by Olivia Ash
Copyrighted Material
Copyright © 2018 by Olivia Ash.
Cover and art copyright © 2018 by Amalia Chitulescu
Book design and layout copyright © 2018 by Olivia Ash.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from S. M. Boyce, L. L. C.
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1st Edition
Books by Olivia Ash
Nighthelm Academy
City of the Sleeping Gods
City of Fractured Souls
City of the Enchanted Queen
Demon Queen Saga
Princes of the Underworld
Wars of the Underworld
Mistress of the Underworld
Sentinel Saga
By Dahlia Leigh and Olivia Ash
The Shadow Shifter
The Demon Prince
The Rogue Alchemist
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Wars of the Underworld
Book Two of the Demon Queen Saga
Olivia Ash
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
You’re Missing Out..
About the Author
Chapter One
Sadie
Sadie looked out over her land from Steele’s balcony while sipping champagne and wistfully smiling to herself. For the first time since arriving in Bitterthorn, she was happy and at peace.
She could never get enough of the endless arrays of trees and shrubs that covered a land she would have once thought barren. It truly was like her own little paradise.
The way this place mirrored the world above never ceased to amaze her. Especially the trillions of tiny, colorful crystals that glowed depending on the time of day. It was easy to confuse the sunset of her world in comparison to the one above, as there wasn’t actually a sun in the underworld. And the one here in the underworld was so much better. The colors were much more vivid and deeper, brighter.
The magic was constantly enchanting. Everything thrummed with it—with her—and she even felt her connection with the fortress growing stronger as each day passed.
As she took in all the hills, trees, cliffs, and beautiful, star-like crystals that coated the ceiling of the underworld, she thought about all of the things she had gained in such a short amount of time.
And it’s all mine!
For starters, she was powerful beyond her wildest dreams. She was loved by four amazing demon princes. And she was queen.
Swords clanging against each other echoed to her, drawing her attention to Mordecai and Kaiser sparring in the courtyard below. They moved wickedly fast, almost turning into a blur Sadie could barely keep up with. It seemed they were equally matched against each other as Mordecai shifted to shadow and Kaiser somehow predicted where Mordecai would shift back. They tumbled to the ground, wrestling and laughing. Some of the laughter bubbled up to where Sadie stood, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
Damien, she was sure, was off doing his own thing while Steele still slept in bed.
She glanced over her shoulder at his exposed chest and the sheet that barely covered his groin. Her heart swelled, and she sighed in bliss.
The peaceful moment was only a break between wars. Sadie knew that deep down. So, she absorbed every ounce of tranquility she could get in the time she could.
It had been about a month since Zagan, the demon king, stood right inside her front gate and demanded that she ally with him. He also threatened war if she chose any of his sons.
Well, she chose all four. That decision would do very little in the way of pleasing the princes’ father, which would bring his promised conflict.
With her magic and her fortress, Sadie felt capable to fight whatever war he would bring to her, especially with her men at her side. But first things first—she needed to amass an army of her own beyond her fiery ifrits. Too many of them had been sacrificed to war as it was, and she didn’t want to lose anymore than that. The last group of ifrits Hobson had sent out never returned, leaving Sadie to assume the worst.
Two groups killed by Mara.
At least the demoness wasn’t a problem anymore.
A shadow darted across the horizon, zig-zagging through the shrubbery, inching ever closer to the fortress but never coming quite close. There had been a lot of those things over the past few days edging nearer to her land. She wondered what sort of creature it was. She knew better than to think it wasn’t a scout, likely working for that wretched demon king. That would be the type of move Zagan would make. A tactic to gauge how powerful she was becoming.
And that reminded her, with little to no time left, Zagan would come knocking down her door again. Though Sadie hoped her decision wouldn’t lead to a war with Zagan, she knew, deep down in her being, the demon king would show up. Likely in another show of force, he would try to destroy everything she had built. She just needed to defeat him before it came to that. That shadowy creature only signaled a means to an end. A reason to train harder, gain more allies, and further cement her claim to her throne.
But how do you defeat an immortal demon king, and one as powerful as Zagan?
Sadie was only a human from the world above. A place where most people didn’t believe demons,
let alone demon kings, existed. Had she not have been given the amulet by Blair, her sister, she would probably still be working long days as a trained paramedic, living alone, and having not much of a social life to speak of. Now, she was queen of a land far more majestic than she could have ever dreamt. If it weren’t for Hobson, Damien, Kaiser, Steele, and Mordecai, she wouldn’t have had a clue on what it meant to be queen, much less how to kill a demon king.
She knew she should talk to them about the upcoming war, especially with Zagan’s own sons, but she needed to first think about defenses.
Sadie went to her room and crossed the floor to her own balcony. She stared at the gates in front of her fortress. She scanned the shadows, looking for anything that would suggest weaknesses as she wondered what could be done to refortify her fortress’s defenses.
As queen, it was her duty to protect what’s hers, and she would do whatever it took to do so.
She became lost in thought. And the ideas that ran through her mind created a churning, chaotic mess of emotions. The small of her back warmed. She felt eyes on her.
Turning, she found all four men staring at her expectantly.
“Are you all right?” Kaiser asked. His eyebrows had knitted themselves together.
Sadie propped a hand on her hip.
What is so hard about ‘stay out of my room?’ I need privacy. I need time alone!
Taking in a deep breath, she had to appreciate that they always somehow knew when she was in a bad mood.
Oh, my stupid, incessant, ridiculously adorable men.
Their continuous need to interrupt her privacy was likely never going to end. Even though she still demanded her alone time, and they continuously ignored the rule about not barging into her chamber, she couldn’t stay mad at them. Perhaps she should accept the inevitable.
She didn’t yet, though. Privacy was important to her, and she needed time to be alone and to think. She couldn’t very well do that with one of the princes constantly looking over her shoulder.
Regardless, she let go of wanting to berate them for their antics and smiled at them.
“I’m fine. I was just thinking.” She narrowed her eyes on them. “How do you always seem to know when something is troubling me? You show up at just the right moments.”
The men exchanged glances, shifting their weight from one foot to the next.
Kaiser said, “Never mind about that. What was troubling you?”
She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out through pursed lips. “I was thinking of the fortifications that surround this fortress. I wonder what is in place, other than vines, to keep unwanted guests out.”
The men stared in varying degrees of apprehension at her.
Kaiser said, “I don’t think that’s it.”
“Well, you’ll have to deal with that. We need to fortify the barrier. The last time it was attacked, too many enemies filtered through. If your father were to show up with a heavy force, the barrier wouldn’t stand a chance. Vines won’t be enough to stop him and his army from entering the fortress.”
Steele yawned and scratched his head. “What happened to relaxing? Or are you always all work and no play?”
Sadie shook her head. “There is a time and place for relaxing. I just happened to have thought about your father coming soon, and I want to be prepared.”
Reaching into her connection with the fortress, she summoned Hobson. And like clockwork, the gargoyle appeared within a few seconds, ready and willing to do her bidding. She quickly thought of giving him a vacation but dismissed it for the moment. She had a job for him.
“Please check the barrier for weak spots and do what you can to reinforce them. I don’t want any vulnerable areas that could get exploited.”
He nodded. “Of course, Sadie. I don’t sense any weak areas, but it could be worth pursuing closer if it would please and reassure her Majesty.”
“Better to be safe than sorry.” She paused and added, “Can you come up with a way to add additional reinforcements to the barrier? At this rate, we’ll need several layers of protection around the fortress.”
Sadie had yet to fight Zagan, or any demon king for that matter, but she sure as hell knew it would take a lot of fire power and protective barriers to repel him.
“I will see what I can do,” Hobson said.
She turned to her men and said, “I would appreciate your help in doing the same. It’s important we remain protected against further surprise attacks and prevent any more breaches onto my land.”
Each of them nodded, saying they would do so following dinner.
“Which will be ready in about an hour,” Hobson said. “Will there be anything else, my queen?”
“No, thank you.”
He nodded, and everyone followed him out the door to the dining hall.
Once Sadie slipped out of the door, she pulled Mordecai by the arm to stop him. He settled his gaze on her and a crease formed between his eyebrows.
“Maybe you could do something for me beyond reinforcing the barrier. I need you to make sure no one else can get into the fortress the same way you had.”
The memory of how they met floated through her mind, and she smiled. Once she got to know him a little more, he showed her his shadow form and demonstrated his ability to infiltrate even her own fortress’s defenses.
A wicked smile stretched his lips and he nodded. “Anything, for you.” He kissed her once then rejoined his brothers.
Satisfied for at least a plan to amp the defenses of her home, she continued to the dining hall, ready for dinner.
Chapter Two
Sadie
The laughter was contagious. Sadie and her men enjoyed an extravagant dinner with foods she had only dreamt of. Being queen certainly had its perks, and lavish food was one of them. The spreads looked expensive and were colorful. Sadie could only guess what they were, but each of the servings she had were so full of flavor, she couldn’t get enough.
She watched as the brothers teased and poked fun at each other.
“Mordecai, you’ve gotten soft in your time here. I was never able to catch you like I did earlier this morning,” Kaiser said before letting out a chuckle.
Mordecai smirked and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “I still spanked you with my shadow sword.”
Kaiser stopped laughing. “It still hurts, you know.”
Steele’s eyes lit up in response to the story of the sparring match that occurred while he slept. “I must say, I’m rather disappointed I missed out on the fun. I imagine it would’ve been better two against one.”
Sadie asked, “Is that a challenge, Steele? Are you sure you can handle both of them at once?”
Steele smiled, smug and self-assured. “I, my dear, can handle much, much more.”
“There he goes, switching the topic to something sex related,” Damien said. “Do you guys remember when he first came into his power?” He shook his head, waving his hand in front of him as he choked back a fit of laughter. “The servants wouldn’t go near him for months!”
The demon princes erupted in a fit of laughter. Sadie giggled as she imagined a newly maturing Steele coping with his sexual desires. Horn dog didn’t seem like a term that would fit.
Kaiser said between bouts of laughter, “He humped everything in sight.” He gasped for air and tried to form words between his spurts of hilarity. Eventually, he gave up, wiping a tear that had fallen down his cheek.
“I seem to recall you being a bit slow on the maturation as far as demons go, Kaiser,” Steele said, dark and lethal. “Shall we share in those embarrassments?”
He snorted. “What embarrassments?”
“What about that time when you had your first kill?” Mordecai offered.
All the brothers lost control of themselves again.
Sadie sipped on her champagne, really loving the way the men were getting along. Though she adored spending time with her men individually, she felt like she had a true family when they spent time together.
“I’ve seen you all do some pretty ridiculous things,” Damien said, twirling a knife in his hand with a foot propped up in his chair. His other arm was draped over his knee. His deep blue eyes settled on Sadie’s for a moment, setting her body on fire.
Mordecai sat up in his chair, leaning over the table with his fingers folded together as he said, “Oh yeah? Curious, brother, pray tell.”
She finished the last of her dinner and downed the final drop of champagne before standing. All the laughter stopped. Everyone turned their attention toward her.
Okay, so there are things I still need to get used to.
She cleared her throat. “I’m going to train. Feel free to continue having your fun, but please don’t forget your promise to check the barrier.” Her gaze met Mordecai’s, a silent reminder to explore the castle grounds in smoke form—and to make sure he was the only one who could.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Kaiser said and stood.
Steele rose to his feet as well, approaching her and leaving a kiss on her hand. “Won’t you stay a while longer, Captain? Or are you truly all work and no play?” He winked.
