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  A month passed and all was well. Bridget was settling into her new life with Caderyn. She worked during the day and found what she did new and fulfilling. They made love at night, holding each other in the aftermath.

  He would send naughty thoughts to her at all hours of the day and she took Afra’s advice and sent him a few whoppers of her own while he was in conference with the king and the other hunters. Afterward, he had stormed into their home, tossed her over the back of the couch and had his very untamed way with her. Bridget made sure to send him such thoughts often.

  One night, he let the thought ‘so much better than the pleasure nymph’ slip during sex. Bridget instantly demanded he unlock the wardrobe. The cyber-sex doll was thrown away immediately. The rest of the toys showed promise and she spent the night torturing him with each and every one of them.

  She was so in love with her husband and he was in love with her. They were so very happy. All was perfect, until the day Caderyn informed her that he was leaving to track a scylla. Bridget cried, begging and pleading with him to send someone else in his place. She couldn’t help it. She tried to be strong, but the idea of something happening to ruin her new, perfect life terrified her. In the end, he felt his work was too important not to go.

  Chapter 27

  “Four days,” Bridget said, hitting the table to get Aidan’s attention. “He has been gone for four days now.”

  “I’ve already explained, Bridget,” Aidan said, as he’d begun calling her after she’d gotten mad at the ‘my lady’ thing. He was the only one, though, as everyone else seemed to like using her new title. Being a hunter’s wife gave her quite a bit of leverage among the Merr. Pushing her hand aside so he could work, he added, “They can be gone for up to two weeks before they need to come back. I’m sure everything is perfectly fine.”

  Bridget frowned, but nodded her head in reluctant agreement as she resumed pacing the artifacts room. Exhausted, she knew she needed to get some sleep. At night, she lay awake, missing Caderyn, worried about him out in the ocean, wanting his arms around her desperately. Solon and Brutus were with him. Brutus was usually on a different team, but Iason was in the country taking care of Cassandra. Both seemed like good men and had excellent reputations as hunters.

  Bridget knew their reputations, for she had demanded an audience with King Lucius to find out. The king was shocked by her bold questions into Brutus’ and Solon’s characters, but answered each and every one of her inquiries.

  “When is the last time you slept?” Aidan asked, giving up on his work to watch her pace.

  “Four days.”

  “And how long since you ate?” he insisted. “You haven’t been to the hall to dine. Has someone been bringing you food at your home?”

  “Four days,” she repeated, nervously chewing a thumbnail. “They tried to leave me something, but I wasn’t hungry. I can’t seem to do anything but worry about him. I miss him.”

  “You can’t do this to yourself, Bridget. Your husband is a hunter. This is what hunters do. What? Every time he goes out you’re going to starve yourself and refuse to sleep?” Aidan frowned and she couldn’t meet his concerned eyes. “What would Caderyn think if he knew you weren’t taking care of yourself? What do you think is going to happen next time if he’s out there and all he can do is worry about whether or not you’re taking care of yourself properly?”

  “I can’t help it, Aidan,” Bridget said. “I miss him. I miss him so much my stomach hurts and I get nauseous at the mere thought of food. I try to sleep but I can’t. Instead, I just lay awake staring at the ceiling, missing him, begging him with my mind to come home though I know he’s too far out in the ocean to hear my calls. I try to eat but I just throw it back up. I’m sick without him. I feel like a piece of myself is missing.”

  “You are in love,” Aidan said, nodding. “Caderyn’s hunts should get easier for you in time. And, because you love him so much, you should try to think about what he would want.”

  She made a face, but didn’t answer. Instead, she scratched irritably at her ear.

  “Here, let’s take you to Althea,” Aidan said. “Hopefully, she’ll have something to help you sleep. You look terrible, Bridget, you really do. Maybe after you rest, you’ll feel better. Okay?”

  She shot him a wry look. “Well, you’re one to talk. You’re not going to win any beauty contests yourself, Aidan.”

  He arched a brow, confused as he looked down.

  Bridget motioned to his face and laughed softly. It was the first time she had smiled since Caderyn left her. “You smeared black ink all over your jaw about an hour ago. It looks like it will stain the skin.”

  Caderyn followed Brutus as the large hunter dragged the scylla back to Ataran. It was strange hunting with someone other than Iason, as Brutus was part of the Warriors and extremely capable in his job. In fact, the darkness of his tail made him nearly invisible and highly efficient in the water.

  The hunt had gone fairly well, but Caderyn missed Bridget terribly. He thought about her all the time. Without her, he felt as if a piece of himself was missing.

  ‘Is it me, or are these things getting bigger?’ Brutus grumbled. He was the biggest out of all three of them and, being the official ‘new guy’ on the team, he’d been elected to drag the scylla back.

  ‘You’re getting soft,’ Solon teased. ‘Do all Warriors whine like you, Brutus?’

  ‘Ha! I’ll tell you who has gone soft. Your little loverfish over there.’ Brutus flapped his tail toward Caderyn, sending a current in his direction making him sway in the water. ‘Look at him, all bubble-eyed over a woman. Lady Bridget is beautiful, I’ll give him that, but does he have to try and torment us with thoughts of her?’

  Solon laughed. ‘Aye, he is a bit pathetic, isn’t he? Though, I don’t mind the naked pictures he’s let slip of—’

  ‘You’re both just jealous that I found a wife,’ Caderyn said. He got the instant shout of laughter he expected. ‘And I haven’t sent you a naked picture of anything.’

  Brutus slowed, letting a giant hatfish with razor sharp teeth pass before swimming on. ‘The gods save me from such a fate as being in love. I’ll take my pleasure nymph any day over a nagging bride. When you’re done with them, you can shut them off.’

  ‘Aye, the nymph is as good as any bride, to be sure.’ Solon laughed. ‘Though, I will give Lady Bridget credit for her special dresses. I bought my nymph one before I left.’

  ‘You two are a sorry lot, buying presents for your nymphs.’ Caderyn teased.

  ‘At least you can shut her off when you tire of her.’ Brutus repeated with a wink.

  ‘Aye, I heard your sorry comment last time. I just choose to ignore you,’ Caderyn swatted his tail in the man’s direction, sending a current to knock him slightly off course.

  They all laughed good-naturedly. Before Bridget, Caderyn would have said the same thing. Now, he knew it had been a way to guard himself from the emptiness of facing an eternity alone. He said nothing of this to Solon and Brutus. He was blessed with his wife. There was no reason to rub the fact into a very painful wound. He could only hope his friends would someday find the same happiness he had. Caderyn couldn’t imagine his life without Bridget.

  They glided through the icy waters toward the Crystal Caves. Thinking of his wife, Caderyn swam faster. Grabbing hold of the heavy scylla to help Brutus with his load, he said, ‘Let’s just get home.’

  Solon and Brutus laughed harder at his eagerness, teasing him the whole way back.

  Caderyn frowned, as he came out of the water. He had been calling out to Bridget since he’d entered the caves, hoping she would run to greet him. Surprisingly, she wasn’t answering his call.

  Leaving Solon and Brutus to handle the scylla, he grabbed the cloak he had stored in the cave and quickly wrapped it around his body to hide his nudity. His fingers fumbled to make a knot on his shoulder. He took a deep breath, excited to see his wife and concerned that she wasn’t answering him.

 
; Hurrying home, he nodded at those he passed. Most of them wanted to stop and ask about the hunt. There was nothing exciting to tell. Luckily, no ships were wrecked and the scylla was caught with little incident. It felt like an eternity until he could finally walk into his front door.

  “Bridget?” He called, searching the sleeping room. She wasn’t there. Going to the bathroom, he said, “Bridget? Where are you?”

  A sick feeling unfurled in his stomach. He walked out of their home, going to the artifacts room. It was empty.

