Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

could respond to her teasing, the connection between them wavered. Ice shot through her veins.
     
    Conlan?
     
    I'm fine. Need to—need to focus. See you soon.
     
    And his mental barriers slammed shut, throwing her forcibly out of their emotional bond.
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 250 of 351
    Denal stood in front of her, fists clenched on the hilts of his daggers. "What is it?"
     
    "I don't know. I think it's nothing. I hope it's nothing." She sank down on the couch. "Now what do we do?"
     
    "We wait," he said, grim. "Though I should be fighting with the rest of the Seven to recover the Trident."
     
    He was so young. Young enough to be angry when left out of a battle and bloodshed.
     
    Or maybe it was the male in him, not the youth.
     
    She smiled, rueful. "I'm sorry you drew babysitting duty."
     
    It took him a beat. "What—oh, no. I am honored to serve and protect you, my lady. It is merely—"
     
    "Don't worry about it. If I had a couple of those daggers and knew how to use them, I'd want to be in on the action, too, I guess. At least helping to protect—"
     
    "The prince." Denal nodded. "It is true what the legends say of aknasha, then? That you can form the soul-meld so quickly?"
     
    "The what?" Riley felt her cheeks heating up that she was so easy to read but she was curious. "What's a soul-meld?"
     
    "It is said that when one who is aknasha truly loves, she will open to her beloved, so that he can travel inside the corridors of her heart and soul."
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 251 of 351
    "Very poetic," Brennan said, entering the room. "The disadvantage of this 'hiding in plain sight' that Ven prefers with his safe houses is that the neighbors are wary of one such as myself patrolling the night."
     
    "Drawing unwelcome attention here in suburbia, are you?" Riley asked, trying for a light tone. Denal's words had shaken her more than she wanted to admit.
     
    Truth had a way of doing that. One who truly loves.
     
    "Hard to be inconspicuous when you're six and a half feet of hottie, Brennan. Do they have some kind of gorgeous potion in the water in Atlantis?"
     
    She looked at the two of them, standing there all muscle and cheekbones in leather and a cascade of steel. Like they'd flashed in from some weird parallel universe where runway models wore weapons.
     
    Denal was shaking his head. "We do not live in water in Atlantis. The dome protects us."
     
    She blinked, then laughed so hard her sides ached, tried to explain when he got all huffy. "No, no, I'm not laughing at you, Denal. Only at myself. Dropped down the rabbit hole with Hot Models Gone Wild."
     
    That set her off again with the worst case of the stress giggles she'd ever had, and Denal shaking his head at her only made it worse. Even Brennan smiled, though it never reached his eyes.
     
    When she could catch her breath again, she wiped her eyes. "Okay. Sorry. Really.
    Sometimes it hits me like that. No doubt I'll be laughing on my deathbed. How about pizza? Two or three?"
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 252 of 351
    She studied them, upgraded her plans for the order. Distraction. That's what they needed. "No, five pizzas loaded with the works. And we can pop in one of these movies.
    Ven may have the finest collection of classics I've ever seen. Anybody for the original King Kong?"
     
    Conlan followed Alaric as they flew across town, bodies transformed into shimmering mist. Ven and the others followed in two of Ven's collection of cars. They'd discovered early on that modern weapons—indeed, any that didn't contain at least a trace of orichalcum—failed to be changed by the magic of the transformation process.
     
    Ven did love to have his toys with him. Man had more weapons than an armory.
     
    And they'd surely need them. Though five of Reisen's warriors were slain, they might still be outnumbered. The House of Mycenae might have brought many, many more to guard the stolen Trident.
     
    Why? He sent the thought to Alaric.
     
    He believed you dead. Wanted Atlantis to take what he considered its rightful place among the landwalkers. Grew impatient with the timid ways of the Council. Saw himself as king, no doubt.
     
    Conlan heard the underlying note. You believe as he does?
     
    Though he was no empath, he had no trouble reading the disgust in the priest's thoughts.
     
    If not now, when, Conlan? We are charged to protect mankind. Do we fulfill that vow