Heart Of Atlantis

damaged to open, but then the top and sides unfolded like the petals of a giant crystalline flower, and Atlantis showed her face to the world.
    And the world was there to greet them. Conlan shot up into the air in mist shape and viewed the sea in all directions, and he realized there were hundreds of ships, helicopters, and airplanes, and even a hang glider carrying a homemade banner that said WELCOME TO THE WORLD, ATLANTIS on it in bright blue letters.
    Conlan floated back down to report, and his people started cheering again, as the first helicopters flew overhead and called down on loudspeakers for permission to land and greet them.
    “We made it,” Riley said, holding Aidan tight.
    “We did,” Conlan agreed, putting his arms around them both. “Are you ready to go be High Princess Riley for a little while?”
    “Let me get my glass slippers,” she said, and together they walked forward to face the future.

Chapter 31
    Quinn walked around for hours, exploring Atlantis, enjoying the celebratory spirit of the people, and loving the feel of the ocean breeze on her face and the dispersal of her slight feeling of claustrophobia. Alaric was busy; Riley was busy; everyone had tasks to do and people to meet, except for her, and she was perfectly fine with that. She needed time to process what had happened with her life and her career.
    She also needed time to absorb the fact that she was now soul-melded to a magical Atlantean high priest—who was definitely a wizard in bed. Her cheeks heated up at the thought, and she deliberately ignored the slight soreness between her legs. After so many years of famine, she and Alaric had definitely had a feast, and she was feeling the aftereffects a little. Mostly, though, she just wandered around, smiling blissfully like a schoolgirl with her first crush, which was not only uncharacteristic for her, but also kind of embarrassing.
    The day was sunny and clear—perfect weather for a lost continent to suddenly reappear. Quinn continued to walk, in no particular direction, content simply to observe. The Atlanteans were so delighted to be free of their long captivity under the waves that everywhere she looked, people were laughing and hugging and, in a few memorable cases, breaking into song. Everything was absolutely wonderful, and Quinn felt a little like singing herself, which made her laugh.
    A cold breeze swept over her, chilling her flesh and carrying a dark sensation of impending danger that only an emotional empath should have been able to sense, but as she watched, the people nearest her shuddered and drew closer to one another, looking around themselves in mild alarm.
    The first pings of unease snaked down her spine, and she opened her emotional shields to see what she could pick up. At first it was only the expected—the ordinary. People were excited and curious about the outside world. Most of them had already brushed off that ill wind as an unaccountably cold ocean breeze, which, after all, most of them had never felt in their lifetimes.
    Sure. That
must
be all it had been. Except . . .
no
.
    Quinn had seen far too much to discount her instincts at this stage of the game. Her skin kept trying to crawl off her arms, and her fingers were itching to go for the guns she wasn’t carrying. Her muscles tensed involuntarily, steeling for a blow, and she was suddenly absolutely, one thousand percent sure that something—somewhere very near—was preparing to go spectacularly wrong.
    Alaric. We have a serious problem.
    She broadcast the message as loudly as she could, in the same manner as she’d called to him before, and she counted on the powerful connection the soul-meld had forged between them to carry it to him.
    What is it?
    Not a single word of question or doubt; she could feel his belief in her, and his confidence bolstered her own.
    I don’t know, but it’s bad. Could it be Anubisa? Can she travel here in daylight?
    I do not think so, but we have never known the full extent of her powers. Let me finish this and find you.
    He left her with an impression of a meeting with Conlan, Riley, and a roomful of dignitaries and ambassador types, but also with the sure knowledge that he was on his way to her.
    The chill wind brushed by her again, carrying its haunting message of dread and despair, and she knew it couldn’t be fast enough.
    It took them quite a while to pass through the crowds on the way to each other, even though she could feel his exact location in her