The Mayaware's reign has to end.
In a world of demonic beings with a hunger for human flesh, and thirst for blood, Hesi Renen knows it well. When her siblings are taken to the harvesting farms, she must do everything she can to get them out, even if...
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The basket straps dug against her shoulders, flooding memories of that day into her mind. She clenched her jaw and glanced at the dark lump curled inside the basket. Her gut swirled then stiffened, as if it couldn't decide whether to be disgusted or not. Inside the grounds of the Royal Palace, it's the least Hesi could feel.
They departed Festophis' fortress two days ago and arrived inside the gates of Berheqt after a day of being stuffed inside a dark cart. Hesi had the taste of what Pai, Unsu, and the other women from the breeding farm must have gone through during their own journeys. What happened to the women Hesi lost in the desert? Were some of them included in the final slate of bride candidates under Festophis' name?
Hesi had spent most of the travel and the entry to Berheqt coming to terms with the mess she entered. From what Festophis told them, the Mayaware royals had come up with a new way to entertain themselves and get the prince a wife along the way. The generals—and Hesi was willing to bet an arm that any high-ranking and wealthy official were included as well—were instructed to find their own selection of potential human brides to compete in the said entertainment and win the royals' approval. And the official who pushed for that bride would be awarded. Quite handsomely, in fact.
The King's right hand. A perfect place to stab sideways and attain the crown for oneself. Hesi didn't have many encounters with demons, but the greed glinting in their eyes told her they're no better than humans. They'd claw each other down, tear flesh, and gouge eyes out of their kin if it meant getting better access to wealth, resources, and power. Because like humans, the only thing the Mayaware were concerned of was survival.
Hesi understood that. Respected it, even. But so long as her siblings were hanging in the balance, she'd never forgive them.
That's why when they were let out of the cart and allowed to step foot inside the Royal Capital, Hesi had been the first to take note of the exit routes, the number of guards per outpost, the volume of crowds striding in and out of the gates. Everything. She had been the first to take note of everything.
And after spending the rest of the night inside the bridal palace—a lowly building in the outskirts of Berheqt where they were stashed into upon arrival—Hesi had come to conclude the Royal Capital was huge. It would take at least a day to get to the other side and another to go back. And with how detached the bridal palace was from the rest of the consequential palaces, facilities, and gardens with ridiculous names, she got the idea the Mayaware were determined to remind humans where they stand. And how close they were allowed before they get killed.
Hesi was fine with it. She's a patient hunter despite the ticking dial over her head. She only had until Pai's moon-cycle to frolic around—she reminded herself. There's no time to waste. The quicker, the better.
Come morning, Hesi was awakened—rather rudely—by their Mayaware attendants, female demons who were the least likely to eat them, and was shoved into the courtyard in front of the bridal palace, right into Festophis' face. The general gave them a rundown of what's going to happen, saying it's their first trial and it's about the first thing a wife to the demon prince needed to have.
