Atlantis Series Complete Collection
Page 83
She licked her lips, nodded. “Agreed.”
The bubble burst in the next instant, and water suddenly barraged her. She reached for Brenna but couldn’t find her. Water shot inside her nostrils, her mouth and lungs. A dark void closed around her, spinning her in every direction. Stars winked in and out.
Then, oh, blessedly then, the water was sucked away, leaving only a tunnel.
She coughed and sputtered as she fell, tumbling headlong into an abyss. She wasn’t frightened, though. She knew Valerian awaited her on the other end. Valerian. Her love, her life.
Impact! Her feet hit a solid foundation, jarring her all the way to her bones. She swayed, but managed to right herself and crack open her eyes.
Never had she seen a more welcome sight. The stark walls of the cave closed around her, crimson-stained, decorated with those beautiful murals. Cool air slithered from every corner.
Home. She was home.
She heard a moan and glanced down. Brenna was sprawled out and just opening her eyes.
“We did it,” Shaye told her. She couldn’t stop grinning. “We did it.”
Eyes lighting, Brenna eased to her feet.
The sound of angry male voices suddenly hit her awareness, and she whipped around. The nymphs must have been placed in the cells.
Trembling, she motioned to Brenna to be quiet, and her friend nodded.
Just in case dragons were guarding the area, she sneaked along the walls. Brenna tiptoed behind her. They remained in the shadows. Leaning forward, she peeked at the cell. It was overcrowded, positively bursting with nymphs. She looked for Valerian but didn’t see him. Still, she didn’t allow herself to become upset. He was here, and he was alive. She knew it.
There was a single dragon guard, probably because the fewer men outside the cell, the fewer who could be tricked into opening it.
Game time.
Shaye picked up the largest rock she could find and mouthed for Brenna to run for the cell and free the men on her signal.
Eagerness danced through her as she silently held up her fingers. One. Two. Three. In unison, she and Brenna burst inside. Shaye managed to surprise the guard—three cheers!—and smash his temple with her rock.
He roared, but he didn’t fall. At the same time, Brenna grabbed hold of the bars. They misted and the nymphs immediately surged out, toppling the guard.
“Brenna!” a male voice shouted.
Brenna squealed happily and rushed forward. Joachim wrapped his big arms around her.
Shaye searched for Valerian. He’s here, he’s here, he has to be here. The crowd of nymphs was parting, but she didn’t see him.
“Valerian? Valerian!”
Where was he?
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“VALERIAN!”
He heard his name being called, and his stomach clenched with joy. Shaye’s voice. His head shot up; his mouth fell open. “Shaye? Where are you?” Before the last word left him, he spotted her in front of the cell.
He leaped up, their gazes locking.
A grin split her entire face, jubilant. Radiant.
“You came back.” He pushed past his men. Tears burned his eyes—and he didn’t care. He ordered Broderick to free the nymphs from the other cell, but his man had beaten him there.
She threw herself into Valerian’s arms.
He kissed her and nipped at her chin. “I thought you were lost to me.” His voice shook.
His arms tightened around her, lifting her feet off the ground. She wound her legs around his waist, kissing him with the same ferocity.
“I promised to stay, didn’t I?” she said.
He breathed deeply of her scent, letting it fill him, strengthen him. “I’d planned to come for you. I was going to help my men retake the palace, then go to you. Live with you up there. One day with you would be better than a lifetime without you.”
“I love you, Valerian. I love you so much. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Sorry I let fear—”
He squeezed her so tightly she couldn’t finish her sentence, could only laugh. “I love you so much, my sweet moonbeam. I’m still in shock you came back to me.”
“I’ll always come back to you.”
“What of the others?” Broderick had completed his mission and strode over. “Did they return, as well?”
“No. Only Brenna and me,” Shaye told him as gently as possible. “I’m sorry.”
Broderick gave a stiff nod.
Valerian faced his men—without releasing Shaye. He wasn’t ready to let her go, couldn’t stop touching her.
“As your queen, I’m ordering you to reclaim our palace,” Shaye said before he could speak.
Several of the warriors smiled at her.
Valerian flicked her a grin of his own. “That’s right.” He placed a kiss on Shaye’s soft lips, lingered far longer than he should have, savoring her taste, then sighed.
“Where are the vampires?” Broderick asked. “They could help us.”
“I sent them into the city. By the time they returned, the dragons had already regained control and barred them from entry.” His stare became hard, penetrating as he peered down at Shaye. “I want to leave you down here.”
“No,” she said. “No way.”
“Shaye.”
“Valerian.”
“She’s queen,” Broderick said, clearly entertained. “You won’t be able to command her.”
