Sherrilyn Kenyon - Dream Warrior

"That was unnecessary," he growled in that deeply masculine tone she'd recently learned belonged to Cratus. His voice rumbled like angry thunder.

It was Azura who answered him. "She's our offering to you to show you our thanks for your loyalty."

Completely covered now and finding some semblance of dignity, Delphine rose to find Jericho glaring at Azura, who stood in the corner by the door. The evil goddess looked entirely too pleased with herself.

Smirking at Delphine, Azura gestured toward her. "She's your slave."

Delphine gaped at her disclosure even though Jericho didn't say anything.

"I've bound her powers and delivered her to you," Azura continued. "Do with her as you please. But you should know she's one of the Oneroi and friend to the Dolophoni you hate so much . . . the ones who have tortured you for centuries. I've restored all of her emotions so that you can take pleasure however you see fit. . ." She started to leave, then paused. "Oh, and you'll probably want to know she's one of Zeus's favorites among the goddesses. I'm told he values her greatly."

Delphine opened her mouth to deny it, but no words would come out. Azura had her voice blocked.

Oh, to have one second of her powers . . .

And a minute alone with that deceitful bitch.

Her features smug, Azura vanished in a cloud of blue smoke.

Jericho glanced at his new "present," intending to return the woman to Azura immediately, but the moment his gaze met hers, he was frozen in place.

Long, wavy blond hair contrasted sharply with the red cloak he'd made for her. But it was her eyes that held him prisoner. A deep hazel green, they showed him a potent fear that she, as a Dream-Hunter, shouldn't have been able to experience. More than that, they showed her spirit and her fight. She was tensed to hold her own even though she had to know she didn't stand a chance against him. The fact that she was willing to fight anyway said a lot about her.

Her form was slight, her face porcelain smooth with high cheekbones and a small widow's peak. She looked so much like a Dream-Hunter he'd once known that he couldn't help asking, "Leta?"

She frowned at him. "My name is Delphine."

Delphine . . .

She took a step back and again he was aware of exactly how frail she was in appearance. He could crush her and yet, even given her relationship with Zeus, he couldn't bear the thought of harming her and damned if he knew why. Kindness wasn't something he made a practice of. It was his nature to strike the first blow.

As if sensing his thoughts, she put more room between them. "I won't be your slave."

Her defiance amused him. "I don't think you have much choice."

She lifted her chin defiantly. "I will fight you until one of us is dead."

He was consumed by an overwhelming urge to soothe her. It was something he hadn't felt since he'd comforted his sister when they were younger—and he'd never felt that for another person. Until now.

It made no sense that he'd want to reassure Zeus's pet after what that bastard had done to him, and yet he couldn't stand the thought of her being afraid of him. "I won't hurt you."

Delphine wanted to believe that, but she was having a hard time, especially since the rawness of her new emotions was making her dizzy. They were sharp and so confusing. How did people cope with this? "Where am I?"

"Azmodea."

Delphine cringed at the name, which translated into "furious demon." This was where Noir and Azura made their home and where they gleefully tortured their unfortunate victims. She had no doubt that's exactly what would become of her now that they'd taken her hostage, too.

Her gaze fell to his sword on the highly polished dresser. "You would really fight at the side of such unrelenting evil?"

His one eye flashed with the weight of his anger as he snarled at her. "You know nothing about me."

"That's not true. I know you were cursed by Zeus and that you've lived every day since completely alone."

He laughed bitterly. "Only when I was lucky."

She scowled. "What do you mean?"

All the emotion left his face. Still raw hatred bled from his pores with a tangible heat so potent, she could swear it singed the air between them. "I owe you nothing."

Delphine couldn't breathe at the fury that glared at her from his one good eye. It was palpable and terrifying. "I've never hurt you."

Faster than she could blink, he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall. Yet for the quickness and ferocity of his action, he didn't hurt her. He merely held her neck in the large paw of his hand in a gentle grip while that one deep blue eye pierced her.

Jericho wanted to snap her neck in two. His pent-up fury begged him to do it. Send her back to Zeus in pieces.

But he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

Grinding his teeth, he released her. "Don't push me."

She met his gaze unflinchingly. "I didn't realize pushing you would involve me stating a simple fact."

He was appalled by her unending temerity that seemed to prevent her from being silent even when it was the prudent thing to do. "Have you no concept of self-preservation?"

"Have you no concept of decent behavior?"

That made him really want to hurt her because deep inside it cut him harshly. There had been a time when he'd been decent. Even courteous. But his past degradations had killed that long ago. No one had showed him mercy, so why should he ever give it to another?

"No, I don't."

Delphine felt a whisper of wind before he vanished out of the room. She looked around, but there was no sign of him. Even his sword was gone. Yet what surprised her was that in its place was a set of clothes for her. A pair of jeans, shoes and a pink top.

Why would he bother?

Grateful even though it didn't make sense, she dropped the cloak and reached for them. The moment she did, she became aware of just how cold it was here in his room. Chills ran over her body, making her teeth chatter.

It was absolutely frigid.

Frowning, she touched the cloak that vibrated with warmth. It truly felt like living body heat. . . .

Was it from his blood? She had no idea, but she was grateful for the warmth. And right now, she wanted to have something on besides her skin and his cloak.

With her hands shaking, she quickly dressed. She kept trying to use her powers, but the containment collar was more than effective.

Bloody dogs . . .

Furious with her predicament, she opened the door to leave, then pulled up sharply. There in the hallway was what had to be the largest, ugliest demon she'd ever seen in her life. At least ten feet tall, he had bulbous skin and a stench so foul she had to hold her breath.

She immediately took a step back and slammed the door shut.

His evil laughter echoed outside.

Delphine rolled her eyes. "What are you? Stupid? Of course they have a guard. What part of 'You're a prisoner' did you miss?" she castigated herself out loud.

Feeling ill, frustrated and upset, she wrapped her arms around her chest and wondered what she could do to help the others from here. This had to be where the Skoti were taking them. If she could find their prison, maybe she could set the hostages free . . .

Then she could focus on converting Jericho back to their side. That would be the best of all worlds.

Literally.

But how did one go about seducing someone? She truly had no idea. Most of her interactions with people were through dreams and since she wasn't an erotic Skotos, she'd never been sexually involved with them. She'd gone in only as a warrior to combat the Skoti and free the dreamer from their spell.

As a human . . .

Well, that had been a long time ago. And while she remembered having an appreciation for some of the boys in her village, those feelings had been muted.