Vampire in Atlantis

somebody needed to lighten the mood,” Keely said, unrepentant. “You aren’t doing anybody any good feeling sorry for yourself.”
    “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Lord Justice. You are losing your sense of tact,” Marie, the head of the temple devoted to childbirth, said gently. Marie, the only native Atlantean of the four of them, was a classical beauty like Serai, and wore her dark hair up in its usual intricate braid. “Shouldn’t you be with him, after he was caught in that spell?”
    “He’s fine. Just sleeping off the after-effects and bad mood. Speaking of men, though, how’s your kitty cat doing?” Keely replied. “Still smoking hot?”
    Marie’s mouth fell open, and Erin laughed out loud. Marie was very much in love with the alpha of a panther pride in the southeast United States. Unfortunately, their respective duties didn’t allow them very much time together. Riley hoped they could work something out soon. Marie too often looked tired and sad these days.
    “Perhaps we could remember why we’re here,” Riley admonished them. “One of us can surely figure out something. Erin, with your magic and Marie’s healing, isn’t there something—”
    “We have tried, Princess,” Marie said. “You know that.”
    “Tried and tried, and tried some more,” Erin added. “My gem-singing magic is growing stronger every day, but the Emperor doesn’t respond to it, the maidens don’t respond to it—it’s useless. I’m useless.”
    Marie chided her. “You are far from useless. Just this morning you saved that woman’s baby, and we’d thought he was far too sick to live.”
    Erin shrugged. “Sometimes I get lucky. So much of this is a wish and a prayer, after all.”
    “We’ve all been praying for them,” Riley said. “The maidens. Why do we call them that? They have names. Serai is gone. Delia is dead. Merlina, Helena, Brandacea, and Guen remain. We have to save them. We have to. ”
    Keely touched the crystal over Brandacea’s face. “She looks worse,” she said grimly. “I don’t know how much longer they can take this.”
    Horace approached them and bowed to Riley. “Princess, I wondered if you will be here for very long. My attendants haven’t had any rest or food in quite a while, and—”
    “Of course, please send them out. You, too, Horace. And call me Riley, please.”
    “Thank you, Princess,” Horace said, bowing again. “I’ll remain here. I’ve eaten and am rested enough.”
    She studied his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes. “I doubt it, but I understand. I don’t want to leave them, either.”
    “I wondered—” He broke off and bowed again. It seemed to be a nervous habit.
    “Wondered what?” Keely said. “If you have an idea, now would be a great time to quit bowing and tell us.”
    Horace shot her an unhappy look before turning toward Riley. “I would like to try to release one of them. We are accomplishing nothing by trying to shore up the Emperor’s fluctuating magic. Serai clearly survived leaving stasis. What if—”
    “What if we could save them by taking them out of the pods? Let’s do it,” Erin said. Her eyes lit up as she surveyed the four remaining women in their crystal pods. “We have to at least try with one, Riley.”
    It didn’t take Riley long to decide, since she’d been thinking along exactly those lines for a couple of days by then.
    “Yes. Yes, let’s do it. Who is having the hardest time now?”
    Horace turned pale, as he realized that she’d agreed to his idea. “I don’t—I shouldn’t—”
    Keely put her hands on her hips. “Spit it out, Horace. Which one is closest to being lost if we don’t rescue her now?”
    He gulped and then pointed to Brandacea. “She is so weak; her life force is barely flickering now.”
    Erin nodded. “It’s true. I can feel it, too. If we’re going to do this, we should try with her first. She’s in the most danger if we do nothing.”
    “Should we call the high prince?” Horace asked. “This decision is—”
    “The decision is mine,” Riley said firmly. “Conlan is finally catching a nap after being out all night searching for the Emperor and spending all morning setting up his plans for going back with a contingent of warriors to find Serai, Daniel, and the Emperor.”
    “What do we do?” Marie asked.
    “It’s deceptively simple, actually,” Horace said. “We just open the lid.”
    Riley and Erin exchanged a glance. “Why