Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

“Dr.
    McDermott?”
     
    She smiled through her tears, and in that instant Alexios knew why Justice had kidnapped this woman. Why he‟d follow her through all the nine hells to be by her side.
    She was fierce and beautiful and everything a man could ever desire.
     
    She reminded him of Grace.
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    “Don‟t you „Dr. McDermott‟ me, Denal. I may be a couple of hundred years younger than you, but I can still kick your butt,” she said, wiping her face on her sleeve. “Now let me help you up and we‟ll get you in a bath.”
     
    Fully alert now, Denal stared at Justice in total horror. “Oh, no. She can‟t—I can‟t—”
     
    Justice and Alexios shared a glance of complete understanding. “Oh, no worries. My woman is not giving you a bath,” Justice said, a wicked smile on his face. “Alexios and I will help you wash your baby-soft ass, youngling.”
     
    “I‟m not touching his ass,” Alexios pointed out.
     
    “Nor do I have any desire to cleanse that part of Denal‟s anatomy,” Brennan said.
    “Perhaps we should find the palace housekeeper. She did, after all, change his wet clouts upon occasion when he was an infant.”
     
    If anything, Denal looked even more horrified. “No! Not Neela! By the gods, I can bathe myself!”
     
    They all started laughing as Denal spluttered protests, but their laughter had a sharp edge to it. Simple joy and relief tempered with the residue of not-yet-vanquished terror.
     
    Denal was alive . But he almost hadn‟t been.
     
    A flash of something unfathomable crossed Denal‟s expression, and his face hardened.
    “Then Poseidon did not accept my sacrifice? I was unworthy?”
     
    “You are not unworthy, you fool,” Justice said, smacking Denal in the back of the head in a gentle imitation of the action he‟d done so many times during the youngling‟s Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
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    training. “Your sacrifice, noble though it was, was unnecessary. Riley and the child were out of danger before you—”
     
    “Before you took my daggers from their sheaths,” Alexios interrupted, his own smile fading. “I think we will need to come to terms over that, but that‟s for a later time. For now, get cleaned up and meet us in Conlan‟s chambers so we can meet our future prince. Maybe you can change some of his clouts.”
     
    This time, even Denal smiled. Only a little, and it quickly vanished, but it had been a true smile. That was something. It was a start.
     
    Alexios stood and bent to offer Denal his hand, but Denal shook his head, clenching his teeth, and slowly climbed to his feet. As Alexios knew from previous healings, the wounds may have been gone, but the pain from their infliction was very real and stayed around far longer than the healed wounds themselves if Alaric had been in the mood to teach a stubborn warrior a lesson.
     
    The Alaric who had healed Denal would have had no care for pain. Denal would feel the effects for a while. And, judging from the expression on his face, not only the physical effects.
     
    Keely put her hands on her hips and looked at the four Atlantean warriors surrounding her. “Can we go, already? I want to see that baby!”
     
    Alexios nodded. “As do we all.”
     
    As they headed back through the doorway he‟d entered only a short time—or was it a lifetime?—ago, Alexios offered yet another prayer to the sea god. This time a simpler one.
     
    A prayer of thanks.
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Chapter 5
    Atlantis, Prince Conlan and Lady Riley’s chambers
     
    Marie held open the door and ushered them in. “Please enter, my lord Justice, Brennan, Alexios, Keely. Be welcome and rejoice, for we have a healthy baby to present to you.”
     
    Alexios walked forward into the large, airy space filled with sunlight, laughter, and the fresh-garden scent of masses of flowers, clustered in vases all over the room.
    Christophe leaned against one wall, grinning, and Ven was twirling Lady Erin around and whooping with joy. Erin looked tired, though. The first human they‟d ever known to possess the lost art of gem singing, she channeled a great deal of energy when she used her Gift for healing.
     
    “Ven, put me down right now,” Erin said, laughing. “You‟re blocking their view.”
     
    Ven caught her in his arms and moved to the side, his face nearly split in two with an enormous grin. “Hey,