Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

moment, Alexios was sure that Alaric was going to attack. Bow or not, Grace could have no real defense against him. So Alexios moved a little until he was blocking the priest‟s view of her.
     
    “Here‟s the thing, Alaric. You are my friend, and I owe you a huge debt of gratitude that I will never, ever be able to repay,” he said, working hard to keep his voice calm and level. Trying to tame the savage beast that Alaric had somehow transformed into. “But I will not let you hurt my woman, so you‟re going to have to go through me to get to her.
    Do you really want to do that?”
     
    Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
    Page 271 of 314
    Alaric slowly, oh so slowly, turned, tilting his head as if he were hearing Alexios‟s words from a long, long distance away. “No. No, I do not want to kill you or your woman,” he finally said and, although the word “kill” was disturbing, Alexios kept his calm face on and nodded.
     
    “Okay, then. Grace, can you please put your bow down so we can all play nice? We need to figure out our plan for the Fae and Vonos, and there‟s not much need to discuss battle strategy if we‟re just going to kill each other and save them the bother.”
     
    Suddenly Alaric‟s face changed, contorting into a fierce grimace. “Injured. Bloody.”
     
    Alexios nodded. “Jack called us and told us about Quinn. I‟m so sorry. Is she okay?”
     
    Alaric shook his head, his matted hair flying. “No. Not Quinn. Grace. Need to heal her.
    Now.”
     
    Grace, who‟d been walking up to join them, stopped short and mutinously shook her head. “No way is he touching me,” she said quietly, clearly thinking that only Alexios could hear her.
     
    He could have told her not to bother.
     
    “Yes way,” Alaric said, with a strange, flat intonation. “Now.”
     
    Before Alexios or Grace could even move, Alaric leapt forward and caught her waist in his hands. Silvery blue light shot out from his fingertips and swirled around Grace like the bandages Alexios had wrapped her with, but far more helpful. Grace cried out, once, and then fell silent. Alexios tried to go to her but the healing light also served as a barrier and kept him away.
     
    Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
    Page 272 of 314
    It was over in seconds, and Alaric stumbled back from Grace and then ran to the edge of the roof and leapt off. “Back soon,” he called out, and then he turned to mist and was gone.
     
    Alexios jumped to Grace‟s side and lifted her up from where she‟d fallen on her ass on the ground. Her eyes held a curious mixture of fury and startled awe. “It doesn‟t even hurt anymore,” she whispered. She unzipped her jacket with trembling hands and then pulled the edge of her shirt up and yanked the bandaging down from her wound.
     
    From where her wound had been.
     
    Now only clear, pale, and unmarked skin showed where the shifter‟s claws had gouged her side. There wasn‟t even a trace of a scar.
     
    She turned her face up to his, eyes wide. “Why did he . . . I don‟t understand. But I can‟t believe he‟s a monster when he went out of his way to do this.”
     
    Alexios nodded, gently removing the bandaging. When he was done, she lowered her shirt and closed her jacket, shivering in the chill air of sunset. “Why?” she repeated.
     
    “Maybe penance,” Alexios answered.
     
    “Twenty minutes or so until we should leave for the meeting,” Grace reminded him, as if he needed to be reminded. “If he‟s not here by then, we‟ll have to leave without him.
    The last thing I need is for a Seelie Court prince to be angry with me.”
     
    “We‟ll give him as much time as we can,” Alexios said. “We don‟t want Poseidon‟s anointed priest angry with us, either.”
     
    Grace laughed, though the sound of it was shaky. “Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.”
    Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
    Page 273 of 314
    “Indeed,” Alaric said from behind them. “I would hesitate to ask which one you consider me to be.”
     
    He was cleaned up and dressed in pristine clothes, though Alexios didn‟t know how he‟d accomplished it in such a short span of time.
     
    “So now we go?” Alaric asked.
     
    Grace tightened her grip on her bow. “So now we go.”
     
    Alexios followed them down the stairs, saying nothing, realizing that there was absolutely nothing about this situation that he liked, and—worse—there wasn‟t a damn thing