The Power (Titan 2)

“That makes two of us then.”

She laughed softly and looked up. “Awesome.”

“You don’t ever have to worry about them. Hell. Given some time, Alex is probably going to become your best friend.”

Her eyes widened and she winced. “I don’t know about that. I mean, there’s the whole Apollo thing and then the whole thing with you, and that’s like sharing way too much weird stuff.”

“Josie.” Chuckling, I lowered my mouth and kissed her. “You are . . .”

“Amazing?” she supplied.

“I was going to go with crazy, but amazing works too.” I laughed when she smacked my arm with her free hand. Luckily, not with the vial of Pegasus blood, because that would’ve sucked. “You ready?”

“Yeah. Just one sec.” Pink spread into her cheeks. “There’s something I need to tell you first.”

“Okay.”

She stretched up and over, speaking in my ear. “I love you.”

Fuck. Muscles locked up. Heart picked up. Skin hummed. And that closet was looking more and more like a place we needed to investigate.

Josie kissed my cheek and then settled back. “I thought you should be reminded of that.” Taking my hand, she squeezed gently. “Ready?”

Those three words struck me silent as I led her to the room the crew was in. They were three words I wasn’t used to hearing. I didn’t think I’d ever be.

Everyone was pretty much where they’d been when I left, except the cartons of food were closed and Aiden was sitting while Alex stood next to Deacon and Luke.

“Found her.” I shut the door behind us, keenly aware that everyone in the room noticed our joined hands. I was . . . weirdly proud of that. “And she has something very interesting to share.”

Josie waved her closed hand at everyone, and one quick glance showed that her face was a shade somewhere between red and fire-engine red. She focused on Deacon. “I went to the library and I finally found the librarian.”

“What?” He slapped his hands down on the table, rattling empty water bottles, his expression crestfallen. “Are you kidding me? The one day I don’t go and you find her?”

“Librarian?” Aiden asked, leaning forward.

Josie caught him and Alex up on the whole vague Apollo message to find this librarian. “I saw her today. She’s not the only thing I saw.” Whirling to face me, excitement practically poured out of her. “Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you. I saw a Pegasus today. Like a real, live Pegasus, and it was amazing. I got to touch it. It liked me. I think. I mean, it didn’t kick or bite me.”

Aiden cocked his head to the side, his brows lifting. The dumbfounded look on his face was pretty priceless.

“Are you high?” Deacon asked, and then laughed. “Because if so, I want whatever you’re smoking.”

His brother turned and looked at him.

“What?” Deacon shrugged, sitting back in the chair. “That sounds like some good shit.”

“I wasn’t high.” Josie slipped her hand free and walked over to the table. She put the vial down. “This is blood of the Pegasus.”

“You bled the Pegasus?” Horror etched into Alex’s expression.

“Geez! No. It didn’t come from the one I saw. At least, I don’t think it did.” Josie frowned as she stepped back, standing next to me. “Athena brought it.”

“Athena?” Luke eyed the vial and then carefully picked it up, turning it over in his hand. “Like, the Athena?”

“Yes. And the librarian is—you guys are never going to believe this, but she’s Medusa. Like snakes in the hair and creepy eyes and everything,” Josie explained in a rush, and now I was staring at her with the same expression as Aiden. “Apparently Perseus never killed her. That was a lie.”

“Man,” Deacon murmured. “I could’ve seen Medusa. This is so fucked up.”

Aiden shot him a look. “I think it’s probably a good thing you didn’t see her.”

“It probably is. I get the impression she’s not too keen on the menfolk,” Josie said as Alex walked back to the couch. Aiden leaned back and she dropped down in his lap. “She took me to the door under the stairs, which sounds kind of creepy, and into this weird hallway where she made a door appear out of thin air. There was this chamber full of stone dudes.”

“Medusa,” Alex repeated, slowly shaking her head. “And a Pegasus?”

Josie nodded. “I found the icons and the—” She frowned. “I found the icons. I know how to get to them once we find the other demigods.”

“They’re in the library?” I asked.

“I don’t know. The place they’re kept in is kind of accessed through the library, but I don’t think it’s actually there,” she explained, glancing at the vial as Luke placed it back on the table. “Athena appeared then too. She gave me the vial. I guess it’s for . . .” Her brows pinched. “I guess it’s for the Titans since it works against them.”

“It works against everything,” Luke said. “Would kill a mortal if it even came into contact with their skin.”

“This is good news, though,” Aiden said as he looped his arms around Alex’s waist. “We know where the icons are. At least that’s one thing marked off the list.”

“It is.” Josie glanced up at me and she smiled. “Now we just need to know where the other . . .” Her eyes widened. “Glyphs,” she whispered.