The air in front of the bare marble wall appeared to ripple. Electricity filled the air, dancing along my skin. The wall warped and then split up the center, peeling back. A wooden door appeared with vertical slats held together by dark metal. Hinges creaked as it opened.

“Your father told you to find me, because I’m not a librarian, Josephine.” Medusa glided through the door. “My punishment was to become the Guard, what every Guard has been modeled on thereafter. Used to be treasures I kept safe, riches of untold proportions. Sometimes it was an important person, an entity that would be fated to become something great, and now . . . this.”

Taking a deep breath, I followed her into a large chamber. A shudder rolled down my spine as I looked around. Torches placed every couple of feet along the walls burned, casting a soft, dancing glow on dozens and dozens of stone statues.

Not just regular statues. But people. Some stood tall. Others cowered. Hands and arms shielded faces on many. Weapons were clenched in hands. All had horrified expressions on their faces, etched forever in stone.

Yep.

That part of the myth was true. Medusa’s eyes turned people to stone.

I hurried past them, not wanting to look at them too long. Medusa walked through an archway and down another hall. The walls in there were covered with the same glyphs I’d seen on Seth. Marks that stood for invincibility, courage, strength, and power.

And those glyphs shimmered on the marble walls just like they did on Seth’s skin.

“Come now,” Medusa called as she approached a door that was silver. In the center was a lightning bolt. “It is time.”

“Time for . . . ?” I trailed off as she opened the door. All I could do was stare.

Sunlight, beautiful and bright, shone down on a grassy meadow full of vibrant purple and blue flowers. Trees rose into skies as blue as my father’s eyes . . . when he had eyes.

As if compelled, I walked forward and through the door, into . . . I don’t even know what I was walking into, but I knew it was no longer in the same realm as the library. The air smelled sweet, a scent I couldn’t place, and the breeze was warm, toying with the strands of my hair. I inhaled sharply as I slowly turned around. Energy was heavy here. I could feel it coasting over my skin, seeping into my bone and tissues.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“You are at the entrance of one of the gateways to Olympus.” She turned, spreading her arms wide. “This place and others like it must be guarded at all costs. If the Titans or if the God Killer ever discovered this gateway, they’d be able to enter Olympus.”