Hearts in Atlantis Read online

  Heart Of Atlantis

  Warriors of Poseidon [8]

  Alyssa Day

  Berkley (2012)

  * * *

  Rating: ****

  Tags: Magic, Vampires, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural Romance, Love Story, Romance, Fantasy, Adult, Contemporary Romance

  As a war wages between the immortals of Atlantis and those of the vampire realm, a Poseidon warrior fights to save his world--and the woman he loves. And no risk is too great.

  The desires of a high priest.

  Alaric, Poseidon's High Priest, has made a vow to Quinn, the woman he loves and the leader of the Resistance: to save her friend Jack before his last bit of humanity has been drained. Should Alaric succeed, there's one intimate danger: he may lose Quinn to the love of the man whose life he saved. But damn Atlantis to the nine hells, he's willing to put Quinn's wishes first, regardless of the consequences.

  The warning of a threat reborn.

  The final jewel of Poseidon's trident has turned up in the hands of mysterious Ptolemy Reborn, who claims to be descended from Atlantean royalty. He's about to reveal to the world that Atlantis is real, positioning himself as king. But this magical terrorist is bent on chaos. The only warrior who can stop him is following his own path, driven by the even more powerful force of love. Atlantean powers over the sea could prove just as cataclysmic--for Quinn's love, Alaric might drown the entire world.

  "The perfect blend of fabulous world building and sexy romantic adventure."

  --Jayne Castle, New York Times bestselling author

  "A PHENOMENAL NEW SERIES."

  --Fresh Fiction

  "Alyssa Day works her own brand of sexy sorcery in this fabulous new paranormal series. Warriors and witches have never been so hot!"

  --Teresa Medeiros, New York Times bestselling author

  VAMPIRE IN ATLANTIS

  "The relationships between Day's cast of characters are layered and enduring, and they make this series unforgettable. Day aces another one!"

  --RT Book Reviews

  ATLANTIS BETRAYED

  "Day serves up her best book to date with this exhilarating, funny adventure."

  --RT Book Reviews

  "Action [and] hot sex . . . So hold on to your fan; you may need it."

  --Bitten By Paranormal Romance

  ATLANTIS REDEEMED

  "Day blends action, suspense, and fiery hot sensuality."

  --The Romance Dish

  "Day places her latest romantic pair in unique circumstances as they face both technological horror and an ancient curse . . . Day continues to deliver consistent quality and sizzling adventure!"

  --RT Book Reviews

  ATLANTIS UNMASKED

  "Action packed and hot and spicy."

  --TwoLips Reviews

  "Day utilizes a nice blend of action, character building, and sexy sensuality in all her books. A terrific escape from reality."

  --RT Book Reviews

  "As always, I loved this book. Each time I settle down to read about one of the warriors, I know I'm going to want more."

  --Naughty Edition Reviews

  "Day just has a way with these sexy warriors that leaves me breathless."

  --The Romance Readers Connection

  "There were tears, there was laughter, there were moments my heart soared, and there were moments my heart feared for what was to come."

  --Leontine's Book Realm

  ATLANTIS UNLEASHED

  "This character-driven tale will grab the reader's imagination from page one . . . An epic thrill ride that should not be missed."

  --Romance Reviews Today

  "A terrific romantic fantasy thriller."

  --Midwest Book Review

  "Day is back and better than ever . . . She doesn't skimp on the action, but this story also delves into the psychological, giving the characters real depth. Power and passion unleashed make for outstanding reading!"

  --RT Book Reviews

  "Action-packed adventure filled with magic and romance . . . Superb job of world building that will leave you stunned with the richness of detail. The characters of Atlantis are sexy, intelligent, and fascinating. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait for more!"

  --Romance Junkies

  ATLANTIS AWAKENING

  "Fascinating, thrilling, and deeply romantic."

  --Jayne Castle, New York Times bestselling author "Alyssa Day's Atlantis is flat-out amazing--her sexy and heroic characters make me want to beg for more! I love the complex world she's created."

  --Alexis Morgan, national bestselling author "Superb writing, fascinating characters, and an edge-of-your-seat story bring the legend of Atlantis to life."

  --Colby Hodge, award-winning author

  ATLANTIS RISING

  "Atlantis Rising is romantic, sexy, and utterly compelling. I loved it!"

  --Christine Feehan, #1 New York Times bestselling author "The Poseidon Warriors are HOT!! Can I have one?"

  --Kerrelyn Sparks, New York Times bestselling author "Alyssa Day's characters grab you and take you on a whirlwind adventure. I haven't been so captivated by characters or story in a long time. Enjoy the ride!"

  --Susan Squires, New York Times bestselling author "Alyssa Day has penned a white-hot winner!"

  --Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author "Wow! Alyssa Day writes a marvelous paranormal romance set on earth."

  --Susan Kearney, USA Today bestselling author "Inventive and electrifying."

  --RT Book Reviews

  "Alyssa Day roars onto the paranormal scene with this tense and magnetic read."

  --Romance Junkies

  "Fascinating and intriguing . . . Fantastic reinvention of Atlantis."

  --The Eternal Night (U.K.)

  THE WARRIORS OF POSEIDON SERIES BY ALYSSA DAY

  Atlantis Rising

  High Prince Conlan's Story

  Atlantis Awakening

  Lord Vengeance's Story

  Atlantis Unleashed

  Lord Justice's Story

  Atlantis Unmasked

  Alexios's Story

  Atlantis Redeemed

  Brennan's Story

  Atlantis Betrayed

  Christophe's Story

  Vampire in Atlantis

  Daniel's Story

  Heart of Atlantis

  High Priest Alaric's Story

  SPECIALS

  "Wild Hearts in Atlantis" from Wild Thing

  Bastien's Story

  "Shifter's Lady" from Shifter

  Ethan's Story

  HEART OF ATLANTIS

  A Warriors of Poseidon Novel

  ALYSSA DAY

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi--110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual person
s, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  HEART OF ATLANTIS

  A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / December 2012

  Copyright (c) 2012 by Alesia Holliday.

  Excerpt from The Cursed by Alyssa Day copyright (c) 2012 by Alesia Holliday.

  Cover photo by Shutterstock. Cover art by Phil Heffernan. Cover design by George Long.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ISBN: 978-1-101-56002-0

  BERKLEY SENSATION(r)

  Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  BERKLEY SENSATION(r) is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  The "B" design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  This one is for my wonderful readers, who have been asking me for Alaric's story since you first read about him in Atlantis Rising, the book that started this whole fantastic journey for me. I can never express how much I have appreciated your support over the years as we followed the Warriors of Poseidon on their incredible adventures. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Author's Note

  The Warrior's Creed

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Special Preview of The Cursed

  Dear Readers:

  For those of you who have been with me and my hunky alpha male Warriors of Poseidon from the beginning, yes, this is it! You finally hold in your hot little hands the long-awaited story of Alaric, high priest of Poseidon, and his one true love, Quinn Dawson, the rebel leader and empath whose dark and tortured past may even rival Alaric's. All of you can go ahead and skip straight to the prologue, with my heartfelt thanks for making this series such a resounding success.

  For those who are new to Atlantis, never fear! Each of my books stands alone and this one is no different. However, some of my readers told me that it might be more fun for those new to the series to know a little bit about the history of Atlantis and High Priest Alaric, in order to enjoy this book even more. So here is a touch of what you may have missed:

  Eleven thousand years ago, during a battle between the gods of many different pantheons for control of the world, Atlantis escaped beneath the sea to avoid destruction. The sea god Poseidon, who has an affinity for humans and their boisterous, charming, lovable ways, created an elite group of warriors sworn to his service, each of whom takes an oath to protect humanity from evil.

  Today, the world is in a precarious place. Vampires, rogue shape-shifters, and other dark creatures once thought to be only legend have declared their existence and are beginning to take over, treating humans as little more than cattle. The Warriors of Atlantis are needed more than ever to help hold back the attack. Now, finally, Atlantis must rise.

  In order to do so, the seven missing jewels from Poseidon's Trident, scattered to the far reaches of the globe, must be found and restored. So far the warriors have located and retrieved all but one of the gems--and have found the loves of their lives along the way.

  Now, all that remains is to find Poseidon's Pride, the final jewel, and only Alaric can accomplish this dangerous mission . . . if he chooses to do so. But he has vowed to remain at the side of the woman he loves and never leave her again, the fates of Atlantis and the entire world be damned.

  Thanks for coming along on this amazing journey.

  Alyssa

  Research note for the fact junkies like me: As you know by now, I love to use historical fact and actual archaeological discoveries in my books. I was delighted to read that archaeologists at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey discovered what is believed to be the world's oldest temple, dated at approximately eleven thousand years old. Since that is exactly when Atlantis sank beneath the waves in my books, this fit in with the history of my Warriors of Poseidon perfectly. The Smithsonian Magazine reported:

  Six miles from Urfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey, Klaus Schmidt has made one of the most startling archaeological discoveries of our time: massive carved stones about 11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. The megaliths predate Stonehenge by some 6,000 years. The place is called Gobekli Tepe, and Schmidt, a German archaeologist who has been working here more than a decade, is convinced it's the site of the world's oldest temple. Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/gobekli-tepe.html.

  The Warrior's Creed

  We will wait. And watch. And protect.

  And serve as first warning on the eve of humanity's destruction.

  Then, and only then, Atlantis will rise.

  For we are the Warriors of Poseidon, and the mark of the Trident we bear serves as witness to our sacred duty to safeguard mankind.

  Prologue

  The wilderness near Sedona, Arizona, just past twilight

  Alaric, sword at the ready, stepped into the path of the oncoming vampire and struck its head from its body before it had a chance to get anywhere near Quinn.

  "Stay down," he shouted at her, another futile plea disguised as a command. She wouldn't listen. She never listened.

  Quinn, all smoldering heat and explosive fury wrapped up in a small, dark-haired package, smiled at him, and he nearly lost his balance.

  "A gentleman wouldn't keep yelling at me," she said, firing one of the many guns she kept on her at all times. Then firing another. "Why are they attacking now? How did they find us? I'm sick to death of battling vampires and shifters, and it's bad enough when we know why they're after us. This? This is just crazy."

  "I never claimed to be a gentleman, and most vampires are, by their very nature, insane," he said, launching himself into the air toward a pair of wolf shifters that clearly intended to claim either a rebel leader or a high priest of Atlantis--or both--for a late-night snack. The moonlight glinted blue streaks in Quinn's untidy mop of hair, and he had a fraction of a second to wonder why he was noticing her hair in the midst of a heated battle. Why the scent of her skin and curve of her lips formed the puzzle pieces of his greatest obsession.

  He refused to admit the truth of it, even to himself. Battle now. The rest of it later.

  Alaric released t
he energy sword and conjured ice daggers as he flew up and over the shifters, and then hurled both of them down at precisely the exact time and angle needed to simultaneously pierce both of their hearts. They fell, thudding to the ground together in a shapeless mass of unrealized rage and thwarted ambition.

  Enemies were here to deal death tonight, and Alaric, who'd been Atlantean warrior and high priest to Poseidon for centuries, had no intention of allowing even one of them to succeed. Not if he could help it.

  "Beware," he called out, but a tiger's scream drew his attention from Quinn after she shot an attacking wolf shifter.

  Jack, one of fewer than a dozen tiger shifters still in existence, fought like a berserker from old, only a dozen paces from where Alaric and Quinn stood. A vampire's head rolled from its body seconds after Jack struck. Serai, the Atlantean princess Jack protected, trembled and backed away.

  "Help Serai," Quinn shouted at Alaric. "She's just out of stasis after eleven thousand years. It's not like she knows how to protect herself from this."

  But seconds later Serai transformed into a beast that had been extinct for millennia, using ancient magic long forgotten. A shimmer of brilliant silver power surrounded her, and then a saber-toothed tiger roared where an Atlantean princess had shivered in the cool night air.

  The cacophony of battle, rude and loud and clashing, stilled for a frozen moment in time as attackers and defenders alike swung toward the sound of an ancient, deadly predator. The forest itself froze as nature's darkest memories conjured up long-forgotten fears.

  Quinn's small guns barked out a warning--once, twice, thrice--and Alaric whirled to find a dead vampire slamming into the ground at his feet. He looked up to meet Quinn's gaze, all smoke and mystery in the moonlight.

  "I may not have any magic, but I do okay," she said, shrugging her slender shoulders.

  Before she'd finished speaking, Alaric was leaping toward her, calling power to himself and forming energy spheres in both hands. The trio of bloodsuckers rushed at Quinn with deadly intent, and Alaric knew that whoever had masterminded this attack had painted a target on her. Kill the North American rebel leader, and maybe the entire human rebellion falls apart.