hesi's eyes adjusted with each step she took forward. Harsh silhouettes of lounges, vases, and statues began forming in her periphery when she found a low table on the center of the room flanked with two gray cushions. One of them was occupied.

"For a demon, you speak Birejyet quite well," Hesi said, stalking closer to the bald man casually sipping tea from the cushion opposite what's supposed to be hers.

A small laugh tore from the demon's throat. "Hazard of the trade," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle and calm for a monster. He gestured to the other cushion without quite looking at her. "Please."

"Who's to say you won't eat me when I sit down?" she challenged, careful of letting her real fear lace around her words. If he's smart enough to learn Birejyet, he's smart enough to read her like an open tome.

"I'm already eating dinner, see," the demon prince waved a hand over the scrumptious meal laid in front of him in dainty gold bowls and literal silver platters. He picked at a slab of human flesh with a two-pronged fork. "You are safe here."

Hesi resisted the urge to snort and roll her eyes. The prince might not like that and proceed to attack her. "I bet," she said, folding her legs as she dropped into the cushion as he told her to. Her breasts bounced with the motion without the gossamer or even a shawl stopping it.

The demon cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to his food. From beside him, his finger tapped against the rim of a golden goblet no doubt containing Cani—fermented wine made from human blood.

"Go ahead," Hesi said, making sure her tone dripped with as much acid as she could muster. "Stare at my body until you're satisfied. That's what I'm here for anyway."

The demon shook his head. "Trust me, that's not," he said. "How has the palace been treating you?"

Hesi didn't hold back her snort this time. The sound reverberated in the darkness before being digested into oblivion. "That's seriously going to be the first question you're going to be asking me?"

"I have to know," the demon prince met her eyes, a look of confusion passing through his slitted pupils. "Is the treatment not to your liking?"

She schooled her face into a passive stare. She couldn't exactly tell him that gold and gossamer dresses weren't the treatment she was looking for in the first place. That would raise far too many questions. Instead, she forced a small smile to her lips and ducked her head to show respect. "I'm more than happy here, Your Grace," she said.

"Mezo," the prince said.

Hesi blinked. "Sorry?"

"My name is Mezophis," the prince tapped a hand over his chest, rumpling the faded long-sleeved tunic he wore in place of jeweled collars. "Please call me that when we're alone."

She exhaled from her nose. "What's your deal?" she said. "I imagined all kinds of horrible things coming into this room but this is actually nice."

The demon prince didn't move even as Hesi leaned forward and dropped her chin into her palm, her elbows resting against the table's hard surface. Her fingers brushed the single earring dangling from her lobe—the one containing a small vial filled with poison which could force the prince to enter into an eternal sleep. It's a good thing she thought of transferring the poison in a more inconspicuous place should she encounter problems with her clothes.

"I'm glad you find it nice," Mezophis cleared his throat again. "How about your lessons? Is Yobekh treating you well? All the other girls aren't talking about him much."

All the other girls. Hesi tamped down the anger bubbling up her throat. Not now. She couldn't afford to be angry. Not yet.

"Yobekh? He's nice," she thumbed the latch that would release the sealed vial into her fingers. It's only a matter of uncorking it and slipping it into his goblet with a forward swipe in an attempt to dust his sleeves or something. "I would prefer it if he talked more about our offspring."

Mezophis's eyes locked on Hesi. If he was a normal human, he would have burned to hell with a blush. She had that effect on most of the boys her age back when she was out in the harsh desert. Instead, the demon prince dropped his eyes to his food yet again. "It's too early to think about that, don't you think?" he said, sticking his fork into the meat but not getting anything into his mouth. What's wrong with him?

Hesi shook her head. "I think this is the right time," she said. "You're nicer than I thought."

A strangled laugh broke free from the prince's throat. It was a nice laugh. "Not all Mayaware are hideous," he said.

She arched an eyebrow. "But your kind are naturally hideous."

Instead of being offended and eating her on the spot, the demon threw his head back and laughed. Openly. Trustingly. This was stupid. Hesi should have slipped the poison by now. She should have found an opening long ago.

But she couldn't. It sounded almost too...cruel.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Mezophis said, taking a sip of his Cani wine. Hesi gritted her teeth. The poison could have been well into that sip. "We really are hideous beyond reason."

She ran a finger down her ear, her nails scratching the earring once again, reminding her of the reason she came to Berheqt in the first place. "Well, is this what you're doing all the time? Just having dinner with human women you don't know?"

"It's what my father wishes," the demon answered, bobbing his head as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "It would serve me well to follow him and meet with the lovely women to try to give him an heir before the mating season ends."

Hesi stuck her bottom lip out. "Why not from your kind? I'm sure you have your eyes on some lovely maiden out there."

He snorted—a sound of amusement uncharacteristic of a demon. "Not so much. I wasn't allowed to leave this room until I succeeded in bearing an heir."

"That's..."

Mezophis clicked his tongue and slapped his forehead. "Ah, why am I talking about that? You're here so we could get to know each other more and not discuss politics and fathers," he jerked his chin at her. "Loosen up. You look like you're about to assassinate me."

Her fingers froze from fully unlatching the vial from her earring. How did he know that? Did he get that information elsewhere? Was Kharta that careless all along?

"That reminds me," the demon pushed himself up the cushion and strode towards a shelf Hesi hadn't even noticed earlier when her eyes were adjusting to the dark. "I have something for you."

He began rummaging through the objects in the shelf, muttering under his breath. "Are you giving me the same thing you've given to the other women before me?" Hesi asked, letting a bit of humor lace through her tone. Now that the prince had some inkling of what she's planning to do to his family and kind, she should play it safe. And slow.

There was no movement from the shelf. Not even a breathed laugh or anything. "Mezophis?" she stood from her cushion and aimed to step forward when a low hiss made her freeze in place. What was that?

Why had the darkness become thicker?

"Mezophis?" she called again. More hisses. "Your Grace?"

"S...stay away," a strangled voice rang in the prince's gentle voice. What's going on? "Run."

Hesi eyed the door remaining locked. Run where?

Why would she need to run?

From the thickening darkness from the opposite side of the room, something crashed and broke. Sheafs of parchment fluttered to the floor after being disturbed from their perch. The sound of metal clanging rang in loud bursts. Hesi pressed her hands to her ears to block the noise out as fabric ripped and the sound of skin stretching filled the room.

"Mezophis?" she called for the last time as a pair of dark rubies shone from the darkness accompanied by a stronger hiss. Then, the darkness gave way to a demon, its onyx skin out for all to see. A snake's body replaced the once-human torso, jutting from the torn tunic strewn around its waist. Scales. Frills. Forked tongue whipping out in hunger. Fangs stretched out and dripped with poison.

Hesi stepped back, her shin hitting the low table's rim, jangling the bowls and saucers atop it. The sound made the snake turn towards her direction. Oh, no.

Then, the demon stepped forward and a bushy tail swept out from behind it. She squinted in the darkness to make sure she was seeing it correctly. True enough, paws with sharp claws replaced the demon's human-like legs—a trait that only the mammalian Mayaware had. What...what in Tjarma was going on?

She didn't get enough time to ponder about that.

After another hiss, the demon lowered itself into a stance and lunged.