Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

this mark as testimony to our oath to serve Poseidon and protect humanity.”
     
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    “Is it something you can share?”
     
    He glanced at her, clearly startled. “Is what something I can share?”
     
    “The oath. I‟d like to hear it, if it‟s not too private.”
     
    He stopped, still holding her hand, and considered that for a minute. “You know, I‟ve never been asked that. I don‟t see any reason why I couldn‟t share it with you; we first swear the oath in front of our academy mates, trainers, and a wide audience of family and friends. Plus, of course, you know about Atlantis itself, which is a far greater secret than the words of an ancient oath.”
     
    She tilted her head and said nothing, waiting for him to decide, loath to push him but really, really wanting to hear it.
     
    He took a deep breath and, releasing her hand, stood at what she thought of as a kind of parade rest. “We will wait. And watch. And protect. And serve as first warning on the eve of humanity‟s destruction. Then, and only then, Atlantis will rise. For we are the Warriors of Poseidon, and the mark of the Trident we bear serves as witness to our sacred duty to safeguard mankind.”
     
    When he finished, it was as if the words hung, sacred and pure, in the salty sea air between them. Grace finally remembered to breathe, and she took his hand again.
    “Thank you. For sharing that with me, and for all of your years of living that promise.”
     
    He slowly shook his head. “Expect the unexpected,” he murmured. “You know, I think this is the first time any human has thanked me like that.”
     
    She smiled even as the chill raced down her neck at the words “any human.” Just when she felt closer to him than ever, he said something that highlighted the vast gulf between them.
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    Live in the present, she berated herself. You can worry later.
     
    Alexios couldn‟t believe he was blathering on about anything and everything, but the reward of Grace‟s lovely smile seemed to be a prize worth doing almost anything for.
    The sunlight on her hair made it glow, and as they walked along the beach, he could almost forget about war and battles and scheming vampire primators with evil plans. He could almost forget about the danger Grace would be in if he couldn‟t convince her to leave before that evening‟s meeting with the Fae.
     
    “There‟s something . . . I really need to know,” she ventured after they‟d been walking in silence for nearly ten minutes. “About your long lives and, well, you said the prince had married a human woman.” Her lovely cheeks turned pink. “What will happen when she ages and he doesn‟t?”
     
    He considered how much to tell her of what he knew and what was simply speculation, but finally decided that he wouldn‟t put barriers around trust. He either believed in her or he didn‟t, and the realization that he trusted her with his life itself forced him to stop and pull her into his arms, yet again.
     
    When he could finally manage to lift his head from her long, drugging kisses, he was so hard he wanted to throw her down right there on the sand and strip her bare.
     
    Her side. Hurting. Right.
     
    He laughed, and she raised an eyebrow at him.
     
    “Nothing. I just seem to revert to a sort of caveman, pre-language thinking style around you,” he said, smiling like a besotted fool.
     
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    Of course, he was starting to feel like a besotted fool, which meant that if an attack came at them now, he would be worthless. He deliberately put his hands under his jacket and on the hilts of his daggers and moved a step away from her and started walking, this time back in the direction of the car.
     
    “The aging thing?” she prompted.
     
    “Right. The aging thing.” He searched for the words. Decided on the simplest. “We don‟t know. The truth is that living in Atlantis causes the longevity, and it always has. In fact, it was part of the cause of the ancient jealousies and attempts to conquer the Seven Isles.
    Something in our drinking water, which all comes from magically sourced wells, is apparently the cause.”
     
    “Really? Like a real-life fountain of youth?” She looked skeptical, and he didn‟t exactly blame her. Magic wasn‟t easy to explain.
     
    “The elders, who now have to worry