Sherrilyn Kenyon - Dream Warrior

"And if I can't?"

Her eyes turned even darker as she let out a sadness-tinged breath. "You know the answer, and you know what Zeus will do to you both if you fail."

Delphine nodded. They would lose without him. They needed his strength and his powers to combat Noir and his army. As for her fate, she would be lucky to get off as easily as Cratus did. "Should I get Eros to shoot him?" That would be the easiest way to seduce him.

Nike shook her head. "Those powers wouldn't work on Cratus and the attempt would only infuriate him. Trust me, that's the last thing you want to do. He will have to be won over honestly."

Oh, that was going to be easy . . .

Not.

"How can I seduce him? I have no emotions."

"That's not true and we both know it," Nike whispered. "You have all that you need. You're not completely Oneroi. You still have a human spirit and emotions inside you. They will guide you through this." She lightly nudged her on the shoulder. "Now go and win him over."

Win him over. She made it sound like it was easy. But as Delphine watched her leave, all she could see was her own doom.

And that of all the other gods who were relying on her. This was impossible.

Phobos joined her on the balcony. "You okay? You look more pale now than when Zeus barked at you."

Truthfully, she felt more ill now. More scared. "How do you seduce a man?"

He laughed at her question. "I think I'm offended that you're asking me that. What? You think I have some kind of expertise on the subject?"

She gave him a droll stare. "I'm serious, Phobos."

"As am I," he said, offended. "Seducing men isn't exactly something I have a lot of experience with. Nor is it something I spend time thinking about." He glanced at the door to make sure it was shut completely. When he spoke, it was a barely audible whisper. "You might want to ask Zeus that."

She rolled her eyes. If the stories were true, all a woman needed to seduce Zeus was to be female. They didn't even have to be breathing. "You're not funny, Phobos. I need help here. Real help. What do men like?"

"That depends on the man. I like breasts myself. A nice rack goes a long way in getting me to do just about anything. Even stupid things."

She let out a frustrated growl. "You are so offensive!"

"Oh, please," he said unabashedly. "I'm ten thousand years old. You're lucky I'm not more chauvinistic than I am. Babe, I've come a long way."

And he wasn't helping her in the slightest. "Just go"

Phobos hesitated as if he wasn't sure it was the best thing to do.

She gestured toward the door.

He held his hands up in surrender. "All right. I'm going. But if you need me . . ."

"I'd rather gouge out my eyes."

He took that with a good-natured smile. "As the personification of dread fear, I often have that effect on women. Maybe I should look into changing places with Himerus. I've been told women rip off their clothes the moment he appears. Definitely better to be the god of lust than fear."

She shook her head at his glibness as he headed back inside. How she wished she was more like him. Nothing ever seemed to get to Phobos or rattle him. Honestly, she was scared, and even muted, that emotion was bitter.

Alone, she looked out over the lush landscape and considered her next course of action.

Cratus was with their enemies . . .

And she was charged with seducing him or killing him. What a great conundrum for her.

As she contemplated a way to reach him, Phobos reappeared, his expression furious and worried. "Noir's Skoti are attacking in the hall of mirrors." He grabbed her hand and teleported her back to the Vanishing Isle before she could so much as blink.

Sure enough, there was a group of Skoti smashing the portals they used to monitor human sleep and join the sleepers. The entire glass hall was in shambles. Pieces of glass and mirror were littered all over the floor as a handful of dream gods tried to fight them off.

Delphine manifested a sword to attack the Skotos nearest her.

The Skotos laughed. "Wanna play, little girl?"

She lunged at him, showing him exactly how lethal she was. And it removed the smile instantly from his face. Say what he could, she was deadly accurate and had practiced the whole of her existence to battle the demons who preyed on humans as they slept.

There were very few Oneroi more accomplished than she.

Phobos was fighting two more, trying to protect the remaining portals. While they could technically do their job without them, it wasn't nearly as easy. Nor as effective. The portals needed to be saved.

Just as Delphine was about to run her opponent through, someone grabbed her from behind. A rough hand clutched her throat, paralyzing her entire body.

There was nothing there but a deep, black mist. The aura of evil was tangible. It was Noir.

And she was in his clutches. Something cold caressed her cheek an instant before he twisted her head and the darkness invaded every part of her.

Azura walked a small circle around Jericho as she smiled proudly.

He closed his eyes, letting the power from the Source fill him again. It had been so long . . .

Too long.

He was whole once again, and it felt incredible. How he'd missed this. The sights and smells of his powers. The feeling of it coursing through him like living fire. Flexing his hand, he watched as his fingers turned into metallic claws that were razor-sharp. Gone were the words his mother had burned into his flesh, and in their place his tattoos glowed brightly in the dim light.

No one would ever control him again. He was back and he was furious. Ferocious.

And he was ready for revenge.

Azura cupped his cheek in her hand. "Would you like me to repair your face and eye?"

"No," he growled. He wanted the reminder of what being weak had cost him. He would never make that mistake again.

"Very well. You are completely restored to your god-hood. Do us proud."

He intended to.

She stepped back so that he could see himself in the mirrored wall. Gone was the grimy human who had to beg for jobs and satisfy himself with scraps of food and ragged clothes, all the while waiting for Zeus's assassins to slaughter him at night.

His hair was no longer black. It was once again the pure white of the gods and it contrasted sharply with his black clothes.

Azura handed him a sword and whip. "Not the ones you were used to, but I think you'll find them to your liking."

He felt the life blood of the universe in the blade. It hummed like a living being. "What is this?"

"It was forged from the pit of the Source. The very essence of the universe is inside it. That blade will cut through anything. More to the point, it will cut through anyone."

He ran his finger along the edge, appreciating the sharpness of it. Hissing, he saw the bead of blood that welled up. Blood that quickly evaporated as his body healed itself.

Like that of a god.

More to the point, the blade absorbed his blood as if it were feeding on it.

"You will have to feed the sword regularly," Azura explained, dragging one nail down the blade. "The sword requires fresh blood to thrive. With it, you can kill Zeus and absorb his powers." She paused and met his gaze with one as hungry as his soul that begged for justice. "You could be king of the Olympian gods. . . . Imagine, Cratus. All of them prostrate to you."

He curled his lip at her words. "Cratus is dead," he said in a guttural tone. "My name is Jericho."

She laughed. "I could think of no better name for you. Cursed and reduced to ashes. And like the mighty Phoenix, you're rising out of the destruction of your past to rain fury down on those who cursed you."

And he would relish bathing in their blood. The sword in his hand would never go hungry so long as he wielded it.