sweater, and a black leather jacket that outlined his muscled shoulders. He looked totally sexy.
I watched Logan wind his way through the dining hall, past the oil paintings of various mythological feasts that covered the walls, and the polished suits of armor that stood guard beneath them. He led Savannah to a table not too far away from where Daphne and I were sitting. Like all the others, the table was covered with creamy white linens, dainty china, and a heavy crystal vase full of fresh poppies, hyacinths, and narcissus flowers.
The table also had the advantage of being right next to the open-air indoor garden that stood in the middle of the dining hall. Grape vines twisted through the area, winding their way over, around, and sometimes through the thick branches of the olive, orange, and almond trees planted in the black soil there. Marble statues of Demeter, Dionysus, and other gods and goddesses could be seen in various spots in the garden, their heads facing out and their eyes open, as though they were watching the students eat the bounty of the harvests they represented.
Logan and Savannah might as well have been eating in a romantic restaurant. The ambience was pretty much the same-especially given the dreamy way the two of them stared into each other's eyes.
Daphne realized that I wasn't paying attention to her anymore and turned around to see what I was looking at. Her pretty face softened with knowing sympathy, which made me feel even worse.
'Did I mention that it's not just Mythos students who will be at the carnival?' Daphne asked. 'Lots of kids from the New York academy will be there too.'
I blinked. 'There are more academies out there? I thought this was the only school for warriors.'
'Oh, no. There's a school up in New York and one out in Denver. Paris, London, Athens-there are lots of Mythos branches around the world, although the one here at Cypress Mountain is the biggest and the best.'
'Really? Why's that?'
Daphne rolled her eyes. 'Because it's the one we go to, silly. Plus, we've got the Library of Antiquities. None of the other branches has a library like ours, especially not one with as many artifacts.'
At the academy, students learned about gods, goddesses, warriors, myths, magic, and monsters from every culture in the world-Greek, Norse, Roman, Japanese, Chinese, Native American, Egyptian, Indian, Russian, Irish, African, and all the others out there. I supposed it made sense there would be other branches, other schools, located throughout the world.
'Anyway,' Daphne said. 'My point is that there will be some new blood there. Some of the guys from the New York academy are supercute. I flirted with a couple of them myself during last year's carnival. Plus, most of their parents have mansions in the Hamptons, which is a great place to go for spring and summer breaks.'
'Cute guys, huh?' I asked, still staring at Logan.
'
I sighed. It had been weeks since I'd asked out Logan and he'd rejected me, but my feelings for him hadn't changed one bit. I didn't know what would take my mind off the sexy Spartan, except for maybe a total lobotomy.
'So what do you say, Gwen?' Daphne asked. 'Are you ready to have some fun?'
Savannah threw back her head and laughed at something Logan said. The soft, happy sound zipped across the room like a spear, burying itself in my skull.
'I'll think about it,' I promised my best friend.
Then I grabbed my stuff, got up, and left the dining hall, so I wouldn't have to see the happy couple eat breakfast together.
Chapter 3
Despite my sour mood, the day passed by with its usual mix of classes, lectures, and boring homework assignments. The last bell rang after sixth period, and I headed outside, along with the other students.
It was early December, and I pulled my purple plaid coat a little tighter around my body, trying to keep warm. Even though it was midafternoon, the sun's rays did little to penetrate the thick, heavy, gray clouds that cloaked the sky, and my breath frosted in the air, like a stream of icicles before flowing away to the ground. Winter had already spread its chilly blanket over North Carolina for the season. That's where the academy was located, in Cypress Mountain, a suburb tucked up in the mountains above the artsy town of Asheville.
You could tell Mythos was a place for rich kids just by walking around campus. All of the buildings were made out of old, dark, gray stone covered with curling coils of ivy, and every single one of the perfectly manicured lawns sported a thick layer of grass, despite the cold. Plus, the open quad that lay in the middle of campus looked like something you'd see in a brochure for an expensive college-lots of curving, cobblestone walkways; lots of iron benches; lots of shade trees.
In a way, Mythos Academy was a kind of college, since the students ranged from the first-years, who were sixteen, all the way up to the sixth-year kids, who were twenty-one. Since I was seventeen, I was a second-year student, which meant I had roughly four and a half more years to go before I'd graduate. Oh, goody.
The main quad spread out like a picnic blanket that had been thrown across the top of a grassy hill overlooking the rest of the lush academy grounds. I stepped onto one of the ash gray cobblestone paths that led down to the lower quads, where the student dorms and other smaller outbuildings dotted the landscape. All around me the other students headed down to their dorms or back up the hill to attend whatever after-school clubs, sports, or activities they were involved in. Not me, though. I hadn't joined any clubs, and I wasn't coordinated enough to play any sports, especially not at Mythos. Everyone was so much faster, stronger, and tougher than I was, thanks to their ancient warrior genes and the magic that went along with them.
I made a quick stop at my dorm-Styx Hall-to drop off Vic and some of my schoolbooks before heading out again. Instead of going back up to the main quad, I went the opposite direction toward the edge of campus, and I didn't stop walking until I reached the twelve-foot-high stone wall separating the academy from the outside world. A closed gate stretched across the entrance, with two sphinxes perched on the wall on either side, staring down at the black iron bars between them.
My steps slowed, then stopped altogether as I stared up at the statues. The sphinxes were reportedly imbued with some kind of magic mumbo jumbo, and only folks who were supposed to be at the academy-students, professors, and staff-could pass through the gate and get by the sphinxes' watchful eyes. I didn't know exactly what would happen if someone tried to force his way in past the statues, but I felt like there was something underneath the smooth stone facades-something old and violent that could erupt at any moment and gobble me up if I so much as breathed wrong.
But it always seemed like there was a loophole when it came to magic, and with the sphinxes, it was the fact that they were designed to keep Reapers out-but not students in. That's what Professor Metis had told me, and I believed her, since the creatures hadn't come to life and clawed me to death yet. Still, it always took me a moment to suck up enough courage to dare to slip past them.
I glanced around, but no one else was within sight here at the edge of campus, which was just the way I wanted it. I drew in a breath, then darted forward, turned sideways, sucked in my stomach, and slipped through a gap between the iron bars. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could feel the sphinxes' lidless eyes on me, tracking my every awkward movement and shallow breath. It only took a second for me to slide out to the other side of the gate, but it felt much longer than that. I didn't look back at the statues. It was one thing to suspect there was something inside the stone watching me-it was another to see it for myself.
Students weren't supposed to leave the academy grounds during the week, since, you know, we were all supposed to be studying, training, and stuff. That's probably why I felt like the sphinxes were glaring at me, but I didn't care. Sneaking off campus was a pretty minor infraction compared to some of the other things that went on there.
Besides, if I didn't sneak out, I wouldn't be able to see my Grandma Frost.
I wasn't crazy about the fact that I'd started attending Mythos Academy back at the beginning of the school year, but even I had to admit that Cypress Mountain was a pretty suburb. Upscale shops lay on the other side of the road that curved past the academy, selling everything from books and coffee to designer clothing and custom-made jewelry and weapons. There was even a car dealership full of Aston Martins and Cadillacs, and another lot where
