Exiled Demigod: Fated Mates of the Underworld, Book 3: A paranormal shifter romance, page 22
Exiled Demigod
Fated Mates of the Underworld, Book 3
Lily Winter
Lily Winter
Contents
Introduction
Prologue - Gemma
1. Gemma
2. Lucifer
3. Gemma
4. Lucifer
5. Gemma
6. Gemma
7. Lucifer
8. Gemma
9. Lucifer
10. Gemma
11. Gemma
12. Lucifer
13. Pandora
14. Gemma
15. Gemma
The Dragon’s Psychic
About Author
Exiled Demigod
Fated Mates of the Underworld Series, Book 3
Copyright © 2019 by Lily Winter
Kindle Edition
Edited by: Red Adept Editing
Cover Designer: Book Cover Artistry
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without permission of the author.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
This book was previously published under the name Hell’s Portal with the author name Linzi Baxter.
I wanted to separate my Romantic Suspense books from my Paranormal Romance books. In doing so I created the pen name Lily Winter.
So what does this mean? Well Linzi Baxter and Lily Winter is the same person. :) If you have any questions or concern’s please email me at linzi@linzibaxter.com.
Thank you,
Lily Winter/Linzi Baxter
OTHER TITLES BY Lily Winter
Fated Mates of the Underworld
Banished Wolf
Claimed Witch
Exiled Demigod
Immortal Dragon
The Dragon’s Psychic
The Dragon’s Human
The Dragon’s Mate
The Dragon’s Warlock
The Dragon’s Wolf
The Dragon’s Daughter
Romantic Suspense Books By Linzi Baxter
Lily’s alter ego
White Hat Security Series
Hacker reExposed
Royal Hacker
Misunderstood Hacker
Undercover Hacker
Hacker Revelation
Hacker Christmas
Hacker Salvation
Hacker Enclosed
Hacker Wedding - Jan 12, 2021
Nova Satellite Security Series
(White Hat Security Spin Off)
Pursuing Phoenix
Pursuing Aries
Pursuing Pegasus
Pursuing Columbia Mar 30, 2021
Pursuing Cygnus May 25, 2021
A Flipping Love Story (Special Forces World)
Unlocking Dreams
Unlocking Hope
Unlocking Love
Unlocking Desire
Unlocking Secrets Apr 27, 2021
Unlocking Lies
Montana Gold (Brotherhood Protector World)
Grayson’s Angel
Noah’s Love
Bryson’s Treasure
Visit linzibaxter.com for more information and release dates.
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Prologue - Gemma
The constant nightmare faded into the back of my mind. Instead of hearing the screams of my sisters, I felt a pain in every inch of my body. My own shrieks echoed in the room, waking me up. I sat up too quickly, and the room tilted on its axis. The cold stone I pressed my hand to helped keep me from falling over.
“You might want to lie back down.”
I hadn’t heard that voice in… I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, so I didn’t know how much time had passed.
I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes to help shield myself from the bright light. The dusty, decomposing scent in the air brought back my last vivid memory of the Titans casting a spell to lock me away in the bottom of the catacombs for eternity. They’d worried I would take their powers away after they used me to take down a Titan—the same one standing in the room. When I stripped Prometheus of his powers, it hadn’t taken away his immortality, only his gifts from the gods. But he was probably there to get revenge.
Slowly peeling my hands away, I glanced around the room. It hadn’t changed except for the layers of dust. The Titans had created the catacombs to seal my body away forever.
“How… long?” My throat hurt with each word.
The tall man with shoulder-length black hair rested his hip against the wall made of skulls. When I’d been sealed away, they were just building the catacombs. Everyone thought they had been built to make more room, because cemeteries were taking up real estate, but that wasn’t the reason. They’d been created to keep me hidden away. The labyrinth under Paris was built so that no one would ever find me.
“Two hundred thirty-four years, give or take a few.”
I lay back down in the crypt and rested my arm over my eyes. “Why now?” I hadn’t gotten past two-word sentences, and it was a dumb question. He’d come to kill me, and I wasn’t in any shape to fight him. My head hurt, my back hurt—hell, even my skin hurt from years of lying in the same position in a cement coffin. A pillow or a blanket would have been nice.
Footsteps echoed as Prometheus crossed the small room. He rested his hand on the crypt and looked down at me. His dark-brown eyes flashed orange-red… which gave me pause. I’d taken his powers, so his eyes shouldn’t have changed.
“We don’t have all day, Gemma. Time to get up. I have a mission for you.”
“Mission?” Death was what I figured he was there for.
Prometheus tapped the side of my crypt. “Yes, mission. It took me years to figure out how to get my powers back then years of bribing people to figure out where you were.”
