by Lia Davis
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
Lia Davis
Divine Awakening
The Divinities, book 4
© copyright 2016-2017 Lia Davis
Published by After Glows
PO Box 224
Middleburg, Fl. 32050
Digital ISBN: 978-1-944060-20-6
Cover by ORIGINAL SYN
Formatting by AG Formatting
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Divine Awakening
A mother’s love is her greatest power.
Divinity witch, Desiree Sanders has made a lot of bad choices in her life, but trusting the demoness, Samoan should earn her the award for traitor of the millennium. After several failed attempts to set things right, Desiree turns to the dark, sexy Death Demon, Lex for help saving her son and ending the war.
There’s no darker place than the soul of a demon.
Divinity guardian, Alexander, AKA Lex, has hardened his heart and locked away emotions following the betrayal of his mate over three hundred years ago. Until he meets the quiet and beautiful Desiree, and the walls around his heart start to crumble. When she calls him for help, broken and scared, he can’t deny her, and the urge to claim her for his own becomes an overwhelming need.
Trapped in the Underworld as the war between witches and demons escalates, Lex and Desiree must face their pasts and their fears—and open their hearts—if they are to find a way out. Meanwhile, the Divinities in the natural world prepare for a battle that is no longer just dark versus light. If lost, it could mean the end of life as they know it.
Chapter One
“They’re here,” Lex said with a growl as he, Desiree, Zach, and Lydia crept along the dark corridors of Khan’s castle. The smell of sulfur and dirt tingled his nose. Even though Lex had a home in the Underworld, he didn’t spend much time there. Not since Khan had taken over, anyway. “The hounds are separated and masked with a spell.”
His keen sense of dark magic came from his Death Demon half and his connection to Hecate—Goddess of Witchcraft. Khan may believe he’d hidden Teddy-Bear, but not from everyone. The fool bastard.
Lex fisted his hands. It took every fiber of his being to hold onto his control. The hounds couldn’t survive spit apart for much longer. As Siamese twins, their magic and souls were linked. They were growing weaker by the moment.
Reaching out to mind link with the hounds, he found Teddy first in a room a few feet away. Then he heard the faint thump, thump of the hellhound’s heartbeat.
“He’s alive. Thank the goddess.” We’re coming, buddy.
A low growl from Lydia at his back told him she wasn’t pleased with the hounds being apart. “Do you know where they are?”
With a short nod, he advanced down a hallway in quick strides. He uncurled his magic, letting it flow wildly within and waited for an attack. Lydia, Zach, and Desiree followed, having to fall into a light jog to keep up with him.
“Things are too quiet.” Zach spoke in a hushed tone; concern and fear of what was ahead of them drifted from him. Dark, elfin magic rose within the male and reached out to Lex’s senses.
Yeah, things were too quiet.
Stopping a few feet down the hall, Lex stopped and faced them. He flicked a hard stare to the door they had stopped a few feet from. Cold, lethal power rose in his veins. The hounds were his family—what little he had left—and he’d be damned if Khan got away with harming them. “Teddy is in there. Zach and Lydia, you get him. Desiree and I will get Bear. We’ll meet at the Divinity House.”
The reason for not busting down the door and freeing Teddy was that Bear’s heartbeat sounded stronger. Teddy would need Lydia’s healing touch. Lex figured it’d be quicker to rush down the hall and collect Bear while Lydia healed Teddy.
When they reached the door, Lex didn’t bother to check the lock. He just plowed through the thick wood, tearing the thing off its hinges. The room was empty except for a large cage in the center with Bear standing in it, teeth bared.
The hound met Lex’s gaze and snarled, “The place is going to blow.”
“How long?” Lex snapped the lock on the cage with quick efficiency, not surprised that Khan had set the trap. One reason it was so quiet and they were able to get in without Regal guards coming down on them. Should have known.
“Not sure. Maybe two minutes or less.”
Fear gripped his heart and squeezed. They had to get out of there. He wouldn’t lose Desiree when he’d just found her.
Desiree moved to the opening and stuck her head out. Lex moved closer to her, too aware of her whirlwind of emotions: Anger, fear, and a desperate need to find her son. “Bear, go find your brother and get out of here.”
“What are you doing? There’s no time.” The hound paused once they’d exited into the hall.
“We’ll get out. Get Teddy, Zach, and Lydia out,” Lex barked, then grabbed Desiree’s hand and tugged her down the hall in the opposite direction that he’d sent Bear. A growl at his back was Bear’s final protest before the hound took off to find the others.
Desiree tensed up next to Lex but didn’t jerk her hand from his. In fact, she seemed to accept his touch with ease, like it helped soothe her anxiety. Good. He needed her touch just as much. Needed to know she was safe.
Her power was close to the surface, nipped at his own. He ignored it. “Can you sense Mathew?”
She trembled at the mention of her son’s name and shook her head. “For a moment, I thought I could. But he’s not here. At least, not anymore. We need to get out of here.”