Valerian sighed. “Promise me you’ll duck and hide when the fighting begins.”
“Promise,” she said. “I’m not looking to get hurt. Just looking for an opportunity to help if possible and if necessary.”
His hand closed around hers. He loved the feel of her. “Men, we go in hard, and we go in fast.”
“Like Broderick does with his women,” someone joked.
Male chuckles abounded.
“Where’s Shivawn?” Brenna asked.
“No one has seen him,” Joachim replied, hugging her closer. “He probably left the palace before the dragons arrived, sleeping off the night’s excess in the city.”
“Just…try not to kill the dragons,” Shaye said. “They could have killed us—and you—but they placed us on the surface unharmed and only locked you away. You owe them the same consideration.”
“My mate is very wise,” Valerian said. “Listen to her.”
After confining Valerian and his army inside the cells, Darius had looked him in the eyes and said, “I’ve been ordered by Poseidon to execute every nymph who journeyed to the surface…before killing everyone else. Perhaps I bring his wrath upon my own head, but I don’t think your race deserves annihilation. You will remain here until I decide what to do with you.”
A man of his caliber didn’t deserve to die. No matter how much Layel despised him.
As quietly as possible, Valerian crept up the stairs, Shaye behind him, the army behind her. They were without weapons, yet they were determined. This was their home, and they weren’t giving it up.
When they reached the top, Valerian softly ordered everyone to split.
Lines of men branched in every direction. Joachim had kept Brenna with him, as well, Valerian noticed. Couldn’t tolerate a moment away from her?
Know the feeling.
Surprise was their biggest advantage right now. Their footsteps tapped lightly, barely echoing from the walls. Torches glowed, heating the air and lighting their path.
“This way.” He led his contingent into the dining hall.
A group of dragons came into view. They stood at the table, discussing their best course of action.
“Kill them and be done with it,” someone growled. “I don’t wish Poseidon’s wrath upon my family.”
“By doing Poseidon’s will in this, we give him complete control of our lives,” Darius said. “What if, tomorrow, he wishes us to kill our own women?”
“If we disobey him, we may not live long enough to find out.”
“There’s a reason the Greeks have never slain us,
a reason why they sent us back into this palace instead of destroying the nymphs themselves.” Darius again.
“What reason?”
“I don’t know, yet knowing there is a reason gives us leverage. All I am saying is that we can’t become Poseidon’s servants.”
“Agreed,” Valerian answered. His signal.
Weaponless, the nymphs swarmed forward. Valerian wished he held the Skull, but he couldn’t postpone this fight to retrieve it.
Streams of fire suddenly spewed from the dragons. Valerian shoved Shaye behind a small side table and leaped forward. He and Darius met midair. That the dragon king had retained his human form meant he wasn’t enraged. Yet.
They grappled to the ground. Valerian landed a hard punch into his opponent’s face. Blood trickled from Darius’s mouth, yet the cut healed quickly. He gave another punch and rolled, then kicked out his leg, hitting Darius’s stomach.
The dragon king flew backward, but immediately righted himself and spun. His tail had sprouted, and it slashed at Valerian’s face, cutting deep. He felt the sting of it but didn’t let the pain affect him.
All around him nymphs and dragons warred. Their grunts permeated the air.
“I agree with what you said about Poseidon.” Valerian lunged, punched. Contact. “Must we be enemies?”
“Yes!” Darius kicked again, and his foot slammed into Valerian’s side. “You allowed the Jewel of Dunamis to escape to the mortal world.”
Spinning continuously, he lashed out at Darius again and again, landing four successive blows. “I won’t give up this palace. It belongs to us. You already have a home.”
“For the safety of Atlantis, the portal must be guarded. How can I trust you to do this? To not use it for your own gain?”
Valerian paused.
Darius did the same.
They stared each other down, both panting.
“When we win the nymph females back from you,” Valerian said, “we will have no more need of the surface world.”
Around them, the battle still raged. Valerian ducked as a stream of fire was launched his way. The heat singed him, even though the flames never touched him.
Darius said, “The law claims only guardians are to use the portals to travel to the surface, that any one else deserves punishment. If you were a guardian…”
“I would do my duty.” Valerian studied Darius’s face. That scar slashed from eyebrow to chin. His eyes were swirling blue, determined to kill if he must, but hoping to find another way.
“The portal I guard leads to a jungle on the surface. The portal here leads to an ocean on the surface, as I’m sure you know. If you stay here,” Darius said, “human travelers will come through. Most often they swim too deeply, are innocent, but they will be yours to either memory wipe and return or destroy. The Outer City will be yours to guard, as well. I’m ready to relinquish this duty as it was never meant to be mine. I’ve enough to do handling the Inner City.”
