She turns and swims away before I can say to Griffin. How rude. She didn’t even tell me her name.

But I can’t complain. She got me here, to Poseidon’s palace. That’s all we asked.

Now, I just have to figure out how to get past security, get inside, and get a silver seashell without getting caught.

6

Poseidon’s palace is way more intimidating than Mount Olympus. Probably because I’ve never lived here, never even seen it before. Also because it’s underwater, in an impossible-to-find cave, and surrounded by massive statues of sea monsters and trident-wielding mermen.

I swear, all the extra security is wasted. Most people would take one look and turn tail for home.

As I swim toward the palace, it’s not hard to locate the main entrance: a pair of silver doors that must be at least fifty feet tall and almost as wide. If Mount Olympus is a testament to marble and gold, Poseidon’s palace makes its statement in gray stone and silver. The palace looks like a mash-up of medieval castle and Victorian house, with towers and turrets and odd little statues and balconies everywhere.

Now that I’m here, I have no idea what I’m going to do. According to the nymph I only have twenty-four hours before this becomes an instant drowning situation. I have to act fast. The trouble is I’m going in blind. We couldn’t find any blueprints of this palace lying around the library—at least not anywhere I could access, since Troy’s secret girlfriend (gag) was nowhere to be found. I won’t be finding any secret entrances down here.

Even if I get inside, I don’t have the first clue where to find the silver seashell. In a place this huge, it could take months to see every room, let alone search them all.

It would take me half an hour to swim around the perimeter. I don’t have that kind of time.

I look up at the massive silver doors. This is insane. The whole quest is insane. Time travel? I have to be completely nuts to even think I can make this happen.

But for me, courage—and crazy—have never been in short supply. I know why I’m doing this, and nothing is going to stop me.

I just have to put myself on the line a little.

“Think, Nicole,” I mutter.

How do I get inside? I can’t break in. One push on a silver door reveals that it must weigh twenty tons. Even if it wasn’t pressured on both sides by a sea full of water, it would be impossible to force open. I’m not moving that.

Maybe I can sneak in.

Swimming away from the entrance, I head toward the nearest balcony. If I’m lucky—ha!—the door will be unlocked and I can be inside in seconds.