And it was stunning. A breeze washed over my already-warm skin as I stared down at the sand and ocean. The area was rough. Waves high. Black spots in the water, appearing and disappearing every few moments, turned out to be surfers.

Wait a second . . .

Seth walked up behind me and pulled the back of my shirt down. “Your gun was showing.”

“Oh. Awkward.” I turned to Herc. “You sense Poseidon’s son here?”

The demigod nodded. “Yes. He’s definitely out here.”

“Here” was Point Dume, a small community on a bluff, overlooking a strip of sand and the rocky ocean below. A place popular with surfers, by the looks of it.

“Do you think his son is a . . . surfer?” I asked, staring back out over the cliff. A shadowy blob rose up, coasting a wave. “I mean, he is the son of Poseidon, so that would . . .”

“. . . be really cliché,” Alex suggested. “But would make sense. I mean, his abilities are locked up, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have some sort of affinity for water. Did you have anything that, looking back, reminded you of Apollo?”

Not that I knew of, but knowing my luck, people probably thought I was creepy or something.

I started to respond, but Herc was walking off. Alex sighed as she caught up to him. Seth waited for me, his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses he’d taken from Aiden. I was grateful I’d picked up a pair during my depressing shopping excursion last night.

We quickly encountered an obstacle—a large metal gate that blocked the paths leading down to the beach.

“Looks like the beach is private,” I noted, briefly turning into Captain Obvious.

Seth stepped around and placed his hand near the lock on the gate. The surge of power was faint, but a second later, the gate unlocked. He gave it a little push and it swung open.

Where Seth’s hand had been, the metal was melted.

“Well,” I said. “That solves that.”

I followed behind them, unable to shake the feeling that we were trespassing. I didn’t vocalize that sensation, because it was such a mortal thing to feel. I mean, what would anyone do if they caught us? Try to arrest us?

Oh no.

Heart skipping a beat, I thought about the fact there was a Glock shoved into the back of my not very attractive, size-too-small shorts.

“I can practically smell the money,” Alex commented as we started down one of the steep dirt trails that led to the beach. “You think the guy we’re looking for lives in one of those houses?” There were massive houses all along the bluff. The kind of homes that could fit an entire football team in them. Mansions of all shapes. I bet there were celebrities who lived here.

Oh my God, what if Poseidon’s son was a celebrity?