Atlantis Redeemed

by Alyssa Day

  Chapter 47

  Brennan couldn’t hold back the grin when she froze, stiffening in his arms. “I find that I love making jokes, Tiernan Butler, mi amara.”

  Her mouth fell open, and then she sat up and yanked his pillow out from under his head and smacked him in the face with it. “Oh, you . . . you . . . man.”

  He shouted with laughter, then pounced on her and rolled her underneath him. “I want to wake up looking at your lovely face every day for the rest of my life.”

  He kissed her, claiming her mouth until she was breathless. She wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kisses enthusiastically, but when he stopped she mock-growled at him.

  “I’m not so sure I’m going to put up with your version of humor for that long,” she said, laughing. “You scared me to death.”

  He instantly sobered. “I am so sorry. I had no i ntention—”

  “It’s okay,” she said, grinning. “I promise to get you back.”

  “The curse is finally broken,” he said, in little more than a whisper, somehow afraid Poseidon would hear and change his mind.

  “Are you sure? Forever?”

  “I have no way to know. We will have to live our lives, one day at a time, and discover the truth upon each wakening.”

  She turned in his arms and smiled up at him, inviting him, and he slowly, carefully, entered her body with his own, taking his time as they moved together, rocking in a bliss deeper than lust, deeper than want or hunger. Waves of warmth and contentment washed over him, and the look on her face mirrored his own. He whispered her name when they drifted over the edge of the abyss together, promising never, ever to leave her side.

  Chapter 48

  Two days later, the palace gardens, Atlantis

  Tiernan wandered through the most beautiful garden she’d ever seen outside of a dream, and laughed out loud with joy. A pair of peacocks tilted their heads in identical motions at the sound and then strolled off, intent on important peacock business, no doubt. Birds she didn’t recognize sang songs that seemed to be especially for her. She was walking in a miniature paradise, and much of the reason the world was so perfect was currently sprawled on a bench, basking in the magically created sunlight.

  “You are a lazy man,” she said, stopping to brush the silky hair away from his forehead.

  Brennan opened one eye. “If you hadn’t wearied me to the point of exhaustion with your insatiable sexual demands, I might have energy to join you while you explore the gardens.”

  In spite of the fact that this man had had his hands, his mouth, or both, on every inch of her body over the past couple of days, a hot blush rose into her cheeks. “Hush. Somebody might hear you.”

  “No one will disturb us here,” he said, opening the other eye and smiling at her. “They know better.”

  “Well, get up and walk around with me, then. I want to see everything.”

  He groaned and made a show of heaving himself up off the bench, but he was still smiling. Warmth and desire and happiness swirled through her in an effervescent mixture until she thought her head might pop like a champagne cork.

  He held out his hand, and she took it and pulled him down one of the paths, toward the intriguing sounds of bells and water. “What’s down here?”

  “One of many, many fountains. This one is an idyllic representation of Poseidon at play,” he said. A shadow crossed his face, but only for an instant.

  She slowed her steps, suddenly reluctant to face a reminder of the curse they were still afraid might come back someday. “Maybe we should go another way.”

  “It’s only a fountain. We can’t be afraid of our own shadows. It’s lovely, besides. You should see it.” Brennan pulled her gently forward, and they stepped into a clearing. The fountain was enormous; her first impression was that Poseidon was big enough to drown the entire world.

  But then reason replaced fancy, and the statue was once again only a statue, made of marble and stone. Poseidon reclined on his side, surrounded by several nymphs who held various delicacies out to him.

  “Looks like a pretty hedonistic guy,” she observed. “Doesn’t quite seem fair that he’d punish you for youthful indiscretions.”

  Brennan’s smile faded. “He is a god, capricious but all-powerful. He does what he will with his warriors.”

  Tiernan suddenly shivered, and goose bumps climbed up her arms. “My mom would say that a goose walked over my grave,” she said, trying to laugh.

  “Oh, no,” Brennan said.

  “It’s just a saying—an old wives’ tale thing. It doesn’t mean—” She stopped talking and her mouth fell open as she realized why Brennan had said oh, no.

  The statue was no longer merely a statue. Its marble eyes rolled in their sockets and its head turned until the statue was staring at Brennan and Tiernan.