She didn’t need to tell him twice. Focusing on his home, he teleported them. Materializing in his living room, he released Desiree’s hand and stalked to the bedroom, needing to put some distance between them. The female made him ache with need. The urge to take her in every way possible was almost overwhelming.
Fuck. He didn’t want a mate, yet he’d found one. The pull to Desiree was too strong. He wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her much longer.
Boom! The house shook from the blast of Khan’s castle. Closing his eyes, he searched for the connection he had with the hellhounds. Relief flooded him when he felt them, alive. They made it out.
Suddenly, a rush of power rippled across his skin, and he whirled around to meet Desiree’s stare. Standing in the doorway of his bedroom, wide-eyed she said, “All the portals just opened.”
“Hecate,” he called out.
She replied back telepathically. “I felt it, and I’m handling it. You have to find Khan and get the Dark Sinew from him. However, once I close the portals you’ll have to find another way to return Earthside.”
Then the goddess was gone, cutting the telepathic connection. He sighed. She’d have to use the power of three plus the Sinew to close all of the portals. As far as he knew, no one but the gods could cross from one realm to another once they were locked. But Hecate had said to find another
way out.
He had no idea how to do that.
Returning his attention to Desiree, he said, “Hecate will be closing the portals. We will be stuck here for a while.”
Stuck in Hell with a Death Demon without the earth her Divinity half craved... The magic in the Underworld was heavy and dark. She needed to get home.
Folding her arms, she glared at Lex while trying to tamp down the rush of desire his presence caused. “I hope you know of a way to get back home.”
He grunted and pushed past her as if ending the conversation.
Oh no, he doesn’t. She whirled around and followed him through the living room to the study across from his bedroom. “There is another way out, right?”
Another grunt was her answer.
She pursed her lips and studied him as he pulled several books from the shelves. “What are you looking for?”
“A way out.”
Well, didn’t that answer her questions? She rolled her eyes and left the room. Fine. If he weren’t going to talk to her, she’d search for her own way home. Pushing out the back door, she scowled at the gloom of the Underworld. The air held hints of rosemary and sulfur. Reminded her of Samoan’s scent, only not as sweet.
Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and called her Porter half to the surface, beseeching the lost souls she felt in every shadow of the Underworld to aid her in crossing to the natural realm. Instead of helping her, they attacked. Rushed around her, through her, raging like angry beams of light.
What the fuck? There were too many of them tearing at her. They called her a witch and thought she was responsible for trapping them there. Many even screamed in her mind. She curled into a ball on the ground, her arms wrapped protectively around her head.
Pain rocketed through her, and she screamed out as she blasted the spirits with everything she had stored up and hadn’t gotten to use at the castle. Instantly, they vanished.
Uncurling and pushing to her feet, she met the green eyes of a hellhound. He watched her with eyes much too humanlike. Then a shudder went through its body as it…shifted?
A moment later, Mathew stood in front of her. My son. Her heart lurched in her chest and tears filled her eyes. “Matty,” she breathed, making the kid narrow his eyes in curiosity.
“No one calls me that. Who are you?”
Chest tightening, she knew he wouldn’t remember her. Yet, she had to try. Tears filled her eyes. “I’m your mother.”
When she stepped forward, he backed up, shaking his head. “My mother’s dead.”
Anger rose up then. Samoan would die when Desiree found the bitch. “Samoan lied to you like she lied to me.”
Just then, darkness settled around them, making the gloomy realm almost lightless. The air grew heavier with black magic. It was as if something had changed the Underworld.
Matty looked at the sky and scowled. “It has begun.” Then he took off into the forest.
She charged after him but stopped short when Lex materialized in front of her. “We have bigger issues. This,”—he pointed to the black clouds swirling in the sky—“isn’t part of locking down the portals. Too much energy is building, and possibly leaking into the other realms.”
“What?” She stared at him.
“You said Khan was making a dark version of the Sinew.”
She nodded and then froze. Fuck. “He succeeded.”
“It seems so.” Lex scrubbed a hand through his long, black hair. “Hecate said we have to find it.”
It was her turn to scowl. “Our best bet for finding Khan just got away.”
Chapter Two
Lex watched Desiree storm back into the house and slam the door behind her. Why hadn’t she felt the curse moving in before she tried to jump realms? Working his jaw, he advanced toward the manor.
Confirmation that she hadn’t told him everything about her abilities settled in the front of his thoughts.
The moment he entered the house, a sinking feeling tightened his gut. It was too quiet. He moved his feet faster and came up short when he entered the living room. Desiree stumbled to the sofa and sat while holding her head. Heart falling to his feet, he rushed forward. Her skin was cool to the touch, but her pulse was steady even though she was low on energy. Most likely from fending off the revenant attack. He gathered her up in his arms and sat back on the couch.
