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grant to a single warrior?
    Alaric abruptly leaned forward and pushed, his hands pressing deeply into Denal’s abdomen. Denal’s body arched and then fell back to the floor, and he started choking and coughing, then sucked in huge, gasping breaths. His eyes snapped open and he stared up at Alaric, an uncomprehending expression on his face.
    â€œAm I dead?” He managed to force those three words from his throat before he began coughing again.
    The priest leaned back and held his hands up into the air. The energy spheres burned fiercely for a moment and then disappeared as if they’d never existed, leaving Alaric’s hands cleansed of blood. He looked at his hands and smiled, but it was a smile lacking in any trace of warmth or humor.
    â€œIf only my soul could be cleansed so easily,” Alaric said, so quietly that Alexios knew he hadn’t been meant to hear it. Then the priest stood up and stared down at Denal. “No, you’re not dead, though you were close. But if you ever act in such a manner again, you may believe that I will leave you to the consequences of your actions.”
    Without another word, Alaric turned and stalked toward the door. “If you’re done with this display, Lady Riley has asked that we be present in her outer chamber so that we can meet the baby immediately after he arrives.”
    He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. “I would suggest that you clean up first.”
    Alexios helped Denal, whose wounds were entirely healed, sit up. All the things he wanted to say tumbled through his mind. Finally, he settled on the simplest. The good news.
    â€œDenal, Riley and the baby are going to be fine. Marie has said so, and she has been First Maiden of the temple dedicated to health in childbirth for many, many years. You know we can trust her instincts. And Erin is there to call the power of gemsong to aid in the healing. All will be well.”
    Denal just stared straight ahead, his expression blank and frozen. Alexios had seen it before. Hells, he’d felt it before. It was shock. The state of unnatural calm of one who had faced and accepted death. When death relinquished its claim, it took time for the realization of continued life to sink in. The space in between, that gray and featureless limbo, was a cold crossing where sanity hung in the balance. Not everyone came all the way back.
    Brennan, Keely, and Justice all gathered around Denal, and Keely put her arms around him, tears still streaming down her face. Belatedly, Alexios realized they’d been right behind him while Alaric had healed Denal. Justice and Brennan each put a hand on Denal’s shoulders, offering their own comfort.
    Strength in numbers, indeed.
    â€œYou Atlanteans,” Keely said as she sat back up, mingled fury and relief in her voice. “From the moment I first stepped foot in Atlantis, somebody has been trying to sacrifice himself for somebody else. I’ve had it. I want to go home where nice, normal people don’t go around killing themselves all the time.” She batted Justice’s arm away when he tried to comfort her, and there was a certain wildness in her eyes. Alexios wondered, not for the first time, how difficult adjusting to life with an Atlantean warrior must be for a human.
    Slowly, slowly, Denal’s gaze sharpened and focused, and he blinked up at Keely. “Dr. McDermott?”
    She smiled through her tears, and in that instant Alexios knew why Justice had kidnapped this woman. Why he’d follow her through all the nine hells to be by her side. She was fierce and beautiful and everything a man could ever desire.
    She reminded him of Grace.
    â€œDon’t you ‘Dr. McDermott’ me, Denal. I may be a couple of hundred years younger than you, but I can still kick your butt,” she said, wiping her face on her sleeve. “Now let me help you up and we’ll get you in a bath.”
    Fully alert now, Denal stared at