Page 2 of The Dark Labyrinth

"It won't go anywhere,cara. It hasn't in over ten thousand years," Alexis replied. He wasn't sure if he liked that an artifact was sentient enough to be calling out to her at all. Atlantis had many magical objects that had been drowned by the waves, and he didn't know if finding them again was a good idea.

Alexis had been thinking a lot about Atlantis and the times after it fell since the battle with Thevetat. Revisiting those memories didn't hurt as much when he faced Penelope's enthusiasm and joy whenever he mentioned them to her. Those memories sparked the idea to work on his special present for Penelope for the solstice. Now, his memories were giving him another excellent idea.

Penelope kissed him, drawing him out of the past and back to the present.

"Okay, let's go back to Venice," she said, laying her head against his chest. Her clever fingers slipped under his shirt, and she pressed her palm over his heart, making themoira desmosthat bound them sing. "And I have the best part of Atlantis right here."

CHAPTER TWO

Alexis was up to something, and Penelope knew it. He had been thoughtful since they started to sail back from Greece to Venice, and she would occasionally catch the scent of cinnamon and firecrackers on his clothes, which told her he was testing some kind of magic.

Penelope had tried getting it out of him a few times, but he had only smiled enigmatically and said, "You'll see. Let it be a mystery."

When she had tried to point out yet again that he already had enough mysteries, he had kissed her so thoroughly, it had convinced her to drop the argument in favor of getting him out of his clothes. Even now, Penelope's gaze lingered on the shape of his ringed hands on the wheel of the ship.

Obsession, the waves crashing against the boat whispered to her. They weren't wrong.

But then, obsession had always shaped her life. She had been obsessed with finding Atlantis, obsessed with stopping Thevetat, and obsessed with the magicians and their secrets. She was obsessed with the unknown magic that was now in her veins.

And Alexis. Through it all, she was still obsessed with knowing him and having the chance to love him and be loved by him.

She regretted none of it. When Penelope followed her urges and obsessions, when she blocked out all the naysayers in her world, they always led her to greater, deeper truths.

Now, she was untethered from all the restrictions placed on her by her family, her career, and her bank account. She was free.

Some nights, she woke with anxiety squeezing her body tight with the thought that it would all be taken away from her. She would wake up and find herself in a cramped corner cubicle at a university, buried in mindless grant paperwork. The tedium of bureaucracy would slowly add weights to her ankles when all she wanted to do was run and dig until the world spilled out all its mysteries to her.

The part of her that was linked to the Archives throbbed with longing the closer they got to Venice. Yes, it was past time to go back to them. If nothing else, it was becoming too cold and miserable to dive every day, with winter closing in on them.

Penelope's eyes drew back to Alexis, who had begun to glow, an aura of gold shimmering around his broad shoulders and dark hair. The glamor he was whispering settled over the boat, and they sailed from the Gulf of Venice and into the lagoon. Sailboats as big as theirs weren't allowed to come into the city, but those kinds of rules didn't apply to the magician who had called the islands home since it was a cluster of huts on poles.

The dome of Santa Maria della Salute rose in front of them, and the gray-blue waves lapped against the hull—home, home, home.

Penelope never thought she would see the day that she felt a true sense of 'home' anywhere. She was wrong. Venice wasa different feeling of home than the remnants of Atlantis that called to her, but both enfolded her in a sense of deep belonging.

Penelope moved from the side of the boat to slip her arms around Alexis.

"Home," she whispered.

Alexis drew her closer into his warmth and kissed her forehead before fixing his brilliant indigo eyes on her.

"Home," he repeated, and she knew he was talking about her just as much as the city.

Penelope's feelingof serenity lasted right up until the moment the boat docked, and Aelia appeared in a bright purple sweater dress and leather leggings.

"It's about time you got home!" she declared, hands on her hips. "You waited right until Christmas Eve? Talk about last minute."

"Why? What's wrong?" Penelope said, stepping onto the docks and into her rose scented embrace.

"There's too many men in the house, that's what's wrong," Aelia huffed.

"Where's Lyca?"

Aelia made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "We both know she hardly counts. Every time I go near her in the forge, she just growls at me. Zo has become worse than a nonna with solstice cooking. Con and Elazar are doing some kind of research in the library with Galenos, and Phaidros is being cagey with some kind of project."

Alexis stepped ashore and kissed Aelia's cheeks. "So nothing is wrong. You are just bored."

"No need for your sass, Defender. I just missed you, that's all," Aelia said with a smile. "You look positively feral. When did you last trim your beard?"

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