Hello, I'll try to keep this brief as my AN's have been a bit lengthy in the last few updates. There were a few comments/questions posed in the most recent review that will be addressed, however I don't want to say anything specific because that would be spoilers. To the offer about beta reading, I've never used the beta read process on the site but I would love the help if you can get your account working. It would definitely speed up the writing/posting process cuz rereading and editing takes hours. No pressure though. As always thanks for the positive support! I'm glad people are enjoying the story so far.

~ secrethalfblood

Jpov

I wasn't exactly a fan of the Hunters of Artemis, and liked it when they were in the library even less. Especially, in large numbers.

One of the girls shot daggers at me from across the room and I made a hand gesture that was as rude as it was automatic at this point, taking a bland sort of comfort in our consistent and mutual dislike.

"James..." Harper warned under her breath.

"She started it."

"Well I'm finishing it."

"Fine." I muttered turning away from the collective of female rage that was currently channeled in my direction. "Sorry."

I wasn't sure when the open hostilities between the Hunters and I had started, but I knew it stemmed from the fact that they hated me. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that I was a man, or they thought I was a traitor to their patron, or maybe they were just freaked out that they were no longer the only demigods with special powers, but it hadn't taken me long to figure out I'd somehow gained their ire.

I'd been interrogated by the girls for what felt like hours only for them to come up with basically nothing. They were working with Libby now, and of course they were thrilled with her. Friendly, intelligent, and extremely talented with a bow, Libby was exactly the sort of girl the hunters would be dying to recruit.

They probably would have tried to sign Harper up too if they'd gotten to her before she'd met Ashton.

They were laying the charm on thick, laughing and braiding Libby's hair as Artemis herself looked through sketches and diagrams with her. Unable to help myself, I glanced back at the giggling group. The goddess had turned up as the girls had moved on to Libby, apparently too good to waste her time talking to Harper and I, but finding more than enough to attempt to sucker in a new recruit.

"You look so pissed." Harper said clearly trying not to laugh.

"You don't think she's falling for this tripe, do you?" I asked as one of the hunters gestured towards Libby's arm.

There was an arrow tattooed on her forearm that hadn't been there years ago when I'd known her. I couldn't help but wonder when she'd gotten it.

"Tripe?" Harper asked, unable to hide the laugh this time. "What? Just talking to her?"

"They're not just talking to her," I said sourly as Libby smiled and held up her wrist, showing a second tattoo. A string of letters, Greek, that seemed to capture several of the girls attention. She appeared to be explaