by Alyssa Day
But it was more than that. Even Alaric’s allies sometimes feared him, and Quinn had seen how brutal a blow that was to him. Poseidon’s high priest would be called a wizard of the highest level if he practiced his magic in the human hierarchy. Hell, he blew the hierarchy out of the water.
Ha. Water. Atlantis. She’d made a funny.
Alaric shifted to capture her in his hot green gaze, and she wondered if he knew she’d been thinking about him. Archelaus said something, and Alaric turned his head back toward the man, giving Quinn the chance to study him unobserved. Even in ripped and bloodstained clothes from the battle they’d just fought, his body was a seductive delight, worthy of starring in any woman’s fantasies. All hard muscle and perfect proportion. Even she, who’d spent the past decade or so surrounded by warriors and soldiers in her rebel army, had to admit that Alaric was in a class all by himself.
And he could never, ever, be hers. Even now, devastated and destroyed by what had happened to Jack, she felt a dull pang at that.
He turned toward her again, and this time he stared a blazing path down her body. Probably looking for any injury he could heal with his magic. She, herself, wasn’t much to look at. It never failed to surprise her that an Atlantean god of a man would be interested in a scruffy, skinny freedom fighter who dressed in other people’s castoffs and hadn’t worn makeup since she was sixteen years old. Back when the world was innocent of all the dark and twisted things that did far worse than merely go bump in the night.
Alaric headed toward her with that nearly vampire-fast speed of his, and he was kneeling before her almost before she’d seen him take his first step.
“Are you injured?” It was command more than question. The Tell Me Now was implied.
“No.” She lifted her chin, knowing he’d read her defiance. Not caring much.
His eyes narrowed, and he gently grasped her jaw in one strong hand, tilting her chin to the side.
“You lie. Blood is seeping from this scrape on your neck.”
A pulse of blue-green light shimmered briefly, and she knew from the accompanying warmth that he’d healed her.
She attempted a smile. Failed. Settled for truth. “Your manners could use some work. ‘You lie.’ Really?”
He released her chin but rested his hand against her now-healed skin, as if unwilling to break the contact. “How is stating fact a breach of manners?”
This time, she did smile, although it was a mere quirk of her lips. He was untamed and always would be, like the other feral man in her life.
“Jack,” she said, her voice anguished. “Alaric, will we ever find a way to restore his humanity?”
Her warrior priest turned his powerful gaze to the tiger, lying so still on the ground.
“I will do all in my power, Quinn, but I cannot lie to you. The chances are not good.”
Alyssa Day is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling pen name (and dark and twisty alter ego) of Alesia Holliday. Previously a trial lawyer in multimillion-dollar litigation, Alyssa was delighted to give up the courtroom to finally put the voices in her head down on paper where they belonged. Writing as Alesia, Alyssa won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA Award for excellence in romance fiction. Alyssa is a graduate of The Ohio State University and summa cum laude (Latin for “with much student debt”) graduate of Capital Law School in Columbus, Ohio. She and her husband, Judd, their two children, and their adopted rescue dogs have just moved to Japan for a while, where they’re having new adventures.
The Warriors of Poseidon Series by Alyssa Day
ATLANTIS RISING
High Prince Conlan’s Story
ATLANTIS AWAKENING
Lord Vengeance’s Story
ATLANTIS UNLEASHED
Lord Justice’s Story
ATLANTIS UNMASKED
Alexios’s Story
ATLANTIS REDEEMED
Brennan’s Story
ATLANTIS BETRAYED
Christophe’s Story
VAMPIRE IN ATLANTIS
Daniel’s Story
HEART OF ATLANTIS
High Priest Alaric’s Story
Specials
“Wild Hearts in Atlantis” from WILD THING
Bastien’s Story