  ‘Bridget? Where are you?’ he said, directing his thoughts out over the palace. Surely their link wasn’t broken. It had only been five days since he’d left the palace, five hellish days spent missing her, but only five nonetheless. Their love was stronger than that, wasn’t it?

  He jogged from the artifact room, confident that the guard, Brennus, would have told him if his wife was out in the Abyss. King Lucius had assured him that she wouldn’t be allowed out into the ocean until he was back. Knowing how stubborn his wife could be at times, he frowned. He had no doubt she could sweet talk the guards into letting her pass. Though, if she had, surely Brennus would have said something about it as he came out of the caves. Still, it was a place to start looking.

  “Caderyn,” Aidan called, startling him from his thoughts. “You’re back.”

  “Aidan, where is my wife?” Caderyn demanded.

  “She’s with the healer,” Aidan answered, coming closer. His arms were laden with fresh parchments, ink pots and quills.

  “Thanks,” Caderyn said. As he passed, he pointed at Aidan’s face. “You’ve got something, there.”

  “I know. It won’t come off,” Aidan said, huffing.

  Caderyn ran full out toward Althea’s. Barging in her front door, his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He couldn’t hear Bridget’s thoughts. Something was wrong. He just knew it.

  “Bridget,” he yelled. “Althea?”

  Althea came from the back room. “What is it? What’s wrong? Did you bring me another human to look after?”

  “My wife. Where is my wife? I can’t hear her. What has happened?” Caderyn made a move to grab the healer’s shoulders. She dodged him and pointed to the back office.

  “Back…” the woman began. She never finished her sentence as Caderyn rushed by her.

  Caderyn, remembering the last time Bridget had been in Althea’s office, panicked. He hurried to her side. Her face was pale and she was laying on one of the sick beds, her eyes closed.

  “My love,” he whispered, leaning over her to touch her cool face. “What has happened to you?”

  Just when he was sure he’d collapse from fear, her eyelashes fluttered and she looked at him. Yawning, she sat up, blinking heavily. “Caderyn? Is that really you?”

  “What’s going on? Why are you here? Did the Olympians attack? Did you go out into the Abyss? What—?”

  Bridget smiled. Placing her hand over his mouth to silence him, she hopped off the cot, blinking sleepily even as she looked at him in joy. “No, no, nothing like that. I was just sleeping.”

  “I called you,” he said, wrapping her in his arms. He squeezed her tight. “I missed you so much. Why didn’t you answer? You should’ve heard me, even in sleep.”

  “If you’re ready to let me finish, I can answer that,” Althea said. Caderyn turned to her expectantly. “Your wife suffers from a very curious illness for our kind. She needed sleep and I gave her something to help her get it. The medicine is why she couldn’t hear your call.”

  “What illness? Bridget? What is it? Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he said.

  Bridget touched his face. “Don’t look so worried, sweetheart. Everything is going to be just fine.”

  “What is it?!” he insisted, wondering why they wouldn’t tell him what was happening with his wife. He glanced back and forth between the two women, close to shaking them for an answer.

  Bridget grinned. “I’m pregnant.”

  Caderyn stared at her. Slowly his world turned black.

  Bridget watched as her husband’s eyes rolled back in his head. He swayed on his feet, passing completely out. She tried to catch his weight, but Althea pulled her back, nodding to Bridget’s stomach. “You’re too delicate. Let the big man drop. He’ll recover easily enough.”

  Bridget knelt on the floor beside him. “Caderyn? Darling? My love? Caderyn? Can you hear me?”

  Althea and Bridget examined him, determining that he was fine. Bridget held his face in her palms. She had missed him so much, it was heaven just to see his handsome face again.

  “Hum,” Althea mused, sitting back on her knees. “It seems there is something that can bring one of our mighty hunters down besides the surface air. I never thought I’d see the day…”

  Bridget laughed, shaking her head. “Can we wake him up? Do you have something? Smelling salts perhaps?”

  “Sure, I have some herbs that will knock him awake,” the healer said. “But, I say we wait to tell him you’re pregnant with triplets. If he reacts this way with one, three might kill him.”

