Vampire in Atlantis

glee raced through her, and she leaned forward to allow him to place the cake in her mouth.
    I’m not in Atlantis anymore.
    She closed her lips around the fork and moaned with pure, hedonistic joy at the sugary explosion of taste in her mouth. Oh, by all the gods and goddesses, this was surely the most wonderful pastry she’d ever tasted. She opened her eyes to see that Daniel’s had gone dark and wild, and even she, with her limited knowledge of men, knew a moment of very feminine triumph.
    He wanted her. In that moment, no matter what else or who else entangled him, he wanted her .
    “If you make a noise like that again, Serai, I’m not responsible for what I do to you,” he murmured, his voice a rasp of steel over velvet, and suddenly parts of her body that had felt nothing for millennia warmed and tingled in an entirely fascinating way.
    As he slowly drew the fork back, she parted her lips to release it, and gained another small victory when he inhaled sharply. His face had gone hard and predatory, and she suddenly knew that had they been alone, he would have pounced on her. She wasn’t quite sure if she would have fled or pounced right back. Something about the way he was looking at her, as though she herself were a bit of sugary cake that he wanted to taste, made her think pounce.
    Definitely pounce.
    A wave of warmth started around the vicinity of her toes, heading north, and she enjoyed it far too much.
    “I hope you like the chicken,” one of the women guards said to her. “That’s my mama’s special recipe. I’m June, by the way.”
    Serai tried a bite of chicken and smiled at June, delighted simply to be awake; sitting, eating, and having an actual conversation. If only people knew how wondrous it was to do such ordinary things. “I like it very much. Please thank your mother for me and tell her it is wonderful.”
    A hint of sadness crossed the woman’s face. “Thank you, honey, but Mama is up in heaven with the angels. She got in the way of a vampire.”
    Daniel stopped eating and rested his fork on his plate, then respectfully nodded his head to June. “I am sorry for your loss.”
    Serai was impressed with the woman’s dignified demeanor. Not a hint of anger toward Daniel showed in her expression or manner.
    “I thank you for that, but you should know that I don’t blame you for what happened to my mama any more than I blame Jack for what happened to my uncle or, for that matter, blame Quinn for what humans have done wrong in the world,” June said with quiet dignity. “There’s just no accounting for evil and meanness, and we can’t judge a species by a few bad apples.”
    “You are truly wise, Lady June,” Serai said, handing her plate to Daniel and standing up to curtsy to the woman and give honor to those she had lost. “May the oceans of your ancestors bless and protect you and your family.”
    June wiped tears from her cheeks and enfolded Serai in a huge hug.
    “Oh, bless your heart, honey.” She patted Serai’s back and then let her go before pointing at Daniel. “You take care of this nice girl or you’ll be hearing from me, young man.”
    Daniel nodded gravely, although Serai saw a hint of a smile playing around his lips, probably at being called “young man” by this youngling who’d only lived a handful of decades. “I promise I will.”
    June bustled off, and Serai resumed her seat and her exploration of the fruit that was so like and yet unlike Atlantean blushberries. She held the large, ripe, red fruit up and raised an eyebrow.
    “Strawberry,” Daniel said. “How’s your stomach doing?”
    “So far, so good.” She took a bite of the strawberry, almost humming with happiness as the fruit’s sweet and tart taste exploded on her tongue. Just for a short while, sitting here and eating what was quite like a picnic back home, she could almost forget the danger she and the others faced. She could almost be an ordinary woman, not a freak conjured by magic and the dictates of an ancient society’s breeding program. Right at that moment, she thought she would be perfectly happy to never, ever step foot in Atlantis again.
    Naturally, that’s when the Atlantean warrior raced into the cave and, taking in the room at a glance, leapt across the floor toward Daniel, drawing a lethal-looking sword as he came.
    “If you hurt her, I will end you, vampire,” the warrior shouted.
    Faster than thought itself, Daniel was up and off the floor, blocking Serai from