Warriors of Poseidon 06 - Atlantis Betrayed

bit of eager puppy in him.
    Their names even sounded similar. Except, this one was different. Older than he looked. There was a weariness in his eyes that matched the way Christophe’s eyes looked when he didn’t realize anyone was watching him.
    She stepped forward. In for a penny, in for a pound. “I’m Fiona. Welcome to my home. This is Hopkins and my brother Declan. Thank you for your company, but I do hope that it won’t come to giving anyone’s life.”
    He bowed again, but as he straightened, his dark blue eyes widened until they seemed to take up half his face. “You’re the princess? You’re beautiful,” he blurted out.
    Yes. Just like Declan. She managed not to smile. “No, I’m not a princess. Christophe likes to tease me, that’s all. Thank you for the lovely compliment, though.”
    She turned to Christophe, who was scowling at Denal. “We should be going.”
    “Ready when you are.”
    “Sean is pulling the car around to the front so you don’t have to go through the garage in your gown,”
    Hopkins said.
    “Thank you.”
    “I’ll have her home early,” Christophe told Hopkins.
    Atlantis Betrayed – Warriors of Poseidon 06
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    “No. You won’t,” she said.
    “Discuss it in the car, Lady Fiona,” Hopkins said, herding them toward the door. “Fashionably late is one thing with these charity functions, horrifically late is another.”
    “Christophe is nothing if not fashionable,” Denal called, stifling laughter.
    Declan grinned and punched Denal in the shoulder. “So, do you like pizza?”
    “I have a feeling those two are going to get along famously,” Fiona murmured to Christophe.
    “Yep. You’d never know from the look of him that Denal has hundreds of vamp kills to his name, would you?”
    Her smile faltered, and she swung around. “Hopkins, you’re in charge.”
    Hopkins nodded. “Of course. I’ll just clean the shotguns, shall I?”
    Message received, in other words. There was trust, and then there was “trust with her baby brother.”
    Two very different things, especially from men who could so easily talk about killing vampires. The knot in her chest loosened and she put her hand on Christophe’s arm. “Let’s do this, then. Try not to offend anyone, that’s all I ask. I have to associate with these people.”
    Christophe grinned down at her. “When have I ever been offensive? Oh, by the way, this is for you.” He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out an object the size of a golf ball, which he tossed her way.
    She caught it and then opened her hand and stared at a large rock. “Lovely. I’ve always wanted a—oh, for the love of Saint George, that’s an uncut diamond.”
    Her knees wobbled and she had to lean against him for support. “That—that—it must be—”
    “One hundred carats, give or take,” Christophe said. “It should be ample to pay for your share of the Siren, don’t you think?”
    Hopkins crossed the room in three paces and lifted the stone from her hand. “That’s ridiculous. It must be a fake.” He examined it, holding it up to the light, turning it this way and that. “But it doesn’t look—This can’t be.”
    Fiona nodded, still staring at Christophe and then back at the jewel. “Trust me. I know jewels. Examine it, but I’m fairly certain that’s an actual diamond.”
    “Should be excellent quality, too, but feel free to check it out for yourself,” Christophe said. “Should we go?”
    Fiona slowly turned to look at Denal. “Does he always do this? Give away fantastically valuable gems?”
    Denal was watching Christophe, too. He slowly shook his head. “Never, as far as I know. Never took anybody to a ball, either, though, so what do I know? Next thing I know, we’ll all wake up down Alice’s rabbit hole.”
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    “You’re worried about rabbit holes, when you’re from Atlantis?” Declan started laughing. “I think we’re all in Wonderland. I also think we need a great huge pizza or two.”
    “At least two,” Denal said, following Declan out of the foyer, headed to the games and media room, no doubt.
    The bizarre juxtaposition of pizza and hundred-carat uncut diamond boggled Fiona’s mind, and she stood, frozen, staring at the jewel in Hopkins’s hand.
    “If you have diamonds like this just lying around to give away, why do you need the Siren?”
    “That, my beautiful one, is a very long story, and one I think we should