"Atlantaean Prince finds himself in HOT HOT Water!"
Conlan, High Prince and heir to the throne of the Seven
Isles of Atlantis has just been set free after seven years
of torture by the evil goddess of Death, the vampiress
Anubisa, only to return to his beloved kingdom to find that
Poseidon's trident, the instrument of his ascension, has
been stolen by one of their own - an idealist named
Reisen.
Though joyous at his return his Warriors wonder if he can
no longer be trusted. Even Conlan himself has doubts as to
the damage that has been done to his soul. However while
healing Conlan's body Alaric, his boyhood friend now High
Priest of Poseidon's temple, discerns that he is
miraculously whole in both mind and spirit. With the Trident missing, the entire world as they know it
is on the brink of collapse, and with shapeshifters and
vampires now living openly among the human population
Poseidon's warriors have been sworn to protect, the danger
is too great for a long reunion with his men. Conlan and
his elite guard "The Seven" (including Alaric and Colan's
brother Prince Ven, "The King's Vengeance") must
immediately go to the surface world to return the power to
the rightful hands. Conlan emerges first from the waters and is immediately
bombarded with an unexpected telepathic connection. A human
woman is in grave danger on the beach and is broadcasting
her distress. He is stunned to realize that he can not only
hear her thoughts but can also feel her emotions. Could she
be "Aknasha" an empath? One of this kind had not been
discovered for generations. Why does his rage at the
thought of her being in danger push more important thoughts
like recovering the trident right out of his head? Riley Dawson, a social worker has had a really bad day in a
string of bad days. Her clients were the poor, the
downtrodden and the abused. Something about being near
water had always soothed her. For that she had disregarded
curfew, which had been a grave mistake. Riley considers
herself tough but realizes that she is no match for three
men bent on rape or worse. Shoring up her defenses for a
fight, she is shocked when a man appears out of the water
to command the elements and aid her in a most unusual
manner. Riley had always known that she had empathic abilities,
although until now she had only shared the ability with her
sister, Quinn. She is not sure she can trust the stranger
but once she is inside his mind she is able to view his
personal hell, and knows that in spite of all he's been
through evil has not touched his soul. The others finally arrive only to find their Prince
dallying with a human female, Conlan becomes nearly feral
with the macho instinct to defend what he considers his.
How can this deep soul connection be, when he is expected
to submit to the traditional arranged marriage? Before long
Conlan is certain of one thing, not even Poseidon can stand
in his way when it comes to being with Riley. But they have more to contend with than just a misguided
Atlantaean zeolot. The vampire Barrabus, also known as
Senator Barnes of the new Primus branch of Congress wants
the trident's power for himself, and then there is Anubisa
who doesn't share her toys at all well! Throw in Riley's
sister Quinn who has secretly been leading the reisistance
along with a pack of shapeshifters and the story has just
begun to get interesting. And for the icing on the cake
it's becoming apparent to Conlan that his old friend
Alaric, forced to celibacy by his position, a man who's
only mistress is power, may very well be feeling the same
connection to Riley's sister. Get ready for a heavy dose of testosterone! Fortunately
the Dawson women are definitely up to handling it all, and
then some. The battle to save their world from
a second cataclysm is just beginning. This is a hot
beginning
to what I think will be a very enthralling series. Look
for "Wild Hearts in Atlantis" in the May anthology WILD
THINGS, as well as ATLANTIS AWAKENING, Ven's story coming
in October 2007.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted April 30, 2007
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