Maiden of Atlantis

by Maidenofatlantis(Lit)

  She was an empath as well as a healer. It was her ability to feel the pain of others that helped her to heal them. She had suspected before that that ability also helped her read other things in the people around her, but she had never before been really certain.

  She supposed discovering Mark with Melissa might have cemented that belief.

  Not that that was much of a feat. Women commonly had a sixth sense when it came to the men they lived with, having come to know them well enough that they could detect their lies as well, or better than, a lie detector.

  She shook off the musing as he guided her through the infirmary, pointing out the facilities and explaining that she must familiarize herself with everything as quickly as possible.

  That unnerved her enough that her thoughts became more chaotic than focused.

  Why now, she wondered? Why this sudden sense of urgency? What had changed?

  She gathered her nerve and asked, but as she’d expected, his answers were evasive.

  Was there any way to find out?

  Did she really want to know?

  She looked around, not really seeing the room, her entire being suddenly focused on the desperate need to escape. She knew it was probably impossible, and yet, she now saw that it might well be her only hope, where before she’d tried to comfort herself with the idea that she could do whatever it was they wanted and then they would release her.

  She glanced at Mercury sharply the moment she realized she’d thrown caution to the wind in her state of panic, but he didn’t appear to have been following her thoughts.

  Maybe the thing on her head really did prevent him from knowing what she was thinking?

  When they had reached the other side of the infirmary, he tucked her arm a little closer against his side, forcing her to move closer. It distracted her from her preoccupation with death and she glanced up at him in wide-eyed dismay.

  He was smiling faintly, not unkindly. "I know you are bewildered by all that has happened to you. Come. I will show you something beautiful."

  Claire was fairly certain she didn’t want to see whatever it was. She forced a smile. "Actually, I’m a little tired—Maybe tomorrow?"

  He lifted his brows. "You do not wish to see what it is that we fight for?"

  Relief went through her. She didn’t particularly want to see whatever it was he was talking about, but at least he didn’t seem to have seduction in mind, as she’d feared he did.

  "Is it nearby?" she asked cautiously.

  "Nearer than anyone in Atalantium would believe."

  The door he opened led into a stairwell, Claire discovered. Her heart leapt, partly in hope, but partly in fear, as well, for as she looked up, she saw it seemed to go on forever. Zeus had said they were beneath the city of Oceanus, but--good God!--it looked to be miles!

  It occurred to her suddenly that the buzzing in her head might not have been ‘voices’ at all, but the pressure from being so deep in the Earth. Maybe that was why they had stairs instead of an elevator? She didn’t doubt for a moment that they had the technology to build elevators, but perhaps a slow climb was better than a rapid ascent?

  "We have to climb all the way to the top?" she asked a little doubtfully.

  "I could take you, if you prefer."

  She eyed him even more doubtfully. "Carry me?"

  Releasing her, he moved back a step and bent his head forward, almost as if he was nodding at her, or bowing, but the moment he did so, wings sprouted from his shoulder blades, unfurling. Startled, Claire jumped away from him, clutching her heart. "My God! You’re not… you really aren’t…"

  He lifted his brows. "Human?" he asked, smiling in genuine amusement.

  "You aren’t, are you?"

  He chuckled. "I had thought the human race had advanced beyond being so easily impressed. What do you think that I am?"

  "An alien?" Claire ventured.

  "No more alien than you are. Do you feel that you are not human only because you can heal when others can not?"

  Claire stared at him for several moments doubtfully. She’d never doubted that she was, but what did she really know about her antecedents? She’d been fostered as a child. She didn’t know who her birth parents were, let alone her grandparents. "I am human," she said, almost defiantly.

  "Indeed, you are—just as I am—as we all are. Genetically, we have traits other races do not."

  "We’re not talking about skin tones, or eye color here," Claire pointed out, almost angrily.

  He seemed unperturbed by her anger, in fact, more amused. "You think we are conceited? We at least acknowledge that we do not know everything there is to know … Come. I will hold you and fly you to the top."