  Brennan knelt instantly.

  The statue opened its mouth, and Tiernan stumbled backward in shock, losing her balance. Brennan caught her arm and pulled her down to kneel beside him.

  SHE IS NOT DEAD. DID YOU BELIEVE YOU COULD FOOL A GOD? the statue thundered, as it ripped its marble body free of the base of the fountain and stood, looming over them. Beside it, the nymphs came to life and began to dance.

  “Oh, this is so far down the rabbit hole,” Tiernan murmured, as reality fractured right in front of her eyes.

  “She did die, my lord, and her soul had flown, fulfilling the terms of the curse,” Brennan said, his voice ringing out pure and strong. “I humbly submit that you accept my deepest, most sincere apologies for my transgressions and sins.”

  DO YOU DESERVE FORGIVENESS? Poseidon, for it couldn’t be anybody else, roared.

  Tiernan’s eyes narrowed. “Wait just a minute, sir. Don’t you think he has suffered enough? Two thousand years? Really? For something that was at least as much her fault as his?”

  Poseidon raised a marble arm and pointed at her. YOU DARE TO QUESTION A GOD?

  The sense of power gathering in the air strengthened, and she had a moment to wonder if he was going to hurl a lightning bolt or his trident or one of the nymphs at her. A marble nymph could probably do a lot of damage.

  Brennan leapt up and threw himself in front of Tiernan. “My life for hers. My existence is nothing without her, so if you must punish me, do so by taking my life, my lord.”

  Poseidon grabbed marble grapes from a marble plate and hurled them at Brennan. DO YOU GIVE ME COMMANDS, WARRIOR?

  Brennan stood, unflinching, as the grapes whizzed past, missing his head by inches, and hit the tree behind them so hard that they burrowed into the trunk.

  “I apologize for my insolence, my lord, but I repeat my request. Spare this woman, please.”

  Tiernan jumped up and stood next to Brennan, planting her fists on her hips and trying to ignore the pounding of her heart in her chest. “He has served you and protected humanity for longer than anybody else. This is so unfair. We fulfilled the curse. I died. Isn’t that enough for you?”

  Poseidon leaned down, far down, until his enormous head was almost on a level with hers, intimidating the heck out of her, but the expression on his marble features seemed to be more amused than angry.

  WILL YOU STAND FOR HIM AND WITH HIM, FOR ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE?

  It sounded like a vow. Tiernan didn’t hesitate for even a heartbeat. “Yes, for as long as I live, even though my life is nothing but a drop in your ocean compared to his.”

  Poseidon turned his marble head from her to Brennan and then back, then he straightened to the statue’s full height and pointed his trident at her. A bolt of pure shimmering silver light streamed out of the tip of the trident and smashed into her, knocking her into the ground and shattering her with pain worse than anything she’d ever felt in her life. She screamed, writhing on the ground, and Brennan pulled her into his arms, tears streaming down his face.

  “No,” he shouted. “Not her. Me. Take me.”

  But Poseidon merely smiled and, finally, after what felt like years to
Tiernan, lowered his trident. The pain vanished instantly, and Tiernan raised her head to look around, her vision blurred by tears.

  She tested her various limbs, grateful to find them whole and in working order. “I’m okay,” she said, reassuring Brennan. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  Poseidon slammed the shaft of the trident against the stone base of the fountain three times.

  SO BE IT. JUSTICE DECREES THAT BRENNAN SHOULD KNOW JOY FOR AS LONG AS HE HAS BEEN DEPRIVED OF IT.

  The sea god flashed a bizarre smile filled with shiny marble teeth.

  OF COURSE, IF YOU ARE LIKE MOST OF YOUR FAIR SEX, YOU WILL SOON CAUSE HIM TO WISH THAT ETERNITY WERE MUCH SHORTER.

  Tiernan laughed. She couldn’t help it. A god had just fried her with his mythical trident and then cracked a lame joke. Talk about down the rabbit hole.

  Poseidon nodded.

  YOU WILL DO, HUMAN. I ADMIRE YOUR COURAGE, AND IT SAYS MUCH, TO BE ADMIRED BY A GOD. YOUR CHILDREN, TOO, WILL BECOME PART OF THE PROPHECY.

