by Alyssa Day
Daniel stared at her, dumbfounded, and when that sexy, seductive, magnificent smile formed on her lips, he knew he truly had died and gone to the most spectacular of all heavens.
“We’re alive?” he asked stupidly.
“We’re alive, and I’m really, really hungry,” she said, and everyone around them started laughing.
But then the sun rose over the horizon, and the first questing rays of light reached them, and the entire world caught on fire.
Chapter 40
Serai was staring up at the sky, reveling in the first rays of the sun, when the Emperor caught fire and exploded into a shimmering dome of light. The stone itself was still whole; she could feel it in her hands, but the searing purple flames shooting from it were like the most magnificent fireworks the fire guild had ever created.
It wasn’t only the Emperor, though. As she looked around, she realized that the Atlanteans had joined hands and were contributing their own magic to support the dome protecting Daniel from the sun. Protecting her.
Saving them all with love and friendship.
But the Emperor told her a secret of its own, whispering to her through its magical resonance: they didn’t need protection.
She and Daniel were now the first two of a new breed of nightwalker; no longer nightwalkers at all. They would be able to walk in the daylight forever more.
“Daniel,” she said. “Do you trust me?”
“Always,” he said instantly.
“We have to walk into the sun.”
Not a flicker of doubt crossed his face. “Yes, except I think we’ll fly.”
She jumped up, strong and whole and sure, and held out her hand. “Now, please.”
He took her into his arms and shot up into the rosy, golden light of the breaking dawn, and together they soared high in the sky, high above the people who loved them and who would wait for them, high above the caves and the darkness and the pain.
The light shimmered on their skin like a caress and they stared at each other in fascinated wonder.
“I have not seen the dawn in eleven thousand years,” Daniel said, his beautiful eyes shining in the sun.
“Nor I,” Serai replied, laughing and crying and kissing him.
“I want to see every single dawn for the next eleven thousand years, with you,” he said, his love and sincerity shining as brightly as the dawn sun itself.
“Well,” she said, after some consideration. “I may want to sleep in once in a while.”
He shouted out his laughter to the morning skies, and then he kissed her so deeply that they were spinning like a deep-sea whirlpool when the kiss ended. As they floated back down to earth, back down to the top of Cathedral Rock, back down to their friends, Daniel embraced her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe.
“My own Sleeping Beauty is finally awake,” he said.
“And my own Prince Charming woke me with his kiss.”
As they finally touched back down, still lost in a passionate kiss, they became aware of cheering and applause. When they broke the kiss and looked around, Serai’s face flamed red as she realized what a spectacle she’d just made of herself. A proper Atlantean princess would never . . .
She cut off the self-criticism, in her father’s words, midthought.
“What the heck,” she said, looking around at everyone and grinning. “I have it on very good authority that I’m a hot chick.”
As if in response to her words, the sky split in two, and a whirling torrent of water and power and silvery light burst into the space above them as a voice like thunder tore through the fabric of the world.
HOT CHICK, INDEED, DAUGHTER OF MY ANCIENT DAYS. YOU HAVE SERVED ME WELL. I AM PLEASED TO SEE MY AMETHYST AGAIN, AFTER SO MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
All of the Atlanteans bowed deeply, leaving Daniel, his mouth hanging open like a carp’s, staring up at Poseidon. Serai grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to her.
Daniel just blinked. “Is that—are you—”
I AM POSEIDON, GOD OF THE SEA, AND I SEE THAT YOU DO INDEED HAVE A SOUL, CHOSEN ONE OF MY DAUGHTER.
“Your daughter? I thought that was just a figure of speech,” Daniel muttered, and Serai tried not to laugh.
“It is,” she whispered. “Just listen.”
DO YOU AGREE TO CHERISH AND PROTECT MY DAUGHTER FOR NOW AND UNTIL THE END OF THE WATERS OF TIME?
“Nobody could stop me,” Daniel said, finally bowing.
Poseidon’s booming laugh split the air like a crack of thunder.
THEN FEEL THIS, NIGHTWALKER, AND KNOW THAT YOU, TOO, ARE NOW SWORN TO MY SERVICE AS A WARRIOR OF POSEIDON.
An arrow of water and light sliced through the air and slammed into Daniel, knocking him down, and when he stood, his shirt hung in shreds and the brand of the Warriors of Poseidon had been burned into the top right side of his chest. Serai threw herself into his arms, crying and laughing.
“Now you’re mine forever,” she told him.
NOW YOU BOTH ARE MINE FOREVER, TO BE ACCURATE. BUT ENOUGH OF THIS, I AM WEARY OF THIS HIDEOUS PLACE WITH ITS LACK OF WATER. GIVE MY AMETHYST TO CONLAN. I RETURN TO MY OCEANS AND AWAIT WORD THAT YOU HAVE ALL FOUND THE FINAL GEM MISSING FROM MY TRIDENT.
As Poseidon disappeared, they could all hear his final words booming through the dawn air.
HORRIBLE PLACE.
