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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.
“Denal, 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 gem song to aid in the healing. All will be well.”
Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
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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.
“You 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.
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“Don‟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 Justice in total horror. “Oh, no. She can‟t—I can‟t—”
Justice and Alexios shared a glance of complete understanding. “Oh, no worries. My woman is not giving you a bath,” Justice said, a wicked smile on his face. “Alexios and I will help you wash your baby-soft ass, youngling.”
“I‟m not touching his ass,” Alexios pointed out.
“Nor do I have any desire to cleanse that part of Denal‟s anatomy,” Brennan said.
“Perhaps we should find the palace housekeeper. She did, after all, change his wet clouts upon occasion when he was an infant.”
If anything, Denal looked even more horrified. “No! Not Neela! By the gods, I can bathe myself!”
They all started laughing as Denal spluttered protests, but their laughter had a sharp edge to it. Simple joy and relief tempered with the residue of not-yet-vanquished terror.
Denal was alive . But he almost hadn‟t been.
A flash of something unfathomable crossed Denal‟s expression, and his face hardened.
“Then Poseidon did not accept my sacrifice? I was unworthy?”
“You are not unworthy, you fool,” Justice said, smacking Denal in the back of the head in a gentle imitation of the action he‟d done so many times during the youngling‟s Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
Page 55 of 314
training. “Your
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.
“Denal, 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 gem song to aid in the healing. All will be well.”
Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
Page 53 of 314
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.
“You 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.
Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
Page 54 of 314
“Don‟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 Justice in total horror. “Oh, no. She can‟t—I can‟t—”
Justice and Alexios shared a glance of complete understanding. “Oh, no worries. My woman is not giving you a bath,” Justice said, a wicked smile on his face. “Alexios and I will help you wash your baby-soft ass, youngling.”
“I‟m not touching his ass,” Alexios pointed out.
“Nor do I have any desire to cleanse that part of Denal‟s anatomy,” Brennan said.
“Perhaps we should find the palace housekeeper. She did, after all, change his wet clouts upon occasion when he was an infant.”
If anything, Denal looked even more horrified. “No! Not Neela! By the gods, I can bathe myself!”
They all started laughing as Denal spluttered protests, but their laughter had a sharp edge to it. Simple joy and relief tempered with the residue of not-yet-vanquished terror.
Denal was alive . But he almost hadn‟t been.
A flash of something unfathomable crossed Denal‟s expression, and his face hardened.
“Then Poseidon did not accept my sacrifice? I was unworthy?”
“You are not unworthy, you fool,” Justice said, smacking Denal in the back of the head in a gentle imitation of the action he‟d done so many times during the youngling‟s Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
Page 55 of 314
training. “Your
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