Atlantis Awakening by Alyssa Day

bared his teeth at her. His eyes glowed a fierce emerald green that was shocking in its intensity. She’d never seen any creature but a vampire whose entire eye glowed like that, and that was usually right before it ate somebody.
    â€œI am Alaric, high priest to Poseidon, gem singer, and this is my realm. Think you that your puny earth magic will work against one such as myself, the greatest power Atlantis has ever known?” For all the arrogance in his words, there was none in his voice; merely the calm assurance of somebody who knows his own worth.
    She glanced up at Ven, who’d pushed his way between them and stood, feet planted, blocking her bodily from the priest. “You can back off, Ven. I am a ninth-level witch of the Seattle Circle of Light and can probably hold my own.” She tried for a casual tone. “It’s not like he’s going to strike me dead right here, is he?”
    Neither man so much as looked at her, and her nerve faltered a little. “Um, is he?”
    A female voice from behind her answered. “No, he most certainly is not.”
    Erin whirled around to see a tall, pale woman with strawberry-blond hair walking toward them. The woman smiled at her, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Then she looked at Alaric and sighed. “Alaric, please stop scaring our guests. Don’t you have some super-secret Poseidon adventures to work on?”
    Erin whirled to see how the scary “the penalty is death” guy was going to take being teased, or if he’d even realize that he was. Alaric’s lips quirked up in a brief smile, and he bowed to the woman, who’d reached Erin’s side.
    â€œAs you wish, my future queen,” he said, and his hard features softened for an instant before he turned back to Erin and Ven and did the glowy-eye thing again.
    Which, frankly, is working for him, because he scares the crap out of me, Erin thought.
    â€œPerhaps you will refrain from the use of your earth magic here in Atlantis, at least until such time as we might discuss how you can rein it in sufficiently. You may not care that you caused repercussions across the Seven Isles with your wild burst of magic—”
    â€œNo!” she said, too terrified of what she might have done to care that she was interrupting him. “The Wilding? I called the Wilding and didn’t even realize it? I am so very sorry; I never thought…it never occurred to me—”
    Alaric stopped her in midbabble, catching her chin in his fingers and staring into her eyes. Ven moved to stop him, making that weird growling noise again, but Erin held up her hand between them. “No, Ven. Let him look. Perhaps he can see that my intentions were never to hurt anybody. Especially not you.”
    Alaric’s eyes glowed so fiercely that she was sure her skin must be burned from it, but after flinching for a moment, she stared right back at him, falling, plunging, spiraling down into the black whirlpools in the centers of his eyes.
    This must be how it feels to be enthralled by a vampire, she thought, and then suddenly he released her and she staggered, nearly falling, until Ven caught her in his arms.
    â€œShe is innocent of any evil intent,” Alaric said, raising his head to pin Ven with his piercing gaze. Then he looked back at Erin, but the glow in his eyes had faded until the green was almost human.
    Almost.
    â€œYou will tell me more of this Wilding, I hope. Although I learned some of it from the fears you hold on the surface of your mind for Ven, I would learn more of how such a powerful magic can be channeled by one so young.” He nodded his head to her and then bowed again to the other woman.
    Finally he faced Ven. “Your role by birthright and by battle challenge is to act as the King’s Vengeance, my friend. Consider well how your feelings for the gem singer will interfere with those responsibilities before you tread farther down this