  "I believe I’d rather walk," Claire said tightly.

  She’d thought she was very physically fit, but she gave up before she was more than a quarter of the way to the top. She was still trying to catch her breath when Mercury scooped her into his arms, produced his wings and leapt from the stairs. Claire passed out from pure terror, but she knew she couldn’t have blacked out long. She had already become vaguely aware of her surroundings, and the air whizzing past her head, when Mercury stopped abruptly, landing with a jolt that nearly scared her senseless.

  Too weak to even attempt to stand on her rubbery legs, she clung to him when he would’ve released her. His arms tightened around her momentarily, and then he set her away, turning her.

  She discovered that they were standing on something that appeared to be a tower with short, crenalated walls. Above them, stars twinkled in a clear sky. Below the tower, stretching in every direction, lay a city such as she’d never seen before.

  As high as they were, the buildings that made up the city below them looked ancient, the architecture from long, long ago, if it had ever been a part of human history. Beyond the boundaries of the city before them lay green farmland. Fascinated, feeling a surge of real hope, Claire pulled away from him and moved closer to the low wall, staring down. The gleam of water caught her eye and she turned her head, moving to her right as she saw the crashing waves of a shoreline and harbor.

  "What is this place?" she murmured a little breathlessly.

  Mercury moved up behind her. Before she even knew what he was about, he tugged the head band off, then slipped his arms around her waist. "This is Oceanus, Claire, one of the seven great cities of Atalantium." He lifted his arm, pointing toward a narrow channel. "That waterway connects Oceanus to Atlantis, the heart of Atalantium, our capitol city. The others you see there, and there," he added, pointing them out, "lead to our sister cities."

  A vague uneasiness had entered her, and not altogether because it seemed she was in truth cut off from her own world. The heat of his breath against her ear sent a little flurry of alarmed goosebumps along her neck and shoulder. She stood away from him. To her surprise and relief, he didn’t try to stop her.

  "I’m still confused. I thought Atalantium was beneath the sea."

  "It is. The sky is only an image against the dome that protects the city from the sea—the council’s way of making it easier for us to accept that we are cut off forever from the real world," he said almost angrily. "We are tired of having only the illusion, however, tired of being imprisoned. Soon now, we will free Atalantium and again be a part of the living world, instead of suffocating and dying slowly here."

  Claire glanced at him nervously.

  He seemed to shake his anger with an effort and focused on her once more. "I will be able to choose my own mate," he murmured huskily. "Instead of petitioning the council for permission."

  Claire swallowed with an effort. "I think I’d like to go back now," she said, whirling toward the stairwell. Unfortunately, he was between her and the only way on or off the tower—for her, anyway. He caught her as she tried to rush past him. She struggled for all she was worth, but despite her best efforts, he laid a palm against her forehead, sending her spiraling down into darkness.

  Her last conscious thought was that Eros had promised to
protect her and then, because he was angry with her, abandoned her to the not so tender mercies of the others.

  Despair warred with desire as consciousness returned sluggishly. With an effort, Claire lifted her eyelids. White surrounded her. She realized after a moment that she was lying in one of the beds in the infirmary. Mercury, she discovered when she managed to turn her head, was standing beside the bed, staring at her.

  He seemed almost—dispassionate.

  Leaning down, he placed the band on her head, the one he’d taken when they were on the tower. Random words of warning drifted through her mind, but she found she couldn’t capture them or put them into any semblance of sense.

  She was surprised to discover she felt no alarm when she realized at last that she was completely naked, sprawled in wanton abandon on the bed.

  Mercury, she saw as he climbed onto the bed, was naked also.

  Warmth suffused her as he stroked a hand down her body, cupping her sex.

  Abruptly, his hand vanished—he vanished, flying through the sheeting that surrounded the bed and disappearing beyond the fluttering cloth.

  Claire frowned, focused with a great effort. Eros, she discovered, was standing over her now, his face suffused with such rage that it penetrated the fog of her mind, sending a jolt of dismay through her.

