Free Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked by authors_sort

take.”
     
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    Conlan burst out laughing, and Riley‟s lips curved in a tiny, secret smile. “Okay, that does it. Uncle Alexios is holding the baby next.”
     
    Alexios held up his hands in protest. “Oh, no. I don‟t know anything about holding babies.” He ducked behind Marie as if to hide.
     
    “I only wish my brother could have been here,” Marie said, shaking her head and smiling. “He, Ethan, and Kat are in the middle of land negotiations with the state of Florida over increasing the panther territory, though, and it would have been a breach of courtesy to leave now.”
     
    Alexios still couldn‟t believe Marie had fallen in love with a panther shifter on her very first trip out of Atlantis, but the changes to the old ways were coming quickly and furiously. Little Prince Aidan was living proof of that.
     
    Riley waved an arm toward the masses of flowers lining one entire wall of the room. “I know. Bastien and Kat sent at least a dozen different flower arrangements and enough baby toys to supply half of Atlantis, I think. Aidan will be hopelessly spoiled, if I let all of you have free rein.”
     
    Justice, still staring down at Aidan as if entranced, smiled. “Oh, Riley. You have no idea.” Then he pinned Keely with a searing glance. “We must have a baby. Now. He will keep Eleni company.”
     
    Keely, still kneeling, fell backward and landed on her bottom with a thump. “Wait. What?
    Baby? What?”
     
    “Give the nice archaeologist time to get used to your ugly face, first,” Alexios advised, still safely behind Marie, earning himself a dirty look from Justice and a smile filled with grateful relief from Keely.
     
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    “Maybe we should focus on your nephew for a while,” Keely said to Justice.
     
    Alexios figured he‟d bail out his friend and change the subject. Looking around, he realized who was missing. “Where‟s Quinn?” Alexios asked, surprised that Riley‟s sister wasn‟t present for her nephew‟s birth.
     
    A shadow crossed Riley‟s face, and she shook her head. “I don‟t know. She didn‟t check in on time from her latest mission. Part of me wishes she was a little less rebel leader and a little more safe and out of danger.” Her troubled gaze found Alaric. “Is she—is she okay?”
     
    The priest closed his eyes for a moment, and then inclined his head. “She is well and in very little danger at the present.”
     
    They had a special link, Quinn and Alaric, that none of the rest of them really understood, and nobody wanted to be the first to try to pry into Alaric‟s personal life. The possibility of ending up as a dark splotch on the marble floor of the palace loomed large when you irritated Alaric.
     
    Riley sighed in obvious relief, but then suddenly looked up and scanned the room. “I know Christophe ran off, but where is Denal?”
     
    Alexios looked around. He hadn‟t noticed Christophe leave. Then he shot a glance at Alaric, willing him to be silent. “He got himself a little messy, so he wanted to get cleaned up. I‟m sure he‟ll be along soon.”
     
    Riley furrowed her brow and Alexios dreaded the next question, but luckily the baby started to make tiny whimpering sounds, restlessly turning his head back and forth.
    Justice blinked and thrust the baby back at Riley.
     
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    “Uh-huh. From the look on your face at the first hint of a whimper, I‟m guessing we don‟t need to talk about babies for a while,” Keely said.
     
    Justice apparently thought better of any public protest, so he just took Keely‟s hand and they stood and moved back from the bed. Riley cuddled Aidan close for a moment then looked up and around the room at all of them.
     
    “Thank you all, so much, for everything you have done for me and for our baby. We wouldn‟t . . . we wouldn‟t have survived