Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter Read Free Book Online Page B

interior, taking in every detail. Other than the gloriously soft bed she sprawled upon, a tiered ivory chest was the only other furnishing. Colors…so many colors glistened from the jagged walls like rainbow shards trapped in onyx. There was a cream and marble hearth, unlit and pristine. The only exit was a door with no handle.
    Where the hell am I? she wondered, panic rising.
    Fear and adrenaline pounded furiously through her blood. A man who could afford this type of luxury could afford an impregnable security system. She fisted her hands on the sapphire velvet coverlet as another thought invaded her mind. A man who could afford this type of luxury could afford to kidnap and torture an innocent woman with no consequences.
    Shooting to her feet, she tried to fight past her fear. I’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. She just needed to find a way out of here. Before he returned. She raced to the door, clawing at the tiny seam. When that didn’t work, she pushed, trying to force the doors to split down the middle. The thick ivory remained firmly in place, refusing to budge even a little. She expelled a frustrated screech. She should have expected no different. Like he’d make escape that easy.
    What was she going to do?
    There were no windows to crawl through. And the ceiling…she glanced upward and gasped. The ceiling was comprised of layered crystal prisms, the source of the room’s light. A thin crack stretched across the middle from one end to the other, giving way to a spectacular view of swirling, turquoise liquid. Yet the liquid didn’t drip through. Fish and other sea creatures—those were not mermaids, she assured herself—swam playfully through the water.
    I’m underwater. Underwater! She banged her fists against the door. “Let me out of here, damn you!”
    No response was forthcoming.
    “This is illegal. If you don’t let me out, you’ll be arrested. I swear you will. You’ll go to prison and be forced to have intimate relations with a man named Butch. Let. Me. Out.”
    Again, no response. Her punches slowed, then stopped altogether. She rested her cheek against the coolness of the door. Where the hell am I? she wondered once more.
    Something tugged at her memory…somethingshe had read. A book or a magazine, or…Alex’s journal! she realized. The bottom dropped from her stomach, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the full implication hit her. Her brother had written about a doorway from earth to Atlantis, a portal surrounded by mist. Her mouth formed an O as a section of his text invaded her mind, clicking in place like the piece of a puzzle. Atlantis was not the home of an extraordinary race of people, but of horrible creatures found only in nightmares, a place the gods had hidden their greatest mistakes.
    Her knees weakened and her stomach clenched. Turning, placing her back to the door, she sank to the cold, hard ground. It was true. She had traveled through the mist. She was in Atlantis. With horrible creatures even the gods feared.
    Let this be a dream, a dream I’ll awaken from any moment. I promise I won’t complain about anything ever again. I’ll be content.
    If the gods heard her, they ignored her.
    Wait, she thought, shaking her head. She didn’t believe in ancient Greek gods.
    I have to get out of here. She’d wanted danger and fulfillment, yes, but not this. Never this. En route to Brazil, she’d imagined how intrepid she would feel helping Alex, how accomplished she would feel proving or disproving such a well-loved myth.
    Well, she’d just proved it—and she felt anything but accomplished.
    “Atlantis,” she whispered brokenly, staring over at the bed. The comforter appeared quilted fromglass, yet she knew exactly how soft it was. She was in Atlantis, home of minotaurs, Formorians, werewolves and vampires. And so many more creatures her brother hadn’t been able to name them all. Her stomach gave another painful clench.
    Just what type of creature was her captor?
    She searched her