Darion gave her a confirming nod that was echoed by the rest of the warriors. “This is the only way.”
Zael turned a troubled look on him. “If we give her that crystal, there’s no telling what she’ll do with it. We can’t even trust she’ll release Jordana as she’s agreed to.”
“I know,” Darion said. “That’s why we’re not going to give it to her.”
Nathan’s expression darkened. “What do you mean we’re not? How else are we going to bring Jordana home?”
Darion met the questioning faces of his friends and comrades. “I have a plan.”
CHAPTER 18
He hoped to hell it was going to work.
To say his plan was risky was putting it mildly. Darion arrived in Athens the following evening, disembarked from the Order’s private jet, and made his way on foot to the tucked-away marina in a small port off the Mediterranean Sea where Zael had instructed him to go.
Only one vessel waited at the dock, a large white sailboat that practically glowed beneath the starlit night sky. Two big men stood on the deck of the boat, another waited on the dock. Atlantean soldiers, all of them, garbed in belted, light-colored tunics with close-fitting pants tucked into tall boots. Long swords gleamed at their sides.
Darion strode toward the boat, his own weapons bristling from the belt around his waist. He’d opted for his black combat fatigues, seeing no reason to pretend this pre-arranged audience with their queen was anything close to friendly.
The soldier waiting on the dock scrutinized him as he approached. “Lucan Thorne?”
Darion inclined his head, never more thankful for his uncanny similarity to his father. He had his mother’s eye color and a darker shade of her chestnut hair, but even then the differences were minimal.
The soldier indicated the dagger and pistol Darion carried on him. “Turn over your weapons.”
Darion shook his head. “Since you’ve all come dressed for war as well, I’ll keep them.”
The Atlantean’s gaze slid to the box Darion carried under one arm. The lidded titanium container held the small, egg-shaped crystal back at the D.C. command center. Tonight, it held a lesser bit of Atlantean treasure, though one that was critical to Darion’s plan tonight.
Before departing on his journey, he and Zael had replaced the true crystal with Zael’s teleportation amulet. The smaller bit of crystal inside the box put out just enough otherworldly energy to indicate there was something inside.
More importantly, the amulet would be Jordana’s guaranteed ticket home. All Darion had to do was find a way to put it in her hands and she could escape in a heartbeat.
As for the second part of his goal once he was on the other side of the Atlanteans’ veil, he was going to have to improvise.
All he knew was he intended to leave with Selene’s crystal. Whether he obtained it by force or by stealth, he couldn’t be sure until the opportunity was at hand. Either way, his options were thin at best.
Rather like his odds of actually making it out of this mission alive.
Fortunately, he’d always thrived on challenge.
“I’ll be keeping a hold on this too,” he told the grim-faced guard. “Make one wrong move and I’ll send it to the bottom of the ocean.”
The threat was apparently enough for Selene’s men. The soldier gestured for Darion to step aboard the boat, then, within moments they set sail into the darkness.
He guessed they’d been at sea for more than an hour when the salty night air began to thicken into a fine, swirling mist.
The sailboat cleaved through it for what felt like a strange suspension of time. The three Atlantean guards who had remained silent for the duration of the journey now hastened to adjust the sails and slow the vessel.
Along the starboard side, a pristine white dock began to materialize out of the dark, churning mist. The soldiers tossed ropes to others waiting amid soft yellow lantern light to help them bring the vessel in and secure it.
“This way,” one of the Atlantean guards said to Darion once they had docked.
They led him up a silky sand beach that gradually inclined toward a citadel that sparkled under the starlight. Darion hadn’t known what to expect of Selene’s Atlantean realm, but it wasn’t this cozy settlement of white stucco cottages, elegant temples, and lush public gardens filled with fruit trees and fragrant flowers.
There was no stench of fire and ashes in the air. No bloodshed or death. No Rogue-infested streets filled with terror and misery. The contrast between his world and this one took him aback.
Despite that it was Selene who prompted his intrusion tonight, he almost felt unclean stalking up the pleasant paths in his black combat gear with violence on his mind.
