Dream Warrior by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page A

remove your powers again.”
    Tempted to tell her to shove it all up her sphincter, he withdrew from her even though he wanted to attack her for her patronizing tone.
    That would be suicide.
    Rest now, gain bearings. Attack only when you’re in a position of strength. He knew the warrior’s code by heart.
    Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread inside him. Something was seriously wrong here. He just didn’t know what.
    Unsettled and unhappy, he returned to his room to find Delphine dressed in the jeans and pink top he’d left for her. She also wore his cloak wrapped around her like an armored shield. Little did she know, it was. Nothing would be able to penetrate it.
    She sat nervously on the bed, watching the door as if expecting someone to come in and attack her. Which, given this place, wasn’t that unlikely a fear.
    He stopped halfway to the bed, unsure of what to say to her. Idle chatter hadn’t been something he’d participated in even before he’d left Olympus.
    Hell, he’d barely spoken to anyone in centuries.
    And especially not to an attractive woman. His cock hardened from need just looking at her. One of Zeus’s cruelest punishments had been to make him burn for a woman whenever he saw one, and then the minute he was alone with her, his body went soft. The frustration of wanting sex and never being able to have it had driven him insane. He couldn’t even take care of it himself.
    That alone was enough to make him want to crush the Olympian god’s throat.
    So he’d learned to not even think about it. To keep as far away from a woman and her scent as he could lest he make himself ache any worse than he already did. But honestly, he’d missed being touched and held. Missed the softness of a woman naked in his arms.
    Yet there she sat, so pretty. So tempting.
    One touch …
    But he couldn’t. For all he knew, his body would still go soft on him. And that made him even angrier.
    â€œAre you hungry?” he growled at her.
    She frowned. Her expression was one of worry and fear.
    Was that the wrong thing to ask her? Instead of soothing her it put her more on guard. Or maybe it was his tone. How should he reassure her?
    Someone really ought to write a manual. Then again, gods trying to communicate with hostages was probably something so rare no one would think to create it.
    â€œI want this collar off me,” she said, her tone stern.
    â€œI can’t do that.”
    â€œWhy not? Are you afraid of me having my powers?”
    He snorted. “Yeah, right. Calling me a coward won’t accomplish anything. Believe me, you’re an amateur in that field and I’ve been called a lot worse.”
    Delphine didn’t miss the note of pain in his voice that he tried to hide. Given what she’d seen of his life, she was sure he’d been insulted and then some. But it didn’t change the fact that she was his prisoner and she hated it.
    Most of all, she couldn’t understand why he was here. “Why did you join them? ”
    Jericho paused at her question as he considered how to best answer. If she would even understand his reasoning or motivation. In the end, he knew the truth. She’d have had to experience the hell he’d been through to comprehend it.
    He raised his hands and created an arc of bright power that pulsed between his palms. For the first time in centuries, he could make and throw a god bolt to fry any and everything. That invigorating sensation … knowing he would never be stepped on again …
    For that alone he’d sell his soul, his life and anything else they wanted. How could he have said no to what Azura offered? But he had no intention of sharing that with Delphine. “None of your business.” He dropped his hands down and rested one on the hilt of his sword.
    She gave him a frustrated glower. “Noir will destroy the world.”
    â€œSo what? Who says