I didn’t bother trying to get up. My legs felt like rubber, and I wasn’t even sure if they would work. “I didn’t have a choice.”
His eyes flashed burnt orange. “You had a choice. You chose to do as the Titans asked because they were mad at me.”
“You stole Zeus’s fire, slept with his wife, and took his baby.” I let out a sigh. “And that is the tip of the iceberg. Do you even want to talk about what you did to Poseidon?”
Prometheus had turned the seas purple, which had made the fish go mad and start fighting each other. His last trick had been the final straw after centuries of playing tricks on the gods. The only way to get his powers back would have been to meet with Fate, but over the years, he’d done harm to them.
“Zeus has his toga too tight, or he wouldn’t have been so mad.” Prometheus reached out his hand. “Now you owe me, and it’s time you pay.”
Tentatively, I gripped Prometheus's hand and climbed out of the crypt. My legs felt weak as I stood for the first time in centuries. The large white fluffy dress pooled around me. The corset hadn’t even loosened over the years.
For the first time, my eyes trailed over Prometheus. He wasn’t wearing the red toga he was known for. He had what looked like full-length trousers and a black short-sleeved shirt. His long beard was gone.
“I need a bath and food. But by the way you’re dressed, I see I’m going to have to fill my own tub to clean the dirt off my body.” Nothing like waking up from a long forced nap and having to do everything myself. I highly doubted my women in waiting would still be alive.
“My clothes are fine. Now, you, on the other hand, look like you walked out of the eighteenth century.”
Testing my legs, I took a step forward. “Did you happen to bring a change of clothes?”
Instead of answering, he grunted and motioned toward the archway made of leg bones. As I followed the large man, my mind rolled around the fact I’d missed so many years. I worried about how Prometheus had gotten his powers back. I padded across the rough, uneven pebbled walkway. Judging by the cold shoulder he gave me, I doubted he’d brought a pair of shoes for me.
We reached the end of the long hallway where an old spiral staircase stood—my freedom from the catacombs. Instead of heading up the stairs, Prometheus walked over to the wall and tapped the lower corner, and a large purple portal opened. Hell’s portal. I’d used to use it—quite often—since it belonged to the only man I ever loved. Nobody knew Lucifer and I had been together for years. We both worried that the other gods wouldn’t understand. Lucifer was concerned they would do something to me to get to him.
That didn’t matter. It had happened an
yway. I’d trusted the Titans, only to be locked away after doing what they asked.
“Lucifer asked you to set me free?”
Prometheus barked out a laugh. “No. That man only thinks about himself. I want you to take his powers.” He pulled out a locket. “Put them in here. Then I need the same done to Zeus and Poseidon.”
“And if I don’t?”
My body flew back against the wall. Prometheus hadn’t moved from his spot, but his eyes glowed a deep orange. “I will find you and lock you back in that coffin, and instead of the sweet dreams you’ve had for years, it will be your fears.”
He blinked, and I crumpled to the floor. I needed more information before going toe to toe with Prometheus. Taking a few breaths, I picked myself up off the ground and walked toward the portal to Hell.
When I was two steps away, he reached out and grabbed my arm. “Don’t even think about crossing me.”
It wasn’t the hard tone that sent a shiver down my spine. No, it was the coldness in his touch. I nodded, and he dropped my arm. Before he could change his mind, I stepped through the portal.
The smell of brimstone wafted through the air. I had missed that odor and even the cockiness of the man behind it. The thought of him not remembering me passed through my mind for a second. I shook my head and walked up to the large gate. At least one thing hadn’t changed. My hand hovered for a second before pounding on the door. The door swung open, and a large man with a battle-ax stood before me. He had on the same trousers and shirt as Prometheus.
I brushed my hands on my dress, feeling self-conscious for the first time in my life.
“ID.”
“I’m here to see his majesty.”
The large man snorted. “He doesn’t take guests. You can leave or show your vacation papers.”
“Vacation papers, as in, people come here to vacation?”
Lucifer used to hate having people come to hell. For years, he’d closed off the gates to anyone he didn’t like, but a person could still request a visit.
“Demons Island is one of the top tourist destinations. Now, show me your papers or turn around and leave.”
My dress wouldn’t make it easy to take down the guard leading me through the gates of hell, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’d fought someone while wearing a gown. “I believe Lucifer would be surprised I’m here and mad to find out you sent me away.”
The guard reached up and scratched his beard. “You’re not the first woman to come here, demanding to see him.” His eyes traveled over my body. “Maybe the first to show up in a costume. Most show up wearing nothing to appeal to the side of him that sleeps with anyone who shows him her breasts.”
“I’m not in a costume… I’ve been away awhile.”