“But it’s a dry heat,” Daniel said, and Serai started to laugh, almost collapsing with relief and joy and love.
As Daniel kissed her, right there in front of the departing sea god and everyone else, she heard their laughter, too, and she smiled against his lips. She couldn’t think of anything more miraculous than being reborn to the sound of laughter.
“I will love you forever, and never leave you,” she said, when Daniel finally let her speak.
“Damn straight,” he growled, and she laughed.
“Is that man-speak for me, too?”
“You know it.”
“Here we go again,” Ven called out, still laughing. “This is going to be one wild ride.”
Serai held out her hand, carefully cradling the stone, and looked at Conlan and the woman who must be his wife. “I believe this belongs to you.”
Conlan reverently took the amethyst and dropped it into a velvet pouch tucked into his belt. “Thank you,” he said, bowing deeply. “You may have saved Atlantis.”
“You saved your sisters,” Riley said, stepping closer and smiling at Serai. “You saved Guen, Helena, and Merlina. They are awake and perfectly healthy, asking a million questions.”
“We saved them,” Serai said, squeezing Daniel’s hand.
“And now on to the next step,” Conlan said. “We have to find the final jewel from the trident. Poseidon’s Pride.”
Daniel smiled down at Serai. “I happen to know two people who have plans for a world tour, if you need volunteers.”
“This is going to be the best year of my life,” Serai said blissfully, and then Daniel kissed her again, and by the time she could think or see or even breathe again, the portal again shimmered in the rosy dawn air, and everyone else had disappeared.
She blushed but then pointed to the portal. “Shall I show you Atlantis before we get started?”
He grinned. “Hot bath?”
“And food.”
“An actual bed?”
“I don’t know, Daniel, I’m kind of developing a fondness for camping,” she said to tease him, and he swept her into his arms and headed for the portal, so they could begin the rest of their lives.
Together. Finally, after an eternity, together.
Nothing could ever be better than that.
When the portal deposited them, after its usual swirling, twirling ride, in Atlantis, they were still locked in an embrace that would last them a thousand lifetimes. Serai finally looked around when she heard a discreet throat clearing. Her face flamed a hot red until she realized these were different guards than the ones she’d knocked out with her magic when she’d escaped.
Sh
e’d need to make some apologies.
“I hear there is cake, Lady Serai, and that the other maidens are waiting for you on the palace terrace,” one of the guards said, a twinkle in his eye.
“I’m very fond of cake,” she told Daniel.
“I have very fond ideas of what to do with you and a bowl of cake frosting, and a huge, soft bed,” Daniel whispered in her ear, quite wickedly.
She laughed and held his hand as they ran all the way to the palace.
Chapter 41
Atlantis, one month later
Daniel strode through the mansion that the royal family had given to him and Serai, nodding to anyone he passed but not stopping to talk. He held his surprise for Serai in his hands, finally, and wasn’t about to let anything deter him from reaching her.
She was sitting in her private garden, of course, among the flowers and in the fresh air. She still couldn’t bear to be trapped indoors for long.
“Are we packed? Ready to go find the final gem?”
She glanced up at him, startled at first, and then she smiled with so much love and welcome that he was amazed and humbled all over again that this woman was his. He figured he’d get past that feeling in a few hundred years or so.
“Ready to go as soon as we have a lead,” she said, rising to come toward him, her arms held out for a hug.
“Ah, but I can’t hug you. My hands are full,” he said, teasing. “A present that has waited eleven thousand years to find you.”
She tilted her head, still smiling. “I love presents.”
“And cake, or so I hear.”
She blushed as they both remembered the fascinating uses they’d made of frosting just the night before.
“For you, my lady. My princess. My love,” he said, and the power of the emotion surging through him left him unable to say anything else, so he simply held out his hands and presented his gifts.
She lifted the shimmering silver and orichalcum pendant on its delicate chain and gasped. “Oh, Daniel, this is so incredibly lovely. Did you design this yourself?”
“Yes, when I first met you. It took me this long to be able to fashion it for you, but as with everything else about us, time has only enhanced and polished the possibilities we first recognized so long ago,” he said, fastening the pendant around her neck.
She turned and threw her arms around him. “I love it. I love you.”
He kissed her for so long that he nearly forgot the second gift, hidden in his pocket.
Nearly. But not even her sweet, honeyed kisses could make him forget this.
He stepped back, removed the ring he’d finished crafting only an hour ago from his pocket, and knelt before her.
The tears began to stream down her face before he could even speak.
“Yes, Daniel. Oh, yes, of course I’ll marry you,” she said, and she threw herself into his arms so exuberantly she knocked them both over.
He laughed and slid the ring on her finger. “Make an honest man out of me, my one true love.”
She stared at the ring and its intricate but elegant design and gasped. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, inside and out. You will marry me, then?”
She flashed a wicked smile at him. “How could I not? I’ve seen how good you are with cake.”
Daniel rolled over until she was underneath him and he captured her mouth in a searing kiss. “What do you say we retire to our rooms and affirm life for a while?”