  She wanted to tell him it wasn’t her fault, that she hadn’t willingly gone to Mercury, but she discovered she couldn’t speak. Her mind drifted, wandering aimlessly. Finally, it settled in upon her that Eros and Mercury were locked in a battle. Swords flashed, clattered against each other, the scream of metal against metal sending another jolt through her.

  Others appeared, Zeus and Diana among them. Before embarrassment had quite penetrated the fog of her mind, she realized that it was over, that both Eros and Mercury had been surrounded and seized.

  "I will not have my captains fighting over some … female!" Zeus roared. "I have said she was to be yours, Eros. If you want her, claim her! For if you do not, I will allow someone else to try for her affections!"

  Eros’ face was a mask of barely suppressed rage when he thrust the sheeting aside and scooped her into his arms. Claire burrowed her face against his neck as he lifted her against his chest, grateful that he had arrived in time to save her from Mercury, but also embarrassed.

  He said nothing. Slowly, as he strode furiously down the corridor, the mind hold that Mercury had placed upon her began to loose strength. She was almost sorry it had when they entered Eros’ quarters and he dropped her unceremoniously on the bed.

  Covering her nakedness with her arms, Claire stared up at him in alarm.

  Chapter Nine

  It didn’t take an empath to see that Eros was still in the grips of battle lust. Despite his efforts to bring his temper under control, his eyes glittered dangerously. "You prefer Mercury’s arms to mine?" he asked coldly, though it was more an accusation than a question. "I did not take what you offered me because I sensed your doubts, because it mattered to me that you give yourself to me wholeheartedly, and yet I return to find that you have spread your legs for him like a bitch in heat!"

  That accusation drove Claire’s fear, and unfortunately, her common sense, to the background as her own anger surged forward. Gasping in outrage, she surged to her feet. "You … you asshole! How dare you!"

  He grabbed her arms, hauling her against his heaving chest. "You are mine!" he ground out. "You gave yourself to me willingly—had I known you would be as willing with anyone…."

  It was probably fortunate for both of them that he had such a firm grip on her arms. "That’s not true!" she exclaimed hotly, struggling to wrench free of his hold.

  He studied her for a long moment, an arrested look in his eyes. "Which?"

  She stamped her foot. "Any of it, damn it! You used that … that mind thingy! Just like Zeus! Just like Mercury! I had no will to resist, because it was taken from me!"

  His anger surged to the forefront once more. Releasing his grip on her arms, he snatched the band from her head, holding it in front of her face as if it was evidence of her faithlessness. "I did not … and he could not."

  Claire stared at the band blankly for several moments, then looked at Eros. "He, who, could not, what? --You didn’t?"

  His hand tightened on the band for a moment before he tossed it across the room. "The band protects you," he ground out. "Mercury could not have seduced your mind to his will when you were wearing it!"

  Claire gaped at him, images crowding her mind as she tried to piece together what had happened. "He snatched it off!" she finally produced triumphantly. "I … uh … fainted, I guess, blacked out. When I came to I was … uh …."

  "Why would he replace it?"

  "How the hell would I know?" Claire practically screamed at him. "Believe or don’t! I don’t give a damn, because it’s none of your damned business anyway! I don’t belong to you! I don’t owe you anything—and I wasn’t cheating on you because I wasn’t yours to start with!"

  His eyes narrowed. "You said you could not stop him," he said coldly.

  Furious by now, Claire gave him a shove. It was like trying to push the wall out of her way. He didn’t so much as sway slightly. The push was hard enough, however, to force her off balance, and she staggered back a couple of steps, glaring at him as if he’d pushed her. "I have no intention of continuing to argue my innocence," she bit out angrily, then turned and stalked across the room to retrieve the band. Settling it on her head, she straightened and turned.

