Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

about these things for the first time in millennia, are predicting that human life spans will extend to several times normal and continue to expand as long as the humans reside in Atlantis,” he said, shrugging. “The histories bear out that at least some of this is true, but a great deal of it is a leap of faith on Riley‟s part, and of course Erin and Keely, now.”
     
    “Keely?”
     
    He smiled and described some of the interesting pairings that had occurred over the course of the past year, after more than eleven thousand years of belief that Atlantean-human mating was forbidden.
     
    “Poseidon gave his blessing,” he concluded. “Told Riley she‟d make a great mother for the heir, so it was hard for anybody to argue with that, although I guess there are factions that would like to try.”
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    Grace nodded. “Some people hate change, especially to sacred traditions. When the Catholic Church decided to stop saying Mass in Latin, you would have thought that Satan had woken up and decided to eat the pope for breakfast, according to my aunt.”
     
    “I don‟t know very much about your Christian faith, although I am willing to learn, if you would agree to learn about my beliefs,” he said, his steps slowing as he realized the enormity of what he was proposing.
     
    Apparently she realized it, too. She slowed to a stop and turned to face him, her lovely dark eyes huge. “I would be honored to learn about your beliefs, Alexios. But that‟s a pretty large leap of faith. I have to tell you that the idea of growing old and frail and . . .
    and wrinkled . . . while you stay like this ”—she waved a hand at him—“well, it‟s pretty tough for me to wrap my mind around.”
     
    Then she bit her lip and turned away from him. “Not that you asked me to grow old, or not old, with you anyway. Just, you know, hypothetically.”
     
    “Hypothetically,” he repeated, drawing her into his arms until she stood with her back pressed to his chest, both of them facing the ocean. It would be easier not to see her face if she refused. “Hypothetically I would like to ask you to grow old or not old with me for the rest of my life.”
     
    She gasped but he didn‟t allow her to speak before he continued. “However, not so hypothetically, all my caveman brain can think and feel around you is „mine, mine, mine.‟ So it is possible that I‟m never going to let you escape, whatever your answer.”
     
    She said nothing, just leaned against him, silent, for nearly an eternity. Finally, she spoke, and her words, though typical Grace, blunt and lacking in poetry, were like bells in his ears. “I wasn‟t going anywhere for the next century or so, anyway.”
     
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    He had no choice, then. He had to kiss her again. Which he proceeded to do, thoroughly, until the evil contraption in her pocket started its buzzing noise again.
     
    Grace smiled up at him, her lips swollen from his kisses, as she answered the phone.
    As she listened, the smile faded from her face, and her expression darkened. When she finally closed the phone, he already knew it was bad.
     
    “That was Jack. They were caught in a trap. Prevacek set it. Quinn got hurt, and it was bad. Alaric arrived just after Quinn went down, and he pretty much went completely insane, killing everyone in sight, including a couple of civilians who just happened to be out in the swamp trying to poach gators, evidently. Jack said it was worse than anything he‟s ever seen,” she said, her voice grim. “Alexios, Alaric nearly killed Jack, too.”

Chapter 26
    Back at the fort, late afternoon
     
    Grace pushed the uneaten sandwich away from her, too sick with worry and dread to eat. Alaric was due to return any minute, if he still planned to come at all. Alexios had assured her that Alaric would be there to assist in the meeting with the Fae, but the Alaric that he knew and the Alaric Jack had told Grace about could almost have been two different men. Whatever was going on between him and Quinn, or whatever else the cause might be, Alaric had turned from a somewhat scary ally to a potential enemy.
     
    Jack had said that Alaric had healed Quinn and then Jack, and Alaric had been apologetic about injuring the tiger shifter, but it sounded like a matter of “too little, too late” to Grace.
     
    Alexios had refused to allow her to tell Tiny any of