Page 94 of A Warrior's Heart

“It matters not why it was done,” Lorcan said, being the first of us to continue forward. “The reason will not change the past or make it any less tragic. Come on.”

Troy swam close to me as we advanced through the remains of a once grand city. Within the magical barrier, the decomposition seemed to have slowed. Bones that would’ve normally been dissolved after so many years still littered the sea floor, the skulls ranging from big to small. Children and adults had all been killed.

“Temples lay in ruin and buildings are claimed by the sea. A graveyard of the dead.”It was exactly as Phantos had told us.

Lorcan moved with purpose through the debris, occasionally touching his heart where he must’ve felt the trident calling to him. More of a feeling than an actual voice.

Some of the rubble shifted and collapsed as Nereus bumped against it, sending up a gust of sand and causing other areas of stone to quake. Shar was beside him in a heartbeat, hand across the younger warrior’s chest to keep him back and out of harm’s way.

“Watch where you’re going,” Shar snapped.

The assassin was extremely protective of him. It was a relief to know Nereus had someone else to watch over him.

“Do you think anything else is down here?” Troy asked, gripping my bicep as he glanced around the murky underwater city.

“No,” I answered. “But stay alert.”

Troy nodded and stared ahead.

My brave, beautiful male.

The temple rest within the middle of the city. Lorcan swam faster upon seeing it, and we followed just as quickly. The walls of the temple sloped and leaned against each other, but there was an opening big enough for one person to pass through it. One wrong move and the entire thing could collapse. We stopped once outside the entrance.

“Let me retrieve it, my prince.”

“No.” Lorcan shook his head at me. “I must do this myself.”

“Then I’ll go with you.” I bowed my head to him before turning to Troy. “Stay here with Reif.”

“Be careful,” Troy said, gripping the strap of my armor.

I lifted his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckle. “Rest your mind. We’ll return shortly.”

Regardless of Lorcan’s insistence that he enter the temple first, my protective nature wouldn’t allow it, so I swam through the opening and observed the surrounding area. If the walls were going to collapse, I’d rather they do so before the prince put himself in danger.

“Wow,” Lorcan said, entering the temple behind me. “I can almost see how beautiful it used to be.”

The large area before us had jewels lining the round columns and gold inlay in the marble floors. Silver and precious metals gleamed on the walls, their beauty not tarnished in the least. A stained-glass window remained intact, depicting a scene of hippocampi pulling a golden chariot, the fish-tailed horses regal and strong, much like the god they carried behind them.

“So this is where my father gets his extravagant taste,” Lorcan muttered. “He’s never once spoken of Atlantis. Why would he keep this from me?”

“Perhaps it thrived before his birth. Triton has been alive for many centuries, yet Poseidon lived for thousands upon thousands of years. He saw civilizations rise and fall. If stories are to be believed, he even had a hand in making many of them prosper.”

Lorcan’s hands formed into fists at his sides. “I can’t help but feel anger toward my father. He has kept so much from me, telling me very little of the life he had before meeting my mother. He hired you to raise me because he couldn’t be bothered to do so himself.”

“He’s a god,” I said. “And a god can’t be tied down to any one thing. He goes where the tide takes him.”

“That shouldn’t matter, Malik!” Lorcan’s voice cracked. “I’m his son. Why didn’t he love me?”

The prince had been holding in this pain for too long. Having Triton send him on this journey, learning that his estranged brother had allied with our enemy, knowing the treaty was broken, and bearing the weight of our people’s survival on his shoulders was more than any one person could endure. Seeing Atlantis had been the final catalyst to crack his resolve.

“King Triton does love you,” I told him. “In the only way he knows how.”

“It’s not enough.” Lorcan shook his head. “It’s never been enough.” His teeth sharpened, and his nails turned to points, resembling claws. “Why couldn’t he find Atlantis himself? Why is the trident hidden from him? All he does is lie to me! He’s a self-serving bastard of a god.”

“Calm down,” I said, grabbing his shoulder.

He bared his teeth at me, the anger inside his heart distorting his features. “Remove your hand, Malik.”