Page 47 of Dream Warrior (Dark-Hunter 16)
CHAPTER 16
"No!" Delphine screamed aas she saw Zelos stab his brother quicker than she could react. Her heart wrenched at the sight of Jericho falling as Nike seized him and attacked him from behind. An unimaginable fury took hold of her. One she could neither explain nor temper.
All she could taste was the need for blood.
Zelos's blood.
Before she even realized she'd moved, she had him on the ground, pounding his head against the floor as her fury rode her hard.
"Delphine, stop! You're going to kill him."
Somewhere through the haze of her anger, she recognized Madoc's voice as he tried to pull her away from Zelos. She wrenched her hand from Zelos's black hair. Rising, she kicked him hard in the ribs. "Hold him. Because if Jericho dies, I'm going to tear his heart out of his chest and feed it to him."
Zeth's eyes were wide. "Given the ass-whipping you just gave him, I'm sure you will." He looked at Madoc. "Remind me to never upset that woman."
Delphine barely heard him as she ran to Jericho. Deimos had pulled him away from Nike, but not before she'd bitten him.
He was panting and shaking as he lay on the floor.
Kneeling beside him, she choked from the wave of agony tearing through her. Her gaze swam with tears. "Baby?" Her voice broke as pain overwhelmed her.
He took her hand in his and held it while Deimos pressed a cloth to the wound in his chest. "What do we do?" Deimos asked. "I've never seen a god bleed like this."
"He has a human heart. . . but he can be resuscitated. The Oneroi and Dolophoni killed him every night for centuries, and every morning he was brought back to life."
"By Zeus," Deimos reminded her. "And no offense, but I don't think he's going to be overly accommodating given what we just did to him."
Tears flowed down her cheeks as she watched Jericho's face grow paler. His breathing more shallow.
"Don't leave me, Jericho," she whispered, cupping his scarred cheek in her hand. "Please. I can't cope with these emotions you gave me. I can't. And I don't want to be here without you. I need you with me."
He lifted her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. "In all this time, whenever I died, I never wanted to wake up again. I prayed every night for it to be the last death. And now. . ." He choked and sputtered a mouthful of blood.
Delphine sobbed aloud as she tried to help him not choke on his own blood. She was covered in it, and it rammed home the fact that he was dying. Her entire body shaking, she knew she was losing him, and she couldn't bear the thought of it. She would not lose him.
"He needs an immortal heart!" she shouted to Madoc, looking at him over her shoulder. Her gaze went from him to his prisoner.
She froze as the solution hit her like a fist in the stomach. It was harsh, but. . .
Who better to give up his life to save Jericho than the traitor among them? The brother who'd betrayed him. The brother who had always betrayed him and everyone the selfish god came into contact with.
Zelos.
She met Deimos's gaze over Jericho's body and knew that he had the same exact thought she did.
"Stay with him." Deimos got up and crossed the room.
Delphine brushed the hair back from Jericho's face. "Breathe, baby, breathe. Hold on. We're not going to let you go."
Jericho's grip weakened on her hand. "At least I had you for a time."
"No!" she snapped at him. "You've been stubborn since the moment I met you. Don't you dare get complacent now. You fight this for me. You hear me?"
He nodded as he sputtered through more blood.
Delphine heard a struggle behind her, but she didn't turn to look. Honestly, she didn't care. Anyone who could do this to their own brother deserved no mercy.
Let him die.
Deimos returned with Zelos's heart in his hand. Repulsed by the sight, Delphine cringed. Madoc appeared by her side. He turned her in his arms to shield her face while Deimos exchanged their hearts. Madoc's steady, deep, rhythmic heartbeat helped to focus her while she kept her hand wrapped around Jericho's. There was no way she was going to let him go. Not ever.
After what seemed like an eternity, she heard Jericho gasp. His grip on her hand strengthened.
Her heart hammering, she pulled back from Madoc to see him staring at them.
He coughed and narrowed an angry grimace at Madoc. "If you're going to snake on my girl, Madoc, you could at least wait until I'm cold."
Holding his hands up in surrender, Madoc laughed. "I would never snake your woman. You're the only man I know who would come back from Tartarus just to slaughter me for it."
Deimos met her gaze. "Delphine, you might want to turn your head again. I've got to cauterize that bite wound before it infects him."
Delphine did, but she still heard Jericho's curse as Deimos burned the gallu bite. And even though Jericho must have been in excruciating pain, his grip on her hand never turned painful.
As soon as Deimos was finished, she scooted closer to Jericho. "My poor baby," she breathed, kissing his cheek. "Don't you ever scare me like that again. I swear if you do I will beat you senseless."
Jericho pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Honestly, he never wanted to come that close to leaving her again, either. He kissed the top of her head, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother's body. He probably should have felt bad or guilty, but he didn't. Zelos had always been a jealous bastard, and he'd made their childhoods unbearable. "Who took his powers?"
Madoc indicated himself and Zeth. "We split them."
Zeth came forward. "You want us to dump him?"
"No. In spite of everything, he is my brother. Take his body to my mother and let her do with it as she will."
Deimos scoffed at his concern. "Do you think he'd be that kind to you?"
Jericho pushed himself up. "No. But someone," he gave a meaningful look to Delphine, "taught me to be a better person than that."
"All right," Zeth said with a sigh. "Time for more clean-up." He sighed. "I'm thinking maybe we should hire a full-time crew for this."
Madoc shoved him playfully. "Since most of it was caused by your team, I don't want to hear you bitching."
Jared hissed as he started toward them.
