Atlantis Unleashed (35 page)

“Ruined,” he repeated, his voice rough as he remembered another conversation at another time. “I can do no other than protect you and see you made whole, with all apologies to the state of your reputation.”

Her dark eyes were enormous in her pale face and, only for an instant, the searing heat of some powerful emotion burned in her gaze. Then she lowered her lashes and turned her head away from him. “Thank you again. I'm healed now; you can put me down.”

He'd faced trial by fire with less reluctance than he did the act of releasing her. Every stolen moment, every purloined touch, was one he stored against the day—against the century—when he faced the nights alone, after her mortal life was long over.

The moment her feet touched the ground she stepped back and away from him, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. As she stared at the ground, he took the opportunity to drink in the sight of her. As always, he was slightly surprised that his heart had chosen her as his destined mate. He'd always thought some regal and serene beauty would eventually catch him in the grasp of his one great unrequited love.

But Quinn . . . was Quinn. She'd never known a day of serenity in her adult life, and as to her appearance? She was thinner than ever, all hard lines and angles, as if the battles of the rebellion drained not only her energy but her substance. Her short dark hair still looked like she cut it with the blade she kept in her pocket, and her clothes were ragged and threadbare, probably scrounged from some bin of discarded items.

By all the gods, she was beautiful.

It was the force of her personality, a fervor and charisma that shone out at him with all the strength and glory and brightness of her soul. Her soul called to his so powerfully that she was a beacon in the darkness of his existence.

Finally, she looked up at him and met his gaze, and she gasped. He knew what must be visible on his face and therefore did not try to deny it. “You know,” he rasped out. “You have always known, and you will always know that I am yours, and yet never can be. I am the most powerful high priest Poseidon has ever appointed, and yet I am too weak to hide the depths of my feelings for you.”

He dropped to one knee before her and bowed his head. “Denounce me if you must, but I can no longer hide from this need I have to see you. To touch you. I will keep my distance as much as I am able to do so, but please allow me these brief glimpses of what I can never have.”

Quinn made a strangled sound somewhere between laughter and a sob, and fell to her knees in front of him. “If only life were a fairy tale, then I could be your princess to rescue. I look into your eyes, and see the happy ending that I will never, ever deserve. The pain of seeing you can't be any worse than the pain of lying in my cold, empty bed, night after night. Longing for you. Wanting you. Needing you.”

She lifted a hand to touch his cheek, but stopped with her fingers mere inches away from his skin. “Even now, when I should check on Jack and Denal, my mind and heart are filled with you. You override my duty, and you override my common sense.”

Alaric knew the same was true for him, but he was far beyond caring. “And you are the emotion that brings music and light to my world, and an anguish almost beyond bearing to my heart.”

In the corner, Jack stirred, and the motion broke the trance they'd fallen into, staring into the secrets of each other's eyes.

“I would give a century of my life for a single taste of your lips, but I will not defile the memory of your kiss with these surroundings.”

She leaned in toward him, staring at his mouth, and for a moment all thought of honor fled and he didn't give a damn about Denal or Jack or that they were surrounded by the remains of dead vampires. He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath.

But Denal murmured some small pained sound and Quinn blinked, then glanced over at Denal and leaned back. Oceans of regret filled her expression, but she pressed her lips together and stood, careful not to touch Alaric.

As if one touch would ignite the flames ready to leap into a conflagration between them.

He had no doubt that it might.

He, too, stood and moved toward Jack and Denal, relieved that they were both alive. Ashamed that he hadn't made certain of that fact earlier.

Devastated at the loss of her nearness.

As he called the energy of Poseidon to heal Denal and the tiger shifter, he also sent up a silent plea for the strength to resist the overwhelming desires of his very soul.

Then tried to pretend he didn't hear the god's mocking laughter.

Northeastern Guatemala, the jungle

Justice opened his eyes when the sensation of falling through a vortex faded. Bright sunlight shone down in patches through a thick cover of trees. The verdant jungle surrounded them, lush with thickly crowding plant life.

For a few seconds, utter silence surrounded them, but then the native wildlife evidently decided he and Keely were no threat, despite their unusual arrival. Several species of birds trilled, sang, and scolded them for the disruption, and he heard at least one family group of monkeys chattering excitedly nearby.

Keely still clung to him, her eyes tightly closed, and he had no desire to move away from her. He slowly stroked her back from nape to waist, and the feel of her lithe body trembling against his was enough to harden his cock to the point of pain.

He had to have her. Soon. Desperate need shook through him, and he pulled her to him more tightly. He had never needed anything more than he needed the feel of her naked body underneath him, welcoming him as he plunged into her.

But he couldn't take the chance. His hold on the Nereid was growing ever more precarious, and the Nereid's desires were darker. Rougher. Not anything he would ever do to Keely. His Keely.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, and the awareness in her eyes nearly broke him in two. She knew he wanted her, in the way a woman always knows. One word from her, and he would be lost.

So he must prevent her from saying that one word.

“We're here,” he said harshly, releasing her and stepping back. “Wherever here is.”

She blinked up at him, and a flash of hurt crossed her features. But her words were strictly professional. “You were aiming for northeast Guatemala, and from the heat and the looks of this jungle, I think we made it.”

They scanned their surroundings but saw nothing in view that would indicate any ruins or dig site. The fierce heat beat at them like a physical force; breathing was like drawing air through a wet blanket.

“Well,” Keely said, shrugging, “it was probably too much to ask that you'd somehow transport us directly to the mural. You're just learning how to do this, after all. Think of the pancakes. At least you brought us to the jungle instead of bringing the jungle to us.”

She smiled at him, and the force of it punched into his chest. He tensed, waiting for the Nereid to react, but the other half of his soul was either exhausted or in hiding and was blessedly silent for a change.

“Can you feel it? You said the Star of Artemis was of Nereid origin. Is there some way you can do some Atlantean or Nereid magic and scan the area? I know I'm probably reaching, but I have no idea exactly what you can do. If there's some way we can orient ourselves toward San Bartolo and get an idea of how far away it is, that would be a good thing. Especially since we have no food or water. It's somewhere between the high nineties and maybe a hundred and five degrees, I'd guess, and we'll get dehydrated fast.”

Justice nodded and tried to send his senses out into the jungle to detect the Star of Artemis. But it didn't work. Every bit of power he possessed, both Atlantean and Nereid, had been drained over the past few days.

Calling on every ounce of stubbornness he had, he pushed harder. Forced his mind to wring reserves of power he'd never used before and channel it to his purposes. He felt something in his brain twist and buckle, and a thundering headache caught his skull in a vise grip. But underneath the pain a tiny pulse of awareness flickered. Somehow, he knew what it was.

“I found it,” he told Keely. “I found the Star, and I know where we have to go. It's going to be quite a walk, but we can probably make it in a day or so, unless my reserves of energy come back sooner and I can use the matter transference technique again.”

Keely stared at him steadily, as though taking his measure. Whatever she saw evidently reassured her, because she nodded decisively. “I've walked through jungles before, but never without drinking water. We'll have to take it slow and easy until you get your strength back and can at least bring us some water bottles and something to eat.”

“I should be able to do something about the water soon,” he said confidently, in spite of the fact he had no idea how soon his powers would replenish—if ever. Keely didn't need to know how unsure he was of the Nereid magics. She had enough courage for any warrior, but there was no need to continue to test it.

She started walking, then stopped suddenly and laughed. “I guess it would help if you told me which way we're headed. Also, when it comes to those water bottles, be careful not to teleport them from the packs of some poor, unsuspecting hikers or tourists who will be left freaking out, wondering what in the heck happened to their water.”

He pointed toward the faint beacon of magic that still flickered faintly in his mind. “The Star lies in that direction. As to the other, I will do my best,” he said, wondering when the sound of her laughter had become more beautiful to him than any music. He surreptitiously adjusted his pants so walking would be less uncomfortable and started forward, resolutely pushing all thoughts of Keely, naked, out of his mind.

He glanced back at her, and caught his breath at the excitement glowing in her green eyes. Okay, he'd at least try to push
most
thoughts of Keely, naked, out of his mind.

As he'd told her before, he was a guy, after all.

Three hours later, Keely called a halt. She was tough, and she'd vowed to herself to keep up without complaint, but hiking any farther with no water was suicidal and she was no idiot. In the fierce, furnace-room heat of the jungle, moisture was being lost from their bodies at a rapid rate. Maybe Atlanteans, being sort of water people, could handle it better than mere humans, but she needed a rest.

Also, she was tired of staring at his backside as he led the way through the thick vegetation. Not that he didn't have a very fine backside. Broad shoulders tapered down to his narrow waist, not to mention that tantalizing braid of his that she really, really wanted to loosen so she could run her fingers through those long strands of silky hair. His butt was so firm and muscular that she'd entertained brief fantasies of biting it, about an hour or so back, when she'd still had the energy for that sort of thing.

Wonder how the tough Atlantean warrior would have responded to that? She laughed out loud, and he whirled around with one of those bursts of inhuman speed and stared at her.

“What is it?”

“Justice, I need a break. In the shade, preferably.”

“Why is that funny?” He stared at her suspiciously. “What are you plotting?”

She clamped her lips together, but the laughter escaped anyway. “Oh, trust me, you don't want to know. Anyway, we need to stop. I can tell I'm getting dehydrated, and we're walking through the hottest part of the day. I recommend we find some shade and wait out the afternoon until it's cooler this evening.”

He moved again in another blurred flash of speed and suddenly he was standing near inches away from her. “I'm so sorry. I was lost in contemplation of our options and our ultimate goal and didn't spare a thought for how you were faring. Please accept my apologies for my thoughtlessness.”