After removing her shoes and quickly inspecting her for external injuries, he cradled her. “Rest.”
The lost souls had sucked the energy from her, most likely trying to use her as their gateway instead of working with her. It was the curse of the dark power.
She nodded but didn’t relax. Caressing her cheek with his fingertips, he sighed and allowed himself to feel compassion—something he hadn’t done since his first mate had betrayed him and his village.
From the moment he and Desiree briefly locked gazes at the Oceanway Coven after the attack, he’d known she was his to claim. He’d also smelled Samoan on her, which had made him push her away, not able to trust anyone working with the enemy.
When Desiree had called him for help and had explained that she was being blackmailed, he couldn’t deny her. She was his mate. The primal need to be with her, to protect her, overruled logic. However, it didn’t excuse the fact that she could have told someone…sought help to bring Samoan down.
“I don’t like it here.” Her whispered tone broke through his thoughts.
Placing a kiss on her forehead, he inhaled her floral scent. His mate. So beautiful and complicated. “I don’t like being trapped.”
His admission made her lift her head and gaze into his eyes. “I don’t like the dark. I sleep with some kind of light on.”
He smiled. She was more powerful than she believed and didn’t like the dark. “Tell me something else about you.”
One corner of her sensual lips dipped in a half frown, and she crinkled her nose. “Like what?”
“What’s your favorite color, foods, your passions in life?”
Again she frowned. “My favorite color is red, and I love pasta.” She cocked her head to the side as she studied him. A slow smiled formed. “I love life and helping others. And you are distracting me.”
“Is it working?”
“Maybe. What about you? What’s your passion?”
His body tensed. Really, he should have known his attempt to get her to relax would backfire on him. “Protecting my family.”
There was too much of an edge to his tone, and Desiree picked up on it. He saw it in her eyes. Twisting so she could straddle his lap, she cupped his face in her hands. Out of reflex, he gripped her hips. His cock filled and hardened.
She stared into his gaze for several moments before she spoke. “Tell me what happened. Who hurt your heart?”
“It was a long time ago.” To keep her from insisting on an answer, he kissed her.
She froze at first, then returned the kiss, meeting his tongue with hers. A groan escaped him, and he wrapped his arms around her, sinking his fingers into her waist-length hair and fisting the strands.
He tightened his hold on her, meshing their bodies together. Hunger like no other filled him. Desiree’s scent intoxicated him, made him crave more than he should. He broke the kiss and nipped at her jaw then trailed his tongue down her neck. A soft groan escaped from her, and her body melted into him. A silent approval.
His fangs—those he’d gotten from being a Death Demon—lowered. The steady thump, thump of her heartbeat called to him, but it was her scent that begged him to sink his fangs into her, to taste her.
Claim her.
Fuck. No.
He picked her up, moving her to the couch cushion beside him, and left the room, putting distance between them. Damnit. He was not impulsive. And he damn sure wasn’t going to take her blood and bind them together. Not yet.
He scowled as he entered the study, aware that she was on his heels. The more they were together, the more he wanted her. If
Jagger were there, the male would tease Lex and point out that he had feelings for the beautiful strawberry-blond.
Lex’s chest tightened. Jagger wasn’t there, and couldn’t come to him. No one outside the Underworld could help. A growl rumbled from his chest. There was only one person who could possibly help them now.
He so didn’t want to go there. Yet, he didn’t have a choice. Khan needed to be stopped. Especially since he now had a Dark Sinew with unpredictable powers.
“What’s wrong?” Desiree’s tone was soft, but he saw the disappointment in her eyes.
“We need to find Kahn and get the Dark Sinew before he uses it in whatever evil plot he has going.” Avoidance was good, right? He wasn’t ready to let Desiree know how much she affected him. Although, she may already know. He cursed again and gave her his back.
A few moments of silence passed, then he heard her footsteps fade off to the living room. He released a sigh.
Just then, a knock sounded on his door. Every hair stood at attention, and every muscle tensed. He didn’t have friends on this side. And no one would dare disturb him.
He flashed to the door and yanked the thing open. Ryn, the Lackey demon who’d helped Kristof and Angelica escape Demetrius’s cells stood on the other side. Only the demon wasn’t a Lackey anymore. Apparently, Hecate had upgraded his power. Plus, the male had bulked up in the few weeks since Samoan had used him as a whipping boy and tortured him for information.
Ryn held up his right arm, exposing Hecate’s wheel etched on the inside of his wrist. “I’ve been branded.” He frowned and glanced behind him as if sensing something. “Hecate sent me to this realm before she went to find Zach and Lydia. I wasn’t sure why until everything went on lockdown and I felt your presences.”
Uncertainty rolled off the male in waves. Lex stepped aside and said, “Come in.”
When Ryn stepped into the house, Lex closed the door behind him and led the demon to the study. “We need to find a way out. Hecate said to find the Dark Sinew. I’m not sure why or how, so I need to visit Xara.”
