The Darkest Lie. Gena Showalter

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      Praise for New York Times and USA Today

      bestselling author

      Gena Showalter’s

      LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD

      The Darkest Night

      “A fascinating premise, a sexy hero and non-stop action,

      The Darkest Night is Showalter at her finest, and a fabulous start to an imaginative new series.”

      —New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning

      “Dark and tormented doesn’t begin to describe

      these cursed warriors called the Lords of the Underworld.

      Showalter has created characters desperately

      fighting to retain a semblance of humanity, which

      means the heroines are in for a rough ride. This is

      darkly satisfying and passionately thrilling stuff.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews, 4 stars

      “Amazing! Stupendous! Extraordinary!

      Gena Showalter has done it again.

      The Darkest Night is the fabulous start of an edgy, thrilling series…”

      —Fallen Angels reviews

      “Not to be missed…the hottest new

      paranormal series.”

       —Night Owl Romance

      The Darkest Kiss

      “In this new chapter the Lords of the Underworld

      engage in a deadly dance. Anya is a fascinating blend

      of spunk, arrogance and vulnerability – a perfect

      match for the tormented Lucien.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews, 4½ stars

      “Talk about one dark read…If there is one book

      you must read this year, pick up The Darkest Kiss… a Gena Showalter book is the best of the best.”

       —Romance Junkies

      The Darkest Pleasure

      “Showalter’s darkly dangerous Lords of the

      Underworld trilogy, with its tortured characters,

      comes to a very satisfactory conclusion…[her]

      compelling universe contains the possibility

      of more stories to be told.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews, 4 stars

      “Of all the books in this series, this is the most

      moving and compelling. The concluding chapters

      will simply stun you with the drama of them…You

      will not be sorry if you add this to your collection.”

       —Mists and Stars

      The Darkest Whisper

      “If you like your paranormal dark and passionately

      flavoured, this is the series for you.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews, 4 stars

      Lords of the Underworld

      In a remote fortress in Budapest, six immortal

      warriors–each more dangerously seductive than

      the last–are bound by an ancient curse none has

      been able to break. When a powerful enemy returns,

      they will travel the world in search of a sacred relic

      of the gods–one that threatens to destroy them all.

       Gena Showalter’s

       paranormal series

      LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD

       continues with

      THE DARKEST LIE

       Also available in this series

      THE DARKEST NIGHT

      THE DARKEST KISS

      THE DARKEST PLEASURE

      THE DARKEST WHISPER

      DARK BEGINNINGS

      THE DARKEST PASSION

      The

      Darkest

      Lie

      Gena Showalter

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

      New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter has been praised for her “sizzling page-turners” and “utterly spellbinding stories”. She is the author of more than seventeen novels and anthologies, including breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting-edge young adult novels and stunning urban fantasy. Readers can’t get enough of her trademark wit and singular imagination.

      To learn more about Gena and her books, please visit www.genashowalter.com and www.genashowalter blogspot.com.

      In honour of the keeper of Lies, I thought I’d write

      this dedication in Gideon Speak.

      To someone who didn’t (and doesn’t) help me

      every step of the way: Margo Lipschultz

      To the five men I absolutely despise:

      Jill Monroe, Kresley Cole and PC Cast

      To my hated wife: Max

      And firstly, to Gideon herself. To my complete

      delight, you made my job so easy, the words flowing

      like smooth, rich wine. You never once proved

      stubborn, drove me to the edge of insanity or put

      yourself in impossible positions that I then had to

      scramble to find ways out of. Thank you.

      Prologue

      GIDEON STARED down at the woman sleeping atop the bed of cloud-soft cerulean cotton.

      His wife.

      Maybe.

      Inky hair tangled around an innately sensual face, long lashes casting shadows over graceful cheeks. One of her hands rested at her temple, her fingers curling inward, her azure-painted nails gleaming in the golden glow of the lamp. Her nose was perfect in shape and size, her chin stubborn, and her lips the plumpest—and reddest—he’d ever seen.

      And her body…gods. Perhaps those made-for-sin curves were the reason she bore the name Scarlet. Her wickedly rounded breasts…the slender dip of her waist…the feminine flare of her hips…the lean length of her legs…every part of her was meant to lure, to ensnare.

      Without a doubt, she was the most hauntingly lovely female he’d ever beheld. A genuine sleeping beauty. Only, this beauty would come up swinging if he tried to kiss her awake.

      The thought