The Dark-Hunters (644 page)

She was another matter. It was all too raw.

Until Jericho showed up. A shout rang out from the Oneroi and Skoti who welcomed him back. But he paid them no attention. His gaze was only for her as he made his way straight to her.

Tears blurred her vision as he scooped her up in his arms. “Thank you,” she breathed.

He inclined his head before he flashed them out of the hall to where her room was.

She put her hand on his face, resting her thumb on the eye patch that he’d replaced. The joy and love she felt for him were unbelievable. Never in her life had she felt the like.

“How did you talk him into it?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not important.”

Yes, it was. He had no idea what it meant to her to finally understand the part of her that had always been blocked. No wonder the Oneroi had gone Skoti. The sensation was so heady and intoxicating. She wanted to experience everything. To feel all emotions as deeply as possible.

“You are amazing, my Jericho.”

Jericho froze at the words, which cut deep into his heart. “What did you say?”

“You are amazing.”

“No, what did you call me?”

She smiled up at him. “My Jericho.”

Strange how the thought of belonging to Zeus disgusted him on a level of pissed-off he could barely comprehend. But being owned by her …

It would be heaven.

Closing his eyes, he kissed her deeply, needing to feel her in his arms. For her he had twice bartered his freedom. But at least now he knew the one single truth.

She
was
worth it.

*   *   *

Noir went ramrod stiff as he felt the powerful wave piercing his realm. It stank of Olympian. Most of all, it reeked of Zeus.

What was that bastard up to?

It wasn’t until he looked at the Skotos beside him that he understood. Zeus had freed them all. Their emotions were coming back to them.

A jubilant shout rang out as they embraced each other like long-lost siblings.

Azura popped in beside him. “What the hell is this?”

Noir curled his lip in repugnance. “The Olympians. They’re trying a new tactic.” He moved past her to where his demons glanced around, dazed. “Gallu! Convert
any
Olympian you can find. Now!”

The gallu attacked, but the Skoti, who were now in full control of themselves, fought back with unprecedented skill. The drugs they’d used to numb them had vanished from their systems the instant their emotions came back.

Azura turned toward him with fear in her eyes. “This isn’t good.”

“Don’t panic. It’s a temporary setback and nothing we can’t overcome.” Noir used his powers to seal their realm. While he couldn’t stop the Skoti from leaving, he could prevent anyone or anything else from coming in.

For now that would keep them from being attacked until he found a way to counteract this latest twist. Jericho was resourceful, he’d give him that. But he was no match for Noir. Noir knew how to motivate people.

And now that he had Kessar and his gallu …

He was going to win this no matter who he had to kill.

*   *   *

“So the prophecy is true.”

Dressed in navy slacks and a dark blue top, Zeus turned at the sound of Hera’s echoing voice. He’d been planning to return to the hall where the other gods would be dining by now, but this stopped him dead in his tracks. “What are you doing here, Hera?”

His wife manifested just inside the doorway that led from his bedroom to the main hallway. Tall with dark auburn hair, she was one of the most beautiful of all goddesses. And even though he cheated on her from time to time, he knew that she had no equal. Truly, she was exquisite and bold.

His perfect match.

“I just wanted to say how surprised I am that you’re blithely acquiescing to a prophecy you once fought so hard to avoid.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come now, love. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s the very thing that you’ve been fighting against since the day you banished the emotions from all the Oneroi. We both know there was no dream. No Oneroi who played in your sleep. They wouldn’t have dared, no matter how angry you made them. It was Tiresias’s words that caused you to slaughter and subjugate them all.”

His breathing ragged, he glared at her. How dare she bring this up? It was something he’d relegated to the far past. Something he’d more than taken care of centuries ago. The prophecy had been averted and the world set to rights.

Still Hera went on, oblivious to his mounting anger. “On the fifth of June, a child born of man and of the heavenly gods will summon forth the greatest of Titans and lay the mighty Zeus low. In her hand spins the will of the Fates, and the great Kosmetas of the Olympians will be no more. For she will wield the ultimate power and she will walk in the world of man and in the world of dreams. Her love, her compassion will be the end of the Olympian order and a Titan will again rule them all.” It was the curse his father had bestowed on him after Zeus had castrated him.

You will be ruined, and I will laugh as you fall …

Zeus’s fury exploded. “Stop it,” he snarled, ready to blast her.

Hera was relentless. “You know it’s true. The very day Tiresias told you about the Oneroi baby that had been born—the one who would one day dethrone you, you called out the Furies and the others to pursue them all by claiming you’d been assaulted in your sleep. You especially made sure those half-blooded daughters who were prophesied to be the ones to replace us were brutally slaughtered. What was it you said, ‘Leave none alive,’ and so the Dolophoni and others drenched the earth red with the blood of half-breed infants. No one dared to question the great Zeus, whose word is law. But we both know the truth. You didn’t want their emotions banished and their daughters slain because of a dream that never occurred. You wanted to maintain your place as the king of the gods.”

He sneered at her. “I didn’t see you standing up for them then.”

“How could I have stopped you? You were a god possessed, and I wasn’t stupid enough to stand in your way. Only Cratus was, and that baby that you sent everyone out to kill … did you know it survived?”

Zeus went cold at the question. “What? It’s impossible. Dolor swore to me that he’d killed the baby. He tortured Leta with tales of how her daughter had died. How he’d gladly massacred it.”

“Dolor wanted to cause her pain and he slaughtered a child, all right. But it wasn’t hers. Her baby lived.”

In that moment, he wanted to kill his wife. “Why didn’t you tell me? How could you have kept this a secret?”

“I didn’t know about it until now.”

“What do you mean?”

“The demon they returned with, Asmodeus. I was having a nice, long chat with him about Noir’s plans and the demon’s future here among us Olympians. He told me that he overheard Jaden tell Cratus Delphine is the daughter of Leta and her human husband. She is the baby Cratus was sent to kill. The baby he refused to harm.”

No …

Zeus staggered back as the implications hit him fully. How could he not have seen it?

Because prophecy was never meant to be thwarted.

I am the king of the gods …

No one was more powerful than he. Not even those three bitches called Fate. He would not be overthrown by some half-blooded human abomination.

He was Zeus. The king of all the Olympian gods, and all the power that went with it belonged to him.

But what set his fury roaring was the knowledge that he’d unknowingly put Delphine together with Cratus. He had sown the seeds of his own destruction.

Because of Nike. That little bitch would pay for her part in this. If he survived.

It’s not too late.

No, he could still stop them all. Cratus had a human heart and had bound himself to Zeus. Nike was already trapped and in Noir’s hands. They could easily leave her there to die.

As for Delphine …

He met Hera’s dark gaze. “They both need to be put down.”

“Agreed.”

He arched his brow, surprised by her backing. Normally she fought against his edicts. “You agree?”

“I certainly don’t want to be replaced by a half-human byblow. We are the rulers of Olympus, and by the Source and all its power, we will remain so. No matter what it takes.”

A slow smile spread across his face. It was good to have his wife on his side of an argument for once. “Then summon the Phonoi.” Murder, Killing and Slaughter, they were triplet goddesses who thrived on taking lives. Without conscience or mercy, they would attack. And best of all, they knew how to kill a god and not rupture the universe.

Zeus laughed at the thought of unleashing their destruction. “I have a new victim for them.”

CHAPTER 13

Delphine laid her hand against Jericho’s face, letting his whiskers tease her palm as she stroked his lips with her thumb. “Have you any idea how much you mean to me?”

Jericho swallowed at her question. He hoped the answer was at the very least equal to what he felt for her. Otherwise it was going to really suck. “No.”

She reached down to take his hand in hers. “More than any words can ever express.”

Those syllables were still ringing in his ears when she used her powers to dissolve her clothes. Completely naked, she led his hand to her breast. “Make love to me, Jericho. Show me what it’s like to experience you with all of my emotions intact.”

His body reacted instantly to her request as his internal voice shouted in jubilation. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

She dissolved his clothes before he even had a chance to think about it.

Jericho slid himself into bed with her so that he could gather her into his arms. Oh, the sensation of her velvety skin rubbing against his …

If he died right now, he could ask for no greater send-off.

Her lips met his as he inhaled the warm scent of her body. He’d spent eternity alone. But somehow her touch eliminated all of his past. It was as if he’d known her forever. As if he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.

He never wanted to be away from her. If only he could have that one dream.

Delphine shivered at his hardness as he pressed against her. His body was ripped with taut muscles. Hard and smooth. Oh, he felt so incredibly good on top of her. She reveled in running her hands down his back to his lean waist and tight hips. Even though he was so much larger than she, he fit her perfectly as his soft white hair fell forward onto her face.

She sank her hands into his hair, pulling it back as their tongues danced together. He was so hungry with his kisses, she half-feared he’d devour her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, cradling him with her body. Chills spread over her as he left her lips to kiss a hot trail to her neck and ear.

Delphine gasped at the sensation of his tongue swirling around her earlobe. She should feel vulnerable and exposed, yet she didn’t. All she could feel was Jericho. She wanted to possess him and keep him with her forever.

Her love for him burned white-hot through her heart, spreading out to every inch of her body. She alone knew this part of him. Saw the side of him that was kind and giving.

To the rest of the world he was brutal, but to her he was tame and sweet.

She almost laughed at the thought of his being sweet. Yet it was true. Where she was concerned, he was. And it made her wonder what he’d be like with a child of his own. She could so easily imagine it.

She wanted to be the one to give him that legacy and peace. To hold him close, away from the world that would harm him. She didn’t want him to fight anymore. He’d had more than his share of that. She wanted to show him a world where he could trust and be gentle. A world where no one would hurt or betray him. Ever.

“Stay with me, Jericho,” she whispered in his ear.

“As long as you hold me like this, I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiled at his husky words. At the emotion that deepened his tone and touched her heart. “You will always be safe with me.”

Jericho breathed her in as he lost himself to her touch and to her promise. Never one to believe in such bullshit, he couldn’t suppress the part of him that caved to it now. The part of him that would walk through the fires of hell just to touch her cheek.

Against all of his armor, she’d wormed her way into his soul. And he was lost to her now. There was no hope for him. All he could do was trust in her to keep her promises. Trust in her not to be one more person he should have never believed.

Don’t hurt me, Delphine.
The silent plea lodged in his throat, making him ache even while her touch set him on fire.

Her hands skimmed over his skin, teasing and delighting him. It’d been so long since anyone had held him like this.

No. No one had ever held him like this. For the first time, he was in the arms of someone who cared for him. Not a goddess out to make her other lovers jealous. Or a nymph who wanted to scratch an itch.

Most of all, he was being held by someone
he
cared about. Someone who meant something more to him other than a quick tumble.

Delphine touched more than his body. She touched his heart and his soul. And he would die to protect her.

Why not? You’ve already sold your freedom for her.

Twice.

He should be angry over that. But he wasn’t. The thought that she would be whole was enough for him.

You won’t be saying that when Zeus is torturing you.

Actually, he would. The memory of this moment would carry him through Zeus’s worst and there would never be a single regret. He knew it. His own life no longer mattered to him as much as hers did.

She
was
his life and he was safeguarding it by giving up his freedom. It was a small price, really, and one he was glad to pay.

Pulling back, he stared down at her face. He traced the line of her cheek while his gaze was locked to hers. “You are so beautiful.”

She reached up and fingered his eye patch before she lifted it off and dropped it to the floor. He’d always been so self-conscious over the scar and white eye, but not with her. He wanted her to see him as he was.