  Brennan’s arms tightened around Tiernan. “Children?”

  NOT YET. SOME YEARS FROM NOW, WHEN YOUR SONS ARE NEEDED.

  “Sons?” Tiernan repeated. “How many sons?”

  TWINS, I THINK. PERHAPS TRIPLETS. STRAPPING BOYS.

  Tiernan swallowed, hard. “But—”

  I HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS. Poseidon pointed a finger at Brennan. DO NOT MAKE ME REGRET MY GENEROSITY.

  Brennan bowed deeply. “My lord, I am yours, and I thank you with everything that I am.”

  OF COURSE YOU DO. DON’T SCREW THIS UP.

  Tiernan’s mouth dropped open at the sound of slang coming from an ancient god, but before she could find any words, Poseidon and the nymphs were gone in a burst of fireworks and cascading water.

  Silently, she and Brennan stared at the fountain, empty now of statues and all but a few drops of water.

  “I . . . I . . .” Tiernan stopped, unable to think of what to say. “We’re going to have a hard time explaining this to Conlan and the gang.” She pointed at the fountain-less fountain.

  Brennan sighed. “Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens around here a lot more than you might think.”

  Tiernan suddenly lost interest in the fountain. “I’m going to have twins? Or triplets?” Her legs lost their strength, and she collapsed down on the edge of the empty fountain.

  “Perhaps we could begin at the beginning,” Brennan said, kneeling before her. “Tiernan Butler, will you wed me and live out the rest of eternity as my bride and the mother of my children?”

  She stared at him, stunned.

  He took her hand and smiled at her, but his eyebrows drew together. “Tiernan, your silence is worrying me more than I care to admit right now.”

  She laughed and threw herself at him, knocking him over into the grass. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”

  She kissed every inch of his face, lingering on his lips, and then she sat up, straddling him, and pulled her shirt over her head. “Just how private is this garden?”

  Brennan’s dangerously sexy smile spread across his face. “Private enough.”

  Epilogue

  Yellowstone National Park, Wolf Pack Ceremonial Grounds, five days later

  Brennan looked at the circle of people ringing the fire. Shifters, humans, and Atlanteans. Even a vampire. He nodded to Daniel, who kept back and a little apart from the rest.

  Conlan and Riley held little Prince Aidan. Near them, Alexios and Grace stood in a place of honor, each of them holding one of Lucas and Honey’s twins. Ven and Erin huddled together on Tiernan’s far side. Erin was in deep mourning for the loss of her sister, but had insisted on attending the naming ceremony, saying they all needed to see hope and life, instead of just death and battle. Apparently whatever mission Conlan had sent them on in Europe had not gone well.

  They had all attended Deirdre’s memorial service the day before, and Erin’s grief was still very fresh. It was part of the great circle of life, death, and love. Brennan had experienced so much of the first two but never had dared hope for the third over the course of his millennia-long life. He pulled Tiernan closer, yet again silently giving thanks for the gift of her presence in his life.

  Lucas stepped forward, holding his mate’s hand, and everyone quieted. “We thank you for sharing our joy during this sacred ceremony of naming, a tradition in our Pack since the beginning of recorded history.”

  Honey raised their joined hands. “As we pledged our lives to each other, we pledge our lives and our sons’ lives to this alliance between our peoples and to the quest to bring all of us together in harmony, for now and forever.”

  Lucas nodded at Tiernan. “Your newspaper series about Litton and his schemes with the vampires has placed enormous pressure on Washington to take action. Already, many members of the Primus have been forced to resign.”

  Next, he nodded at Daniel. “Your accession to Primator gives us great hope.”

  Daniel bowed elegantly. “I will do my best not to let you down.”

  Grace and Alexios handed the babies to Lucas and Honey, who held them up in the air.

  “I name you Lucas Alexios and Nathan Brennan,” Lucas proclaimed, his voice ringing clear and loud. “May you be spokes in the wheel of peace that rules our planet for centuries to come.”

  Brennan met Alexios’s stunned gaze across the fire.

  Did you know? he sent on the mental pathway.

