Page 76 of Hell Fae Captive
The rest would go on to my royal lieutenants for their own set of trials.
Every layer of this competition had been strictly outlined and expertly planned for several hundreds of years. I’d factored in every possible twist and turn, created thousands of safeguards, and ensured each series of choices had an appropriate path.
Those who failed would be lost forever. However, that was the risk.
Not everyone would be a perfect fit.
And many would prove themselves unworthy or biased toward our kind. Appearances could be deceiving, a lesson many of the females would learn today.
Those who did not would die.
Because while I couldn’t guarantee all six hundred and sixty-six candidates would meet our requirements, I could guarantee that only those suitable for mating would survive.
That was the purpose of these trials—to ensure the brides went to their appropriate kingdoms. And to remove those who shouldn’t be here at all.
Deals with parents were only half the battle.
This was the true test. The games I’d spent far too many centuries perfecting.
My fae were worth it. They deserved their brides.
And in the end, these women would be grateful, too. Otherwise, several of them would have gone through life without finding their true mates, their souls forever searching for an abomination hiding behind my gates.
Melek had jokingly called me a matchmaker.
I wasn’t a matchmaker at all. Just a king looking after his subjects.
The Hell Fae Source rarely accepted females, making mating difficult among my fae. While many of them had formed clans together, there was still a strong desire for women.
Specifically,faewomen.
Because my men needed partners who could endure their touch, and humans tended to be too fragile for a Hell Fae mating. Halflings were fine. And there were mortals who could withstand it, but they were very rare.
And mating any of them right now required my Hell Fae to leave the underworld, something several of them could not actually do.
Especially the Nightmare Fae.
If these games went well, we’d do another in maybe six hundred years or so, just to keep it fresh and interesting.
If the games didn’t work, then I’d be forced to find another recruitment method.
Sighing, I stepped down from my podium to begin the candidate inspection. Several of them had been given gifts, all of which required my evaluation.
I couldn’t have another incident like yesterday with the talisman.
Fortunately, all the gifts seemed to be in order—food, clothing, and a few defensive items. The heat shield talisman I’d approved could be found on a number of the females as well.
As for weapons, only the regulated items were allowed. They were all bespelled to only lethally injure the dark souls. That way, the light souls would remain unharmed. Any permanent damage to the true Nightmare Fae would severely piss off my royal lieutenants—hence all the safeguards I’d put in place. They weren’t there to keep the brides safe, but to protect the Nightmare Fae under my care.
Except for a select few whom I wouldn’t mind losing.
But that was another story entirely about lost souls who could never be forgiven. They deserved their fates.
I continued down the line of females, several of whom boldly made eye contact with me. A few even gave me inviting looks. I returned their grins because many of these females would become my future subjects. It would serve me well to win them over now rather than later.
Of course, the spirited ones were the females most likely to make it to the final rounds.
Females like Item Sixty-Six.Camillia De la Croix. I stopped right in front of her, my gaze searching her for any tangible gifts.
