Page 93 of A Warrior's Heart
“But—”
“No,” I growled. “We’re not discussing this.”
Lorcan looked at me, understanding in his gaze. He grabbed Alek’s hand and linked their fingers. It was foolish to think we were invincible. The memory of an arrow piercing Aeon’s neck flashed through my mind.
All it took was a single second for everything to fall apart.
I held Troy closer, refusing to imagine a life without him in my arms.
The sound of waves lapping at the shore reached my ears, and the familiar scent of saltwater filled the air. We were close to the beach. The trees opened to a sunny cove, the blue water sparkling against the white sand. Beyond the rocks lay a stretch of sea.
I set Troy down, and he smiled down at the sand.
Lorcan trembled as he stared ahead, and his hand lifted to his heart. “I feel it.”
“What are you waiting for?” Eva asked him. “Go get the damned thing.”
The prince smiled before stepping toward the water’s edge, the waves brushing against his boots. He turned back to us. “Who will come with me?”
“Some of us should stay on the shore to keep watch,” Roan, one of the assassins, said. He surveyed the beach. “I see nor sense any other presence, yet it’s wise to be prepared for anything.”
Ervin nodded. “Fair point. Who will stay on the beach?”
“I will,” Cain said, nodding to his leader.
“As will I,” Eva said, glancing at the assassin before quickly looking away.
“Me as well,” Marlin said. Or I believed it to be Marlin. With their hoods up, most of the assassins looked the same.
Lusca agreed to stay too. The rest of us stepped into the water.
Troy shifted into his merform first, his excitement to be in the water palpable.
Lorcan transformed next. Rays of sun pierced the surface of the water, glimmering off his multi-colored tail of blue, green, and purple. Blue dust spread along both his shoulders, and his already pointed ears became even more prominent.
Ervin had no color on any of his scales. His tail, forearm fins, and the dusting down one arm were all black.
Shar’s tail fin was black with hints of red, and a red dusting curved down his spine. Nereus glided his fingers along the design, admiring him.
“I see nothing,” Troy said as we swam toward the sea floor. “Are you sure this is the place? Surely a sunken city would be visible in this clear water.”
“Or perhaps it’s right in front of us.” Lorcan propelled himself toward a formation of rock. “Avalontis is hidden from outsiders. Only a creature of the sea can find the portal and enter the kingdom.”
“So Atlantis could be the same,” Troy said, swimming faster.
I kept pace beside him, not letting him out of my sight for a single moment.
“Lorcan!” Alek exclaimed as the prince touched one of the rocks and vanished.
Alarmed, I dashed forward, grabbing Troy’s arm and bringing him with me. Alek disappeared in the same spot as he went after Lorcan. When I reached the rock, I passed right through it. A portal, just like our home in Avalontis.
However, unlike our home, the sight before me was one of utter destruction.
The eight of us remained frozen in place as we stared at the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis. Algae covered the crumbled buildings, and the water was murky. Dark. As if no sunlight had touched it in a thousand years.
“There’s bad energy here,” Alek said. “I can feel the agony of those who once lived within this place. Their dying screams are imprinted in the memory of the water.”
“Do you think it’s true then?” Nereus asked. “Poseidon destroyed the city out of anger?”
