Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

"Alive? Came back? Where did I go?"
     
    "Beyond the doorway of death itself in order to heal my lady and our child," a new voice said.
     
    Erin whipped her head around, suddenly realizing that she was sitting on Ven's lap and they were not alone. Her face flushed as she scanned the small crowd gathered in the bright, open room. Some women in jade green robes lined the walls, and a group of men who were clearly warriors formed a semicircle behind the couple who stood in front of Ven and Erin.
     
    The man who had spoken knelt in front of her, while holding tightly to the red-haired woman's hand. "Riley," Erin said, remembering. "Are you okay? Is the baby…"
     
    The kneeling man looked up at her. He wore a simple but elegant white shirt and dark pants, and he bore a striking resemblance to Ven. This must be Ven's brother, Conlan.
    But his eyes didn't have the blue glowy thing in the center. Instead, they held more pain than Erin could bear to see. Pain and something else.
     
    Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
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    Possibly gratitude.
     
    "We're fine, Erin. We're both fine, because of you. I can never thank you enough," Riley said. It was true; her grayish, unhealthy pallor was gone and she actually glowed with health.
     
    "Anything," the man Erin assumed to be Conlan said. "Anything you desire from us, you shall have, up to and including a share of the royal treasury or lands and a title here in Atlantis."
     
    The warriors behind them—Erin recognized Alexios and Denal among them, but not the blue-haired one, Justice—all knelt as one and bowed their heads. "Our lives for you,"
    Denal shouted out, and Erin started to really get alarmed.
     
    "Okay, let me up, Ven. This is mortifying to be sitting in your lap," she whispered to him, struggling to sit up. Her strength was slowly returning, and she had the energy to stand, although she had to give Ven a serious glare to get him to release her.
     
    She knelt in front of Conlan and Riley. "Okay, I don't know anything about royal etiquette, but it seems like I should be the one kneeling or bowing or curtsying, except I don't really know how to curtsy, so will you please stand up?" she pleaded. "This is awfully difficult for me, and I have no idea what happened or, really, what it was I did to help Riley, so I'm feeling seriously at a loss."
     
    The man rose to stand and, taking her hand in his own, pulled her up to face him. "I am Conlan, high prince of Atlantis, soon to be king and ruler of the Seven Isles. I pledge my service to you in exchange for the gift of healing you have bestowed upon my family,"
    he declared, and the utter sincerity in his voice killed the tiny urge to smile that the words had prompted in Erin. It wasn't every day a girl had a high prince pledging anything to her.
     
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    She suddenly remembered that he wasn't the only prince in the room and shot a glance at Ven, her cheeks heating up all over again. Well. This was going to be complicated.
     
    She flashed a tentative smile at Riley, who had a hand protectively covering the tiny bulge in her abdomen. "I'm glad I helped. I'm not sure exactly what I did, but I'm glad I helped you and the baby."
     
    Riley covered the space between them in two strides and pulled Erin into a fierce hug.
    "Thank you, Erin. I don't even have the words…"
     
    As her voice trailed off, Riley pulled back from the hug, but didn't take her hands off of Erin's shoulders. Instead, she stared into Erin's eyes with her own dark blue gaze.
    Nothing swirly and glowy happened, like with Ven or Alaric, so Erin waited, cautious but unafraid. "Um, what?" she finally asked.
     
    "So much pain," Riley whispered. "No one to hug you or offer you comfort in so many years. Your family—your mother—oh, I am so very sorry, Erin."
     
    Erin jerked away from her, appalled that Riley was casually reading her most tortured memories like the front cover of some trashy tabloid magazine. "How dare you?" she snapped out. "You may be some kind of Atlantean royalty, but that doesn't give you the right to rummage around in my mind."
     
    Ven put his arms around Erin, and the heat of his body at her back offered some measure of comfort, until Riley's words popped back into her memory. No one to hug you. She stiffened and pulled away from him.
     
    Conlan started to speak, but Riley put a hand on his arm. "No, she's right. I'm truly sorry, Erin. I'm not