She vanished, transforming into mist for long enough to escape him, and then she was back, standing next to him and grinning. “Race you!”
He caught her before she made it halfway to the house and carried her the rest of the way to the bedroom. On days like this, he still caught himself wondering if he’d made it to heaven after all.
“I love you, Daniel,” she said, staring up at him.“Forever.”
Forever had never sounded so good.
Turn the page for a special preview of Alaric’s Story in the Warriors of Poseidon Series
HEART OF ATLANTIS
by Alyssa Day
Coming soon from Berkley Sensation!
Chapter 1
Mount Fuji, Japan
The portal opened and Alaric, high priest of Atlantis, stepped through, followed by a shell-shocked rebel leader and a five-hundred-pound tiger shape-shifter who may have permanently lost his humanity.
“Oh, Alaric,” the ancient man who stood waiting for them said, sighing and shaking his head. “You do get into the most fascinating trouble.”
“Interesting you should say that, Archelaus,” Alaric said. “I need a place to hide for a little while while Quinn tries to help Jack remember that he’s not just a tiger.”
Quinn barely looked at him, her eyes dull with pain and exhaustion, but she never let go of his hand. It was more physical contact than he’d allowed himself to have with her in a very long time.
Archelaus took them all in with his sharp gaze. The old man, long since retired as mentor to the Atlantean warrior training academy, never missed anything.
“And Atlantis? Are the Seven Isles still in jeopardy?”
“Aren’t they always?” Alaric sliced a hand through the air in dismissal of the topic. “We need a place to rest. Food. A place to hide a tiger.”
Archelaus pointed at something behind them. “Who is that?”
Alaric whirled around, shocked to see a Japanese woman step out of the portal.
“Who are you?” he demanded, pushing Quinn behind him. None but Atlanteans could call the portal, and this woman clearly was not one of his people.
She blinked in apparent confusion. “Konnichiwa,” she began in Japanese, but then she continued in ancient Atlantean as she slowly collapsed until she lay curled up on the ground next to the tiger, who ignored her completely. “I am the spirit of the portal, and I am the woman of this body, who came to Mount Fuji to die.”
“We came here to force Jack to live,” Quinn said, and then she started laughing, a terrible, almost hysterical laugh. “Lucky we have an Atlantean priest with us, isn’t it?”
Alaric stared down at the only woman he’d ever loved and fought the tidal wave of emotion threatening to swamp him. “Yes. I will do what I can for him, as I promised.”
Archelaus sighed again. “You have amazingly bad timing, my friend.”
“Timing has nothing to do with need,” Alaric snapped, finally out of patience with the day, with the situation, with centuries of standing alone as priest to a capricious god.
“Timing has everything to do with danger,” the older man returned calmly, as he draped his sweater over the unconscious woman who’d claimed to be what she couldn’t possibly be. “Anubisa is back from her sojourn in the land of Chaos, and this time the vampire goddess swears to destroy Atlantis and every member of the Atlantean royal family. You have never been more needed by your people in your entire life, I would imagine.”
“I am needed here,” Alaric said, staring at Quinn. “Atlantis can burn in the nine hells, for all I care. I have sacrificed enough to Poseidon. My days as high priest are done.”
A warrior’s mission . . .
A woman’s desire . . .
And the unnatural evil
that could destroy them both.
FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
ALYSSA DAY
ATLANTIS BETRAYED
What could Christophe, powerful Warrior of Poseidon, have in common with Fiona Campbell, prim and proper Scottish illustrator of fairy tales by day and notorious jewel thief known as the Scarlet Ninja by night? Answer: The Siren, a legendary Crown Jewel that Fiona has targeted for her next heist. It’s said to be worth millions, but to Christophe it’s invaluable, for the Siren also happens to be one of the missing jewels from Poseidon’s Trident.
But breaking into the Tower of London is a twoperson job, so Christophe and Fiona team up to commit the crime of the century. As newfound passions
fire their motives—and cloud their judgment—they realize they aren’t the only ones after the priceless gem. A dark force is shadowing their every move and threatening to shatter their trust with revenge, betrayal, and a haunting revelation about the past.
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The fate of Atlantis is on the line—and the world is at stake . . .
FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
ALYSSA DAY
ATLANTIC REDEEMED
The Warriors of Poseidon
Poseidon’s warriors have learned that the battle to protect humanity produces unexpected enemies—and alliances. But none can be more unexpected than the bond between a cursed Atlantean warrior and a woman whose sight exposes any lie.
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AVAILABLE NOW FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ATLANTIS AWAKENING
ATLANTIS UNMASKED
In Alyssa Day’s steamy
Warriors of Poseidon series
Atlantean warrior Alexios and human warrior Grace are on the hunt to retrieve the legendary jewel called the Vampire’s Bane. Without it, Atlantis cannot ascend to the surface and take its place in the world. But Grace dares to disobey Alexios, defy him, and—even worse—awaken feelings he’d long believed buried. When evil threatens and thousands of lives are on the line, will passion overrule their mission?
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“An amazing and astonishing world.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan
