The Nymph King (Atlantis #3)(71)

"Do you know how Valerian turned the bars to mist?" As she spoke, she attempted to shake them again.

Brenna shook her head.

Shaye replayed the goodbye kiss Valerian had given her through her mind. His lips had met hers and he'd backed her into the bars. Only, the bars hadn't been there. They'd - what? Disappeared? Her eyes widened. Maybe they had. Maybe an outside touch was required. Valerian hadn't pushed a button or used a key. His guard had simply touched the glowing bars and they'd vanished.

She had to get one of the guards to reach into the cell. "I've got it!" she told Brenna, then strode over to Kathleen. "You want to get rid of me, then you have to help me." She explained what she wanted the woman to do.

Kathleen's eyes narrowed. "So you plan on leaving Atlantis? Forever?"

Again Shaye's chest throbbed with prickles of pain. "Yes."

"In that case, helping you will be my pleasure." Kathleen sashayed her way to the front of the crowd. She gripped the bars, smiled sweetly, and said, "Terran, you look so handsome today. I could just eat you up."

He grinned over at her, hungry yearning in his eyes.

"You look handsome, too, Dylan," Kathleen added, playing her role perfectly. "Your muscles are so big. Can I feel them?"

Both men trudged toward her as if pulled by an invisible cord, but they didn't reach for her.

Shaye kept her attention divided between the men and the bars, ready to exit at a moment's notice.

Kathleen whispered throatily, "May I lick your neck, Dylan? Please. I have to taste you."

He didn't even think of denying her. "Of course." He gripped the bars and leaned into Kathleen's waiting lips.

In that instant, the entire cell turned to mist.

"I want to lick you, too," Shaye heard other women say.

The girls surged forward, past the mist. They were suddenly crawling all over the two guards, completely claiming their attention. Shaye easily and silently slipped out of the prison, Brenna beside her. She smiled smugly as she tiptoed from that section of the cavern.

"Women, return to the cell. Return to the cell!" Amid the guards' now-frantic pleas, she and Brenna rounded the corner. Yes! We did it! Following the curls of fog, they soon came to the portal and approached tentatively. It swirled and churned, its jellylike center beckoning. Shaye shivered from the cold - not from regret, she assured herself - and wrapped her arms around her middle.

"I can't believe how easy that was," she said. But she didn't go another step farther.

Brenna didn't respond.

She tore her attention from the portal and faced her partner in crime - who was twisting her hands, her expression tortured. "What's wrong?"

"Joachim needs me."

Ah, crap. The nymphs had brainwashed another one. She didn't need this now. If Brenna backed out... "He's healing nicely. You said so yourself."

Brenna bit her lip. Probably a nervous action, since she did it a lot. "Shivawn is sweet."

Expelling a sharp breath, Shaye pushed a hand through her hair. "You really want to stay with them?"

At first Brenna said nothing, did nothing, but then she slowly nodded. "I think I do. I thought to leave, but now... "

"What about the little love triangle that scared you so badly?"

Her cheeks colored a rosy pink. "Would rather deal than leave."

Great. Just great. "Fine. Stay." Shaye frowned and whipped to the portal. Before, she'd been afraid to enter it on her own. She'd drown, Valerian had said. The thought of entering with Brenna had given her courage. They would have fought the ocean waves together. Now that she had to enter all by herself...

She reached out, but stopped herself before actually touching it. I survived once. I'll survive again. I'm a good swimmer. I can kick my way to the surface. She nodded, drawing on her courage. Fighting her way through the ocean was better than staying here. Right? God, her chest hurt.

Slowly she reached out. Almost... there... she jerked back, stopping before contact yet again. She flicked Brenna an irritated glance. The girl was watching her attentively. "I don't know why I'm hesitating. I've wanted to leave since I got here. Valerian knows that."

Brenna nodded in understanding.

Damn it. Valerian might be injured or killed during the battle with the dragons, and she would never know it. She might never see him again. "If he gets hurt," she said, "will you patch him up?"

Brenna gave another nod.

She should have been overjoyed by that, but she wasn't. She didn't want Brenna touching him, even to doctor him. What's wrong with me? Staying here was stupid. She would have Valerian for a while, true, but he would soon pawn her off on one of his men, like he'd done with the others.

"Leaving is for the best." She squared her shoulders, lifted her chin - nervous actions she resorted to a lot, she realized. She gathered her resolve and reached out again. Her hand began to shake, and the vibration of it swept through the rest of her body. Ow, ow, ow. Her chest was throbbing so badly now, it almost doubled her over.

What if he kept you? What if he wanted you forever, like he said? She stilled. What if he loved you?

Her heart fluttered at the thought. I don't believe in love, she reminded herself. Love was for people like her parents who needed an excuse to do foolish, selfish things. Love had no place in her life. Love sucked. Love...