Blackness encased me. Chaos surrounded me. Screams, hissing, thuds, water splashing. I couldn’t see it, save in my fevered imaginings. Was I dead? Was this the afterlife?

“Wake!”

The rumbling voice tore into me, and my heart gave a mighty thud. A sting lit on my cheek as warm skin pressed to my cold face.

“Wake now.”

My eyes peeled open onto the flawless, glowing visage of an ethereal man. White-blond curls hovered over his brows. His face drew the faintest recollection as his piercing blue eyes ran over me. I couldn’t move. He smiled, blinding me with the pearly perfection of his teeth.

“Where am I?” I croaked. I swallowed, trying to lubricate my vocal cords. “Am I dead?” The hard, cold floor bit my exposed skin. Wet clothes clung to my limbs. I coughed, and a sharp pain awoke behind my ribs.

The fuzzy edges of my vision threaded together, and my surroundings came into focus. Calliope leaned over my prone body, on her knees beside the man. “No, you’re alive.” Blood dotted her lips, chin, and neck. Her dress had been torn, but her colorless eyes had life in them.

The beautiful man wrapped his arm under my shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position. He tucked a rogue strand of hair behind my ears. “You did well. I’m very proud.” His voice and demeanor struck a chord of recognition, but I couldn’t quite place him. “How do you feel?”

I coughed again. “Like I was stabbed.” I glared at him, irritated by his easy grin and cheery tone. I’d pierced my own heart, how did he think I felt? “How am I alive? Who are you?”

“I’m Apollo.” He bowed his head. “This is my true visage. I blessed the dagger before giving it to you, so that it could only inflict superficial wounds to you or to Rylander. Wounds I could easily heal if the need arose.”

My eyes widened, but dawning realization immediately narrowed them. Without thinking, I slapped Apollo across the face. He jerked back in surprise, his hand covering the redness I created.

“How dare you!” I sucked in a breath. “Why wouldn’t you just tell me that?”

Apollo scowled. “You hit a god.”

“I’ll do it again if you don’t explain yourself. If I had known, we could have—”

Apollo held up his hand, interjecting, “If you had known, you would have told Rylander. The truth would have dulled his fury. He needed to embrace that authentic rage and grief in order to kill his sister. He was torn. Lorelei loved him, in her own way, and he knew that. Killing a family member, regardless of their character, is difficult. I needed him to feel your loss and reach beyond any ties to her.” He poked my blood-stained chest, and I swatted away his hand. “I needed your heart to stop for his to fire up.”