John sensed the delight rising in Neridia’s heart, her innate joy in the wonders of nature overwhelming even her apprehension. *Oh,* she exclaimed, head swiveling as if trying to see everything at once.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” his sister sang to him privately, in laughing notes outside human hearing. “You always did have a taste for the dramatic.”
He bristled his neck-ruff at her. “Do not spoil the surprise.”
*It’s more beautiful than I could have imagined,* Neridia said telepathically, oblivious to the exchange. She twisted round on his sister’s back, following the flight of a brilliant school of fish as they swirled around a once-proud dragon statue now worn soft by time and tides. *Is this Atlantis?*
*No.* John rose, his sister following, allowing Neridia to at last see what lay ahead. *That is Atlantis.*
Chapter 23
Neridia could barely comprehend what she was seeing.
The broken grandeur of the ruins had been impressive enough. But this…this was no ruin.
A broad, stepped mountain rose from the rolling sea floor. Thousands of white buildings clustered on the wide tiers, gleaming like pearl in the shifting sunbeams filtering down from the half-seen surface far above. Elegant arches connected one level to the next, so light and airy that it hardly seemed possible that they could support their own weight.
It was like some impossibly huge, intricate wedding cake. Vast, glimmering bubbles of air encased some parts in crystal domes, but many of the towering buildings and elegant, spiraling roads lay open to the ocean.
And, through the sunken city, the sea dragons swam.
At this distance, they were as tiny as minnows, but there was no mistaking those sinuous forms. They soared around the towers and ziggurats as easily as birds through the sky. She could see the luminescent glow of the males, winking like fireflies through the white spires. There were the darker shapes of females too, and others that were too small to be sea dragons, too big to be mere fish.
Home, whispered her strange inner voice. We are home.
Neridia felt like she could stare for a week, and still barely take in a tenth of the city’s wonders. Wide, curving streets opening out into column-lined plazas. Vast statues of dragons, ten times life size, carved into the living rock itself. A huge palace of soaring towers at the very top of the mountain, crowning the city with the unmistakable gleam of pure gold.
And she was supposed to rule it all.
The thought punctured her awestruck wonder as ruthlessly as a sword-thrust. The idea of an ordinary human—of her—put in charge of all this shining splendor was so ridiculous that Neridia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“I can’t do this,” she whispered, alone in her tiny bubble of air. “This is madness. I want to go home.”
This is home, insisted her inner voice. This is our domain. Claim it!
Neridia shut her eyes tight, trying to shut out the city, to shut out that terrifyingly fearless voice. What was she thinking? What place was there for her in this magical underwater world?
*My mate?* John’s mind brushed against hers as gently as a caress.
She opened her eyes to find him hanging in the water at her side, his luminous blue eyes anxiously studying her expression. Here in his natural element, he seemed even bigger than he did on land. The glowing spirals running down his scaled flanks emphasized his powerful bulk. Every slight movement of his finned tail, every idle flex of his ivory talons revealed his strength.
He belonged here. She didn’t.
But she had come too far to turn back now.
She took a deep breath of the stale air, straightening her spine. *I’m okay.* It still felt weird to just think the words, and know that he heard them in his own head. *I was just…it’s all just a bit overwhelming.*
His own mental tone lacked its usual deep, certain ring. *Perhaps I should not have sprung it on you all at once, without preparation. But I thought the sight would delight you more if it came unexpected.*
Underneath Neridia’s thighs, John’s sister heaved a deep, heartfelt sigh. *Please forgive my brother,* the sea dragon said privately, mind-to-mind. *He means well. But you have to remember, this is the male who once put a live and extremely angry vampire squid in my bed, because I idly remarked at dinner that nothing exciting had happened that day.*
Despite herself, Neridia had to smile. *I am really looking forward to hearing those stories you mentioned.*
*Then by all means, let us get to Atlantis as swiftly as possible.* John’s sister broadened the mental conversation to include John. *Brother? Is it safe for us to proceed?*
John swung his horned head to scan the surroundings. Neridia didn’t know how he could see anything in the murky depths, but after a moment he hummed in evident satisfaction.
*The way ahead lies clear.* Flicking his tail, he soared effortlessly up, leading the way. *We will enter by the-*