Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

to each other and reached for him with their feathery fronds and even Grace, in spite of her own heritage, was tempted to bow before him.
     
    He finally spoke, and his words held the weight of centuries and the solemnity of a vow.
    “I am Rhys na Garanwyn, and I offer treaty to Atlantis on behalf of the Seelie Court. I have chosen you, Grace, daughter of Diana, to convey this offer. We will meet on this beach at this very time, one week hence, with the chosen representative of the Seven Isles.”
     
    Grace shrugged, which was probably not the response he‟d been going for, what with the proclamations and all. “I‟ll do my best, not that you asked me if I‟d be willing to be your messenger girl. But Alexios and the other Atlanteans keep their own schedule.”
     
    “Give them the message. They will come.” He bowed again and then he leaned closer to her and stared down into her eyes so intently she was afraid he was trying some super-major glamour or something. Before she could retreat, he caught her wrist in his hand and tightened his fingers until her skin burned with the contact. Then he abruptly straightened and released her arm. “You honor your brother with your actions for the cause of freedom, but your death would be the gravest of offenses to his memory.”
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    Ice pierced her chest, as if one of her own arrows had struck home into her heart.
    “What? How did you—”
     
    But he was gone. Simply gone, as if he‟d never been there at all. She rubbed her tingling wrist and absently glanced down at it, and then gasped. There on the inside of her left wrist, glowing in the moonlight, a silver arrow pierced the letter R. She furiously rubbed it with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, but the shining symbol didn‟t fade or smear.
     
    The Fae prince‟s voice whispered in the sea-salt air. “A remembrance.”
     
    Then even his voice was gone.
     
    Alone again—always, always alone—Grace dropped to her knees in the sand. “As if I could ever forget, damn you,” she cried out to the empty night, the ache in her chest threatening to crack her rib cage wide open.
     
    “As if I could ever, ever forget.”

Chapter 3
    Yellowstone National Park and Wolf Sanctuary, the bank of the Firehole River
     
    Alexios stood on the snow-covered ground, gazing out over the clear, moonlit waters of the rushing river, and took a deep breath of pure, unpolluted air. The bite of cold made him shiver a little, but he enjoyed the cold. Welcomed the ice and snow.
     
    The opposite of fire.
     
    “It‟s always the water,” he said, almost to himself. “Nature at her most glorious.”
     
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    Of course his companion heard him. Wolf shifters had excellent hearing.
    “Water is life,” Lucas replied in his surprisingly quiet voice. The wolf shifters he‟d known before he‟d met Lucas were more brawn than brain, more muscle than meditation. Yet Lucas continually clawed holes in that stereotype. “Life is beauty. Simple platitudes, perhaps, but still true.”
     
    Alexios barked out a bitter laugh, automatically ducking his head so his hair swung forward to cover the scarred left side of his face. “I‟m a warrior. What do I know of beauty?”
     
    Unbidden, Grace‟s face entered his mind. High, proud cheekbones. That glorious honey-gold skin. Masses of dark hair he‟d only once—for an instant—seen unbound.
     
    He‟d lied.
     
    He knew beauty. And he‟d abandoned it. Her.
     
    Lucas took a few paces closer to the water‟s edge. “Great fishing in this river. The trout practically jump into your lap.”
     
    “Do you use a fishing pole or just catch them in your teeth?”
     
    It was Lucas‟s turn to laugh. He turned his head to glance back at Alexios, his smile gleaming in the dark. “I‟ve fished here both ways. I must admit it‟s a little warmer with fur.”
     
    Alexios didn‟t doubt it. He‟d seen Lucas in his wolf form. Three hundred pounds of thickly furred muscle and menacing fangs. Which reminded him.
     
    “How‟s Honey?”
     
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    Lucas‟s dark face broke into a wide smile at the mention of his mate. “She‟s huge.
    Nearly full term with our sons.”
     
    “Congratulations, old friend. May the spirits of your ancestors grant Honey a safe delivery and bring you both two healthy boys.”
     
    The smile faded from