I searched for something to say, but came up empty until my gaze fell on a statue of Apollo. “Hey, you kind of look like Apollo. Has anyone told you that? All you need is blond hair and raging hormones. Maybe he’s your great-great-great-great grandfather or something.”
Leon’s gaze flicked over the marble statue. “No. No one has ever said that.”
“Huh. Funny. ‘Cuz you do. I wonder if you have anything else in common with Apollo.”
“Like what?”
“You know. Didn’t Apollo have a thing for pretty boys?” I snorted. “Wait, didn’t Apollo have a thing for just about everything that walked? Until they got turned into trees or flowers, that is.”
“What?” Leon came to a complete standstill, gaping down at me. “There are some myths that are true, but most are exaggerated.”
I raised my brows quizzically. “Didn’t realize you were an Apollo fanboy. Sorry.”
“I am not a fanboy.”
“Okay. Never mind, then.”
“Do you know what I find interesting, Alexandria?” he asked after a few moments.
“No. Not really.” I shivered in the rapidly cooling air.
“How you happened across the oracle right before she died.”
I glanced around the nearly empty campus, spotting only Sentinels and Guards. I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. “I have no clue. I guess I have that kind of luck.”
“Twice?”
I looked at him sharply. And there was another thing I hadn’t known he was aware of. “I guess so.”
Leon nodded, eyes scanning the pathway to the girls’ dorm. “Did you know the oracle only seeks out those she wants? That many, many pure-bloods go their entire lives without even seeing the oracle once?”
“No.” I wrapped my arms around myself, wondering where summer had gone. It was almost the end of October, but usually it didn’t get this chilly.
“Then she must have had something very important to tell you,” Leon said. “I’d assume something more than just being able to change history.”
My steps slowed as the oracle’s words rushed through me. He is not what he seems. He has them all fooled. He plays both sides. I glanced up at Leon, wary of where this conversation was going. There was nothing I knew about Leon except his wonderful ability to pop up when I didn’t want him around—and his fanboy love for Apollo. “That’s all she said.”
Leon stopped in front of the steps to the dorm, folding those massive arms over his chest. “Seems rather vague.”
“Piperi is—was—always vague. Nothing she ever said has made much sense to me.”
He cocked his head to the side and a small smile appeared on his face. I think that
was the first time I’d ever seen him smile. “That’s the thing about oracles. They do tell you the truth, you just have to really hear it.”
My brows inched up my forehead. “Well, I guess I didn’t hear it.”
Leon’s gaze fell on me, heavy and hard. “I’m sure in good time you will.” Then he twisted around and disappeared down the pathway.
I stood there a few more moments, staring after him. That had been the longest conversation I’d ever held with the guy and it ranked right up there with the conversations I’d held with the oracle. It made no sense.
It also filled me with a decent amount of unease. There was always something about Leon that didn’t seem right—a sort of otherworldly trait I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But could he be the mystery man the oracle had been talking about?
I shivered and headed up the stairs. I hoped not. There was no way any of us could take that massive hunk of flesh out in a battle.
CHAPTER 10
I WAS A NERVOUS MESS OF FUNK.
It had to do with the little box in my gym bag. Nice of Deacon to gift wrap the guitar pick, but now I felt stupid for giving it to Aiden, especially after everything that had gone down between us at the zoo.
But I had it and I needed to give it to him. If I didn’t, there was a chance Deacon could make some passing comment to him about it and then I’d be even more mortified. And it was just a guitar pick. It wasn’t like it screamed I love you or anything. Not that it mattered since I’d already blabbed that.
I went through practice with Aiden sort of numb and hyperaware. I kept missing chances to say “happy birthday” or give him the damn box. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
What if he laughed at me? What if he hated it? What if he looked at me and said, “What the hell is this for?” and threw the box on the mat? Then stomped on it?
I couldn’t stop thinking about how many ways this could go wrong. Did his reaction really matter? Since our trip to the zoo and my embarrassing declaration of love, he’d kept things perfectly cool between us. There were only a few times I’d caught him watching me with this hawkish level of interest. I always wondered what went through his mind then.
Aiden sent me another weird look, and I felt my face turn red.
I’d never hated myself more.
Unsurprisingly, I ran out of time. While my heart pounded in my chest, I bent down and dug the little white box out of my bag. Deacon had even put a black bow on it. I hadn’t known he was such a crafty guy.
“Alex, what are you doing?”
Clenching the box in my hand, I stood. “So are you doing anything… um, special tonight?”