Lucifer’s guards didn’t have powers, but if the fight came to much, they could summon Lucifer and let him know what was going on. My only choice was to take out the guard and make him call Lucifer.
I pushed my way through the marble archway. The guard stepped in my path. Using the strength the gods gave me, I pulled back and punched him in the gut. My hand vibrated off his ribs and didn’t move the guard an inch.
When I glanced up at the tall guard, he frowned down at me and swung his battle-ax. I rolled to the side, the blade missing me by a centimeter. The breeze from the blade whispered across my skin.
Before the guard had time to right himself, I swiped out my leg and connected with his chin. The kick made him lose his balance, and his feet got tangled in my fluffy dress. When he came crashing down, I was relieved to hear my dress ripping. The corset was no longer crushing my lungs. I jumped up and stood in my bra and underwear. My dress was wrapped around the guard's legs.
It wouldn’t be the first time Lucifer had seen me naked. I reached down and grabbed the battle-ax and held it to my shoulder. Nobody was going to stop me from storming Lucifer’s palace.
I was taking a step toward the walkway when a hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me back. I went crashing down on the hard stone. The most unladylike scream escaped my mouth, followed by the sound of a crack as my hand hit the cement. My bones shouldn’t have broken that easily, but I didn’t have time to figure out what was happening to me. Kicking out, I hit the guard in the head with my foot, and he let out a grunt.
I rolled to the side and took a couple of breaths. It was time to finish him off. I braced my arm against my chest and grabbed the weapon’s handle with my other hand then stood over the guard in a white lace bra and panties with a battle-ax over my head. If it was any other circumstance, I might have laughed at the situation, but I needed to talk to Lucifer, and this guard stood in my way.
“Stop!” a man yelled behind me. His voice warmed my soul.
The guard on the ground was still knocked out, and I contemplated swing the ax down and eliminating him for causing me to break my arm.
“Put the ax down.”
As I debated about whether to kill the guard, I heard footsteps behind me. I dropped the ax to the side and turned around to see Lucifer for the first time in centuries. I wondered if he’d ever come looking for me. We were supposed to meet for our vacation the night I disappeared.
“Hey, Luc,” I said.
He was just as hot as I remembered. His deep-brown eyes flashed red, and he crossed his arms. He wore dark trousers and a strange jacket with a white shirt. Everyone dressed so differently than they had before I’d gone to the catacombs.
“Gemma?”
I walked down the stone path toward Lucifer. He hadn’t aged a day, and my attraction hadn’t dwindled at all since the last time I saw him. “Yes. Did you miss me?”
He shrugged and looked at the guard behind me. “Get your ass up, and remove this woman from hell.” Lucifer turned to walk away, and the guard grabbed me around the waist, catching my arm. Pain shot through my body, and I let out a blood-curdling scream as he pulled me back through the archway.
Lucifer turned and narrowed his eyes. “Stop.” The guard stopped dragging me, and I used the opportunity to sling my leg back in and kick him in the balls. His grip loosened enough for me to slip out and cradle my arm.
“Lucifer, I need to talk to you,” I said.
He stared down at my arm. “What is wrong with you?”
I pointed to the guard behind me. “He broke my arm.”
“Let me see.” Lucifer walked over and grabbed my arm. Pain and awareness shot through my body. The pain was still stronger than the touch of Lucifer. “How?”
I wanted to know the same thing. When the gods locked me away, they must have taken some of my powers, or maybe my body was weak from spending so many years in the crypt with no food or water.
“A lot has happened,” I said.
“Like you disappearing for three hundred years and then one day deciding you should show up in bra and panties, thinking I would forget about you ghosting me?”
I gently pulled my arm back. “I have no clue what you're talking about. And it wasn’t my choice to be standing out here in my bra and underwear. He ripped my dress off.”
Lucifer looked back and frowned at the large dress on the ground. Two seconds later, he swooped me up in his arms and walked toward the massive palace. I rested my head against his shoulder and let his strength envelop me. It was the first time I’d felt safe in years. Even though I’d been asleep all that time, I’d felt like I was constantly searching for something.
When we walked by the two gargoyle statues, I smiled and waved at Eric and Martin. They’d been there since I first met Lucifer. The only time they could take on their living selves and fly around was during a full moon.
People I didn’t recognize roamed the entryway to the castle. A mousy woman with blonde hair stood to the side with a pen and paper. She ran to Lucifer when he walked by. His eyes didn’t leave his path as he barked, “Get Evanora here now.”
The woman stumbled, and she blinked a couple of times. “Evanora?” she whispered back. I knew how she felt. Nobody liked dealing with Evanora, and I sure as hell didn’t want to see her.
