The whispered words stopped me dead in my tracks. They were too real. Spoken out loud and yet inside my head. Turning around, I scanned the grounds with narrowed eyes.

Leaning against the golden statue of Apollo, arms crossed and one leg cocked, was that damn nymph. It winked at me.

“What the fuck, man?” I demanded.

Moonlight reflected off the shimmery skin as one bare shoulder rose. “I was just saying what you were thinking.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“I’m special like that,” the nymph replied. “So special that I’m going to point out something very important to you.”

“Oh, lucky me.” My gaze narrowed on him. “Why are you here?”

He raised his chin and smiled. “Does that matter?”

“Hell, yes, that matters. You came to our aid before, when we were outside these walls, but that doesn’t mean I trust you or your intentions, whatever they may be.” Suspicion bloomed inside me. “What is your deal?”

The nymph blinked out and reappeared directly in front of me. Impressive. Even I couldn’t track its movement. “You’re making a huge mistake.”

Gods. Some nights just couldn’t get any worse. “My entire existence is a mistake, so you’re going to have to get a little more detailed about what exact mistake you’re talking about.”

The nymph’s all-white eyes crackled little bolts of light. “Staying away from her won’t save her.”

Well, I was immediately proven wrong. Tonight was officially getting worse.

“And it won’t save you either,” the nymph added.

I barked out a harsh laugh. “There is no saving me. I know what the end game is.”

“There is no such thing as finality,” he replied, leaning in so when he spoke next, his cool breath moved over my jaw. “All prophecies are designed to be rewritten. No fate, no matter what is sacrificed or bargained, is final.” He paused. “All the pieces are never shared.”

Stiffening, I resisted the urge to draw back from the weird nymph. “You don’t exactly believe in personal space, do you?”

He laughed, and got closer, which I didn’t exactly believe was possible until that very moment. It was. His chest brushed mine. “I don’t exactly believe you’re understanding what I’m saying to you, Apollyon. You had a chance to rewrite a prophecy before, but you failed.”

Everything in me stilled, right down to my heartbeat. I knew exactly what prophecy he was talking about. The one that ended in Alex’s mortal death.