  Eros was directly behind her. It gave her a nervous start to discover he was virtually on top of her. She jumped back … and flattened herself against the wall. He surged against her, pinning her there. Bending his head, he placed his lips along the bend of neck and shoulder. Despite her anger, or perhaps because he had already aroused her passions, heat rushed through her, causing her nipples to pebble so hard they throbbed painfully. Anger became desire and moisture gathered in her sex as he nibbled a trail upward to her ear. "You want me … as I want you," he murmured huskily.

  Claire licked her dry lips, trying to close her mind to the sensations he created so easily inside of her. "I can’t help it," she gasped. "You come inside my mind …."

  He stood away from her, pulled the band from her head and dropped it to the floor, then, before she could move away, caged her with his arms planted firmly against the wall on either side of her.

  As she stared at him in confusion, heat seared its way inside of her like molten metal, burning, consuming her. Her mind was pelted by pleasure from every part of her body, as if he licked and suckled her flesh, massaged and kissed her everywhere at once. Within moments, she felt her body rushing toward climax, felt it burst inside of her. She gasped, cried out in ecstasy.

  Her knees buckled as the strength left every muscle.

  Without a word, he caught her to him, running his hand along her back in a caress that was more gentle than sexual. "You perceive the difference, beloved?" he murmured huskily.

  She was too sated even to make sense of his words. She could do nothing but lean weakly against him. It occurred to her, after a moment, dimly, that he had made a point. She just wasn’t certain what it was.

  He scooped her into his arms, carried her to his bunk and settled her gently. He looked very pleased with himself when he lay down beside her, turning on his side to face her.

  Claire gave him a look, but she found it difficult to summon enough energy to be angry anymore. "What?"

  Instead of answering, he pulled her close and kissed her, slowly, thoroughly, but with the urgency of a man who hungered and held himself in check only with an effort. The moment his lips brushed hers, Claire felt the heat of before surge through her body, felt enflamed as he thrust his tongue into her mouth and explored the sensitive surfaces inside her mouth hungrily. She clutched him, rolling onto her side and pressing tightly against him as she entwined her tongue with his, stroked him, closed her mouth around that thrusting part of him and suckled his tongue as i
f she was suckling his cock.

  A fine sheen of sweat misted his skin, a groan of pleasure erupting from deep in his throat that was almost a growl.

  As if he had only been waiting for her to yield herself completely into his possession, he pushed her onto her back and moved over her, releasing her lips to explore her face, her throat, the upper slope of her breasts. Threading her fingers through his hair, she held him close, moving beneath him, offering her breasts for his caress.

  He slipped one hand down her body, caressing the side of her breast, her waist, then gliding his palm over her hip and around, cupping one buttock in his hand. The tips of his fingers sought her cleft, followed it until he found the wetness of her need that saturated her woman’s flesh. A satisfied groan rumbled in his chest. Gripping her leg, he lifted it, brought it forward until her thigh was resting atop his own.

  Claire bit his shoulder as his fingers found her moist cleft once more, teasing, exploring. Rubbing her clit with his thumb, he delved one long finger inside of her passage. Nearly mindless with delight by now, she thrust her hips against his probing fingers, feeling jolts of pleasure rushing through her with each nudge of her clit.

  It was a wonderful tease, but she needed more. Threading her leg around his, she shoved her hand down between them, caressing his taut belly, digging her fingers into the nest of hair that surrounded his cock, and then closing her fingers around him. Her heart pounding with dizzying excitement, she massaged his length, feeling his engorged member jerk beneath her touch, bucking against her palm. Reaching further, she cupped his testicles, massaging them, feeling them tighten in her hand, then slipped her hand upward to grip his cock once more in a tight hold, massaging it until he was gasping for breath.

  Releasing his cock, she caught his hand and guided it around until he was gripping her buttock tightly and then moved closer, spreading her thighs wider, arching her hips so that she could feel his cock slipping along her wet cleft. She kissed his neck, his throat, placed love bites along his chin and jaw. Her passage ached for his possession. She wanted to feel him inside of her, caressing the sensitive walls of her passage, becoming a part of her.