Page 23 of Immortal Throne

Still, Ryker didn’t budge. Only his lip curled up over clenched teeth and a growl rumbled in his throat. An actualgrowl.

“Ryker—” Chupey chastised. “Stand down.”

His hardened gaze danced over my face, debating.

Chupey barked. “Ryker!”

“Fine!” He ripped himself away and crossed the room to the opposite side, where he spun on his heel, his shoulders tense. “But if she hits me again, I swear—”

“If I hit you again, I’ll make sure you won’t get up,” I said, anger still fueling me. “Especially after you used your power on me.”

“You’re overexaggerating. It didn’t even work.”

I paused as my temper deflated all around me. “It…didn’t?”

Chupey’s little head swiveled my way and the little bastard winked.

Drawing in a deep breath, I tried to settle my frantic heartbeat. This was beginning to be too much. Demons, Hell, my father, a throne, powers…? This was like some fever dream I desperately wanted to wake up from. Now.

I glanced between the two of them, my neurons firing rapidly but somehow unable to string together the right words to make a coherent sentence. “Uh, what? Wait, how—I…?”

“Oh shit, I think we broke her.” Ryker laughed, and it only made me want to punch him again, this time in that stupid gorgeous, sculpted chest.

Clearing my throat, I tried again, making sure to direct the question to Chupey. “Howis that possible?”

“Because I went easy on you,” Ryker interrupted with an annoyed huff.

“Explain.”

“I didn’t really try to control you. Not really,” he said. “You’re a demon with natural defenses, so it would require more effort on my part to control you with my power. What the fuck does it matter anyway? You need to focus on the challenges for the throne.”

“Challenges?” I asked.

“Are you fucking deaf? Yes, challenges.”

Now he was speaking my language. If this was a physical fight kind of thing, I had this in the bag. Although… supernatural demonic powers might make things a little more difficult. Moreinteresting.But a little competition never scared me. “And what happens then?”

“You will have to pass a set of trials, collectively referred to as the Inferno,” he replied, adjusting his leather jacket with a quick shrug of his shoulders.

“Trials? Plural?” Okay, so not a fight. “As in tests?”

“You could say that.”

I glanced at Chupey again for some kind of confirmation, and the dog dipped his head in a nod.

My pulse instantly picked up. One thing I had never been good at in school was taking tests. Projects, sure. Speeches, that was pie. But tests? Nope.

The more I thought about it, the more my stomach soured. “Yeah, no thanks. I’m going to have to pass.”

Ryker stilled and blinked at me, shock and disbelief all over his expression. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I’m not interested in taking a test.”

“This isn’t the SETs, Sloane,” he hissed. “These challenges are designed to prove you are ruthless and brutal enough to rule the pits of Hell.”

I snorted a laugh. “First, it’s SATs, and second, ruthless and brutal? I’m not either of those things, so I’d fail right there.”

“You are in the cage.”

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