  Alexios shook his head. He hadn’t known, either.

  Brennan bowed, his heart full. “I am honored beyond the telling of it. May the waters of your ancestors bless and nourish your boys for every day of their lives and every step of their paths, both as human and as wolf.”

  Alexios bowed and uttered a similar sentiment, but Brennan didn’t hear it, because Tiernan whispered in his ear, “Nice job, Uncle Brennan.”

  He grinned. “Uncle now, father soon. Should we start thinking of names? Lots and lots of names?”

  “Let me at least finish my series of articles before we think about babies,” she said, looking a little pale.

  “Mi amara, you’ll probably get a Pulitzer for this,” he said, knowing she had always dreamed of the prestigious prize.

  “Maybe,” she said, shrugging. “It doesn’t matter as much to me anymore. Dying gives a girl a different perspective on life.” As everyone around the fire cheered for the babies, Tiernan pulled Brennan’s face down to hers and kissed him thoroughly. “I have all I need right here.”

  Brennan thought his heart might burst from his chest, it was filled with so much joy. He pulled her into his arms, rejoicing in the wonder of standing shoulder to shoulder with a circle of allies and friends.

  The babies chose that moment to wake up and start crying for milk, and everyone laughed, but then a large rustling shook the underbrush back away from the clearing and all the shifters tensed. Seconds later, an enormous tiger leapt from between the trees and strolled up to the fire, transforming as he walked.

  “Man, I love this place,” Jack said, now fully human and fully dressed. “Startled the hell out of some buffalo, though.”

  “Bison,” Tiernan and Brennan said in unison.

  Everybody laughed again.

  Suddenly, a shimmering spiral of green and golden light appeared in the center of the fire, and it resolved itself into a man. A Fae prince to be precise. Rhys na Garanwyn, high prince of the High Court Seelie Fae. “I am here, you can proceed,” he drawled, impossibly arrogant as always.

  He bowed to Lucas and Honey, and then again, deeper, to Conlan and Riley.

  Lucas smiled. “Be welcome, Prince of the Fae. The future of our world will depend upon cooperation between all men and women of like mind, regardless of race or species. We will do all within our power to ensure that our children will grow up in that world.”

  “As will we for our son,” Conlan declared.

  “We, too, for our child,” Alexios said, one hand on Grace’s belly.

  Everyone spontaneously cheered
, and there, by the fire, for that little time, they all had hope that battle and war would soon be done and peace would, finally, reign.

  “Our triplets, as well,” Brennan murmured to Tiernan, under cover of the cheering. She smiled, content to keep that prediction safely between the two of them for a while longer.

  Several of Lucas’s Pack members poured champagne for everyone and they all raised their glasses. Brennan offered the first toast. “To the shining hope of the next generation, as the wheel of time turns and peace again rules the world. May we live to see it.”

  They all drank to that, and to many other toasts, and then the gathering broke up into small groups of conversation. Brennan steered Tiernan away from the fire and found a quiet corner among the trees in the moonlight.

  “A future together in a better world that we will help create,” she said. “No matter what it takes.”

  “We have each other,” Brennan replied. “There is nothing more that I need to face eternity.”

  “We have each other,” she agreed.

  He grinned and put a hand on her belly. “And the triplets,” he reminded her.

  She put her arms around his neck and smiled that sexy smile, full of feminine intrigue and mystery. “Shut up and kiss me.”

  So he did.

  Turn the page for a special preview of the next book in the Warriors of Poseidon series

  ATLANTIS BETRAYED

  By Alyssa Day

  Coming soon from Berkley Sensation!

  Present day: London, England

  Jack the Ripper must have been a vampire.

  Christophe sat on the tiny ledge underneath the minute hand on Big Ben’s western face—twenty-five past midnight—thinking random thoughts and surveying the city that had always been like a second home to him. The clock tower was arguably London’s most recognizable landmark, and something about perching on it, nearly three hundred feet off the ground, made Christophe feel like the master of all he surveyed. He sat with his back against the familiar gilt lettering, DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VIC-TORIAM PRIMAM, and wondered if Queen Victoria the First had been honored to have each of the four clock faces proclaim that her people called out to their god to keep her safe.