Sherrilyn Kenyon: Dream Warrior

"Why?"

"He's a nasty little bastard. I wanted to kill him years ago, but Ash wouldn't let me. After all is said and done, Ash may be wishing he'd not held me back."

After all was said and done, they might all be wishing that.

Jericho moved to stand beside Delphine's chair. "Well, there's nothing more to be done tonight. I, for one, am exhausted. I've been threatened, beaten, bitten and killed, and that was just in the last hour."

Delphine shook her head at him. "You need someone to tuck you in, sweetie?"

"For that, my goddess, I would worship you forever."

Laughing, she got up and followed him to her room.

He looked around at all the white lace and other frilly things that made this room uniquely hers. "You know this place is really girly."

She hesitated. "You want me to redecorate?"

"No," he said, dissolving his clothes and concealing his wings into his back so that he could slide into bed. "I love the fact that everything in here smells like you."

She picked up a corner of her comforter and sniffed it. "No, it doesn't. I don't smell."

He smiled at her offended tone. "You don't stink, but your scent is all over everything, and that's why I don't want anything changed. I love the way you smell. It comforts me. Now come to bed and let me hold you."

She stiffened and so did he. "Is that an order?"

"No," he said with a tired yawn, "it's the sound of me begging."

"You're really out of practice with that."

He smiled. "True."

Naked, Delphine snuggled up to his back and wrapped her arms around him. In all his life no one had ever held him like this. Even as tired as he was, he reveled in the comfort of her love.

"I'm scared, Jericho," she whispered in his ear, "and I'm not used to coping with fear."

"It's all right. I'm not used to coping with love and trust." He took her hand into his and kissed her pale, unscarred knuckles. "We can be the blind leading the blind."

Delphine squeezed his hand. "But as long as we're together. . ."

"Nothing will ever touch us. You are all that matters to me, my angel, and I would walk through hell just to touch your face."

"And I would walk through hell just to bring you food."

Jericho laughed. "Good, 'cause when I wake up, I'm going to be starving."

"I'll have something waiting for you. What would you like?"

He rolled over and pulled her against him. "You naked in my bed. That's all the sustenance I'll ever need."

Jericho stood on the top of the mountain where he'd once looked out, expecting to die. He remembered that day so clearly. The sunset was still the same shade of fire opal.

For Delphine, he'd laid down his arms and resigned himself to Zeus's punishment. Today, he could think of no better place to declare himself hers than here where it had all begun.

He turned to find her by his side, dressed in a white flowing gown with flowers in her pale hair. Even though gods and goddesses didn't have weddings the way humans did, he wanted to do something special for her.

"You have given me my life back," he said as he took her hand.

She kissed his scarred knuckles. "It seems only fair since I wouldn't have had one at all had you not found your heart and spared me."

Who would have ever thought that one single act of kindness would lead him to this path?

Lead him to her?

Unable to tell her what was inside him, he went down on one knee.

Delphine was stunned by Jericho's actions. Dressed in his black armor, he looked up at her with those dual-colored eyes. His white hair ruffled by the breeze, he was breathtakingly handsome.

"I haven't much to offer you, my lady. But I pledge myself to you. Always."

Tears clouded her eyes. "That's not true, Jericho. You have a lot to offer."

"And that is?"

"All that is good in my life is because of you. And I swear by your mother Styx, that I will never harm you. That I will never betray you."

"And I swear on my mother that every day you live you will know just how much you mean to me."

Delphine smiled. "Good, because it was hard enough to survive this courtship. I shudder at what I'd have to endure-to fall in love with someone else."

He arched a brow at that. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She knelt down in front of him. "Now give me a kiss and show me your sincerity."

He laughed deep in his throat. "Lady, take me to your bed and I'll show you a lot more than just my sincerity."

"Well, in that case . . ." She flashed them back to her room where they could lie naked in her bed.

After all, vows meant nothing without consummation.

Nike paused as she entered M’adoc’s office. The Oneroi was alone, staring out the windows, to the sea.

"Is there something you need?" he asked without turning toward her.

"Yes. I remembered something that I heard while I was in Azmodea."

That succeeded in making him swivel around to face her. "And that was?"

"One of our gods feeding Noir information about us."

"Your brother Zelos."

"No," she said with conviction. "I know his voice and I know the one I heard. But I couldn't place it."

"Then how do you know it's one of us?"

"Because he wanted to take Zeus's place and have Aphrodite as his bride."

Madoc frowned. "But you can't recall who it was?"

"No, and I've tried repeatedly. Noir isn't giving up on us, and I can't shake this terrible feeling that something bad is headed our way."

Madoc laughed. "Something bad is always headed our way." He offered her a kind smile. "Don't worry, Nike. We have victory on our side."

A chill went down her spine at that. Madoc was hiding something. She could feel it. "Then I'll leave you to your duties."

Madoc watched as she left him alone. They had won this round. The Skoti and Zeth were returned to their fold. He was freed and they had Jared once again in their corner and Jericho hadn't been turned.

But like Nike, he felt the rift and it chilled him. They had established a new order, but for how long?

Zeus and the others would be plotting along with Noir and Azura.

Sighing, he looked back out at the raging sea. Right now, he had no doubt it was going to get bloodier before all the wounds were healed. His only question was who, if any of them, would survive?

Jericho paused on the corner of St. Ann and Royal as he and Delphine waited for Acheron to join them. What the hell was going on?

It'd been eerily quiet for days now as they waited for Noir's next attack. They knew it was coming, and it hung over all of them like a pall.

But even so, he took comfort in knowing that Delphine was willing to stand by his side and meet whatever came his way.

"What are you doing here?"

He turned at the sound of Jared's voice, surprised to see him in New Orleans. It'd been the first time he'd seen the Sephiroth since they left Kalosis.

"We're waiting on Ash," Delphine answered. "What are you doing here?"

Jared indicated a couple over his shoulder. "Demon-sitting."

Delphine frowned as she saw a Charonte female with long black hair dressed as a human goth in a short skirt, corset and striped leggings, with another demon dressed as a steampunk. The female would almost pass for human except for the small pair of red horns on top of her head.

Like the Charonte, the male demon's hair was black—a mop of dreads with a pair of goggles buried deep in them. He had a small goatee and black finger-less gloves that jutted out from the sleeves of his oversized coat. But the most peculiar thing was a pink bunny strapped to one hip by his belt and a mutated teddy bear strapped to the other.

Yeah, they were odd-looking, no doubt.

And they were eating double-scoop ice cream and window shopping like two college students who didn't have a care in the world. At least until the male got a dab of ice cream on his nose. Laughing, the female wiped it off. then licked her fingers.