“I will protect it with my life,” Valerian vowed. “This is the only home we have ever known.”
“Then kneel.”
Valerian knelt without hesitation. Even though the dragon could betray him. For a chance at this alliance…
He stared up at Darius, who sliced a thin cut down the center of his chest, and offered a blood oath to always guard the portal, to keep the city safe.
Around them, the fighting ceased at last. The men stopped to listen and watch. Shaye approached Valerian’s side, and he stood. He linked their fingers. He should have scolded her for leaving the safety of the table, but too much did he like her where she was.
Darius’s gaze flicked to her and widened with surprise.
“I told you I wouldn’t leave him,” she said with a proud tilt of her chin. “I found a way to return.”
His lips twitched. “My Grace would have done the same.”
“Shall we trust each other, dragon?” Valerian waited impatiently for the answer. Everything he’d ever wanted hovered just beyond his grasp.
Darius’s gaze became piercing. “Yes,” he finally said. “We shall trust each other. And battle Poseidon together if necessary.”
Valerian held out his hand. Darius eyed it for several seconds before clasping it with his own. The truce was sealed, and Valerian had no idea know he would explain it to Layel.
“Let us hope we live long enough to regret this.” He turned to Shaye and gathered her in his arms, where she belonged—where he planned to keep her for all of eternity.
“This is the most unhappy I’ve ever been,” she said, grinning at him. “I’ve never hated you so much.”
Softly he kissed her sweet, sweet lips. “You don’t hate me as much as I hate you.”
“You hate each other?” Darius asked. “I’m confused.”
Valerian ignored him. “Oh, Moon, we are going to have a long, happy life together. I know it.”
EPILOGUE
“HOW MUCH IS THIS ONE?”
“That one will cost you a kiss. A big wet one. Probably a ten-second Frencher.”
Valerian pushed away the basket of oranges he always kept in his room and studied the card Shaye had made for him.
It read: Without you, I’m nothing.
With each day that had passed, her cards had become more and more poetic. Which was a good thing, since his men were going to need those cards to lure the female nymphs from their pique. Seemed they weren’t too happy about being left with the dragons for so long.
But the sweet cards also meant that Shaye’s past hurts were being soothed. She’d even written her romance novel. An erotic tale about two women who fell deeply in love with nymph warriors.
She was adapting to life in Atlantis admirably, amusing herself by selling cards to the residents of the Outer City, where she’d set up shop. Valerian ensured she was always guarded from demons and other forces, of course.
Even the dragons bought a card or twenty when they came to visit—Darius had needed one for his pregnant wife. The vampires, too, bought them, though they didn’t visit often. Layel was upset by the alliance between nymphs and dragons.
Valerian was now determined to unite the two races.
So far Poseidon hadn’t returned. Or rather, he hadn’t made himself known.
Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t. No reason to waste energy worrying. Whatever happened, happened.
Valerian had Shaye, and that was all that mattered. He could handle anything else. He’d even promised Shaye he would find a way to take her to see her mother. And he would. What Shaye wanted, Shaye received.
Life, at the moment, was all that he’d ever dreamed.
Joachim was mated to Brenna, and the little woman had become their healer—for children and the nymphs who were single. She patched those in need with a smile, followed by a lecture about “acting like babies” when the fearless warriors whimpered at the sight of her needles.
Shivawn was his only reason for upset. The man’s mood grew blacker and blacker every day. He’d been spending more and more time in the vampire camp, most likely stalking Alyssa.
They’d slept together once—or so Valerian suspected—and afterward the girl had then rejected him. Her reasons remained a mystery.
But the two would find their way. Of that Valerian was sure. If he had to lock them in a room together until they worked out their differences, he would.
He would consider it inspiration for Shaye’s cards and stories.
“Well, do you like it?” she asked, pointing to the card in his hand.
“I love it. But a kiss is too low a price, Moon.” She sat behind a table and he leaned over it, placing them nose to nose. “You should demand sex and nothing less.”
She chuckled. “Your men would buy more if I did.”
He growled with mock ferocity. “I will pay my men’s debts. In fact, I owe you for several Joachim purchased, and it’s time I paid up.”
“Then close the shop.” Her arms wound around his neck. “Take me to bed, Valerian.”<
br />
“That will be my pleasure.”
“And mine, love. And mine.”
* * * * *
ISBN-13: 9781488026768
The Nymph King
This is the revised text of the work, which was first published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited in 2007.
Copyright © 2007 by Gena Showalter
Revised text Copyright © 2017 by Gena Showalter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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THE VAMPIRE’S BRIDE
GENA SHOWALTER
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR