Dream Warrior by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page A

spoke more of them than it did her. The fact that they could make her feel what they did …
    A part of her was sad that she hadn’t possessed a completely human heart to give them all the love they’d deserved in return.
    Jericho looked away from her wistful face, wishing he could relate. But the world she described was nothing like his childhood. His parents had seldom been kind and the two of them had fought ferociously.
    â€œAnd siblings? Did you have any of those?”
    She shook her head. “No. It was just me. I think it’s why they doted on me the way they did.”
    â€œAnd were they good to you?”
    Delphine scowled suspiciously. Not that he blamed her. He was being nosy, but he had to know if he’d done right by her. Please tell me I didn’t suffer without reason.… He needed to hear that he’d spared her more misery, though he wasn’t sure why it was so important to him. All he knew was that a part of him would die if she’d been harmed in any way by his actions.
    â€œWhy do you care?” she asked.
    â€œI’m curious.”
    Still, suspicion hung heavy in those hazel eyes. She wanted a real reason, but he couldn’t give it to her. “Yes, they were very kind to me. Even though we were poor, I never wanted for anything. I think since they couldn’t have any more children, they lavished all their love on me.”
    Jericho didn’t know why that made his heart lighter, but it did. He’d chosen well for her parents.
    Good.
    She took a sip of water. “What about you? Did you have a good relationship with your parents?”
    He snorted before he could stop himself. But why hide the truth? It wasn’t like the whole of Olympus didn’t know what kind of family he had. “My mother is the goddess of hatred and my father the god of warcraft. My sisters were the goddesses of force and victory, my brother the god of rivalry. Let’s just say those personalities don’t lend themselves to a calm, peaceful home. Any time things started to go too smoothly, Zelos was there to stir everyone up and get us going at each other’s throats.”
    And those were the good memories. His father had spent his childhood making them all “stronger.” His mother filling them with hatred because in her words, “Love is fickle and it will betray you. But hatred lasts forever. It gives you strength and it will never leave you cold.”
    The fact that the other gods, including Zeus, swore on his mother and then were terrified to break those oaths for fear of her wrath, pretty much said everything there was about his mother’s “dainty” personality.
    Her idea of tucking her young into bed had been to throw him into a lava pit and watch as he almost drowned.
    â€œWhy did you do that?”
    â€œIt is by your own strength that you will be known. You can never rely on another for help. Everyone sinks or swims by their own effort. Never forget that.”
    â€œIn a lava pit?”
    Her answer had come as a vicious backhand. “You will stand. You will fight and you will never shame me.”
    Yeah …
    His childhood had been great indeed.
    Delphine shook her head as she twisted the straw wrapper in her hands. “I met your brother Zelos once. He was a total jerk.”
    â€œYou have no idea.” She should have tried growing up with the mean bastard.
    Jericho paused as the waitress returned to take their orders.
    Delphine hesitated when it was her turn. She looked at the menu uncertainly. “I don’t know what to eat.”
    Jericho leaned back in his chair. “Try the medley. It has some of everything. If you don’t like it, you can always order something else.”
    â€œOkay.” She ordered it, then handed her menu to the waitress. “So have you eaten here a lot?” she asked once they were alone again.
    He glanced out the window at the small line of people that was