  Bridget stared wide-eyed at Althea. Weakly, she squeaked, “Triplets?”

  Althea nodded enthusiastically, grinning. Bridget swallowed, feeling lightheaded. She fell onto her husband’s chest, her world turning black.

  The End

  * * *

  The series continues with

  Commanding the Tides

  * * *

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  About Michelle M. Pillow

  New York Times & USA TODAY

  Bestselling Author

  Michelle loves to travel and try new things, whether it's a paranormal investigation of an old Vaudeville Theatre or climbing Mayan temples in Belize. She's addicted to movies and used to drive her mother crazy while quoting random scenes with her brother. Though it has yet to happen, her dream is to be a zombie in a horror movie. For the most part she can be found wearing pajama pants while writing in her office, and enjoying a cup of coffee.

  She loves to hear from readers. They can contact her through her website.

  www.michellepillow.com

  January in Atlantis by Alyssa Day

  Poseidon's Warriors Book One

  Alyssa Day

  NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author

  Atlantis

  After eleven thousand years beneath the seas, the lost continent is lost no more. Atlantis has risen and is now openly taking part in human affairs. But the creatures who formerly hid in the darkness have come out into the open too. Vampires, shapeshifters, the Fae, and more are now part of daily life on Earth… not always to humanity’s benefit.

  The fabled group known as Poseidon’s Warriors must therefore continue their sworn task of protecting humankind, and a new group of fighters will vow to become the king’s elite vanguard: the Twelve.

  Earth—and Atlantis—may never be the same.

  Prologue

  Bruce’s Cave, Ireland

  Flynn twirled the sword in his right hand and the dagger in his left and sauntered toward the three dragons blocking the entrance to the cave. Just outside the entrance, the waves crashed and thundered into the rocks, but at the moment, water was not really concerning Flynn.

  Then again, water never did.

  “Boys, boys, boys. I’m not planning to tell anyone about your lair, or your treasure, or even that unfortunate tendency you have to dress up in pink skirts and dance in the moonlight.”

  The largest of the three, a good twenty feet tall from toes to the top of his crested skull, reared back and roared, and the cave itself seemed to shake. Anyone who has ever heard a dragon roar would be amazed that Flynn wasn’t flat on the ground, trembling in his boots.

  Flynn was from Atlantis though. He wasn’t the trembling kind.

  Still, maybe not the best idea to taunt three of Clan Fury’s most powerful warriors. They were lethal in human form, and like this—in their natural shape—they were Death
itself.

  Nobody had ever accused Flynn of having a lot of best ideas though.

  “How about you come on down from your flying-lizard forms so we can have this out like men? Or just move aside and let me go, and we’ll call it quits. I don’t even want a share of your treasure, even though I helped you… let’s just say collect, shall we?… some of it.”

  The largest and fiercest of the bunch, the one who once had been Flynn’s best friend in the world, shot a bolt of searing dragon fire straight down the cave at him. It should have incinerated him.

  Would have incinerated him if he’d still been standing there.

  Flynn, though, had been goading the dragons into precisely this response. By the time the smoke in the cave cleared, he was traveling in mist form down the coast of Ireland.

  He’d had his fun. It was time to go home.

  January was as good a month as any to return to Atlantis.

  Chapter One

  The Copper Cantina Bar and Grill, Early, Nevada

  Eva Calandar's first thought: this one is trouble.

  She’d seen more than a few handsome men in her life, especially working in bars, but this man wasn’t handsome. He had nothing to do with such a mild word as handsome.

  No, this man was male beauty personified. Eva’s breath caught in her throat when he turned and she caught a glimpse of his profile. His face was all hard lines and angles and belonged on a statue of a Greek god. Or—no. A statue of a conqueror who would lay waste to continents and ravage the hordes of women who threw themselves at him. His dark hair lay in slight waves and looked ruffled, as if he’d just run his hands through it.