Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

priest? Damn, but she's brave."
     
    Then he shuddered, self-loathing crashing through him. "Of course, I should have been protecting her. And the rest of you, too."
     
    Ven put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, bro. We had no way of knowing the vamps were sheathing their blades in poison these days. That sword wound wouldn't have even slowed you down without it."
     
    Dragging his gaze away from Riley, Conlan looked at his brother. "And the rest of the Seven? Is anybody hurt?"
     
    "Come on, I'll show you while Riley sleeps for a while. Mostly nicks and bruises, nothing they wouldn't get in a good game of Tlachtli," he said.
     
    Conlan almost laughed. Trust Ven to compare a deadly battle to the ancient Atlantean game of court ball. Well, the Aztecs had sacrificed the losers when they'd played it, right?
     
    They headed back down the hallway toward the room Ven had turned into a games and TV room. "Denal got bashed pretty hard in the head. Luckily, his skull is damn near as thick as yours. Plus, he's got a big-ass case of 'I failed my liege lord' going on. You may want to say something."
     
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    Conlan clenched his jaw. "I'm a big boy. I don't care about me. But you—all of you—need to protect Riley for me."
     
    Ven's mouth dropped open, then he snapped it shut. "So. I'm gonna wanna know how this chick brought you to this state in—what?—a few hours!"
     
    Conlan blew out a breath as they rounded the corner. "Yeah. I'd like to know that, too."
     
    The six warriors lounging in the room came to various forms of attention when Conlan and Ven walked in. Justice, his ever-present sword sheathed on his back, leaned against the far wall against the Godzilla movie poster. He paused from studying the view outside the room's single window, flicked a mocking two-fingered salute Conlan's way, then turned to look outside again.
     
    Bastien and Christophe were doing battle on the air hockey table in the corner.
    Bastien's huge hand swallowed the mallet he used to strike the puck. They looked up at him, but didn't stop knocking the yellow disc back and forth across the table.
     
    Brennan muted the sound on the television, then slowly rose from the couch to stand.
    He gazed at Conlan, dispassionate as ever. Poseidon had cursed Brennan for a minor transgression involving a Roman senator's daughter by removing his emotions.
     
    Except maybe having no emotions wasn't a curse, but a blessing.
     
    Conlan wasn't entirely sure. Especially with his mind continually trying to reach out to Riley, who still lay unresponsive.
     
    Alexios ducked his head, a new habit. Then he defiantly raised it and shook his hair away from his face. The terrible scarring caught the glow of the lamps; the light shadowing twisted ridges and valleys of flesh.
     
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    Conlan remembered how Alexios, with his dark blue eyes and long mane of brown and gold hair, had always been forced to fight off the women. His eyes returned to the scarred left side of the warrior's face. Would a woman be repelled by it or drawn to the pain haunting his eyes?
     
    It wasn't a question Conlan would have thought to ask. Not before—not now—but for the awareness of Riley sheltered in his mind.
     
    Conlan met Alexios's gaze. "Never be ashamed of scars you earned defending me from Anubisa and her plague of vampire guards, my brother."
     
    Alexios made a sound, nearly a growl, low in his throat. "Scars earned failing to defend you, you mean, my lord. As we failed to protect you again, tonight."
     
    A small sound, abruptly cut off, swung Conlan's attention around to the far corner of the large room, where he saw Denal half sitting, half reclining against the back of another couch.
     
    "Denal, are you healed?" Conlan asked, striding over to talk to the youngest of his guard.
     
    Denal grimaced. "I am healed. Tired, but Healed. Except for my heart, my prince. My heart is desolate for having failed you."
     
    Placing his hand over his heart, Denal looked up at Conlan. "Please take my life now."
     
    Conlan blinked. "Do what!"
     
    Ven snorted, standing just to the right and behind Conlan. "He's read too many old scrolls. Plus, this is his first trip topside."
     
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    Ven dropped into an easy crouch beside the younger man. "Dude, you've got to haul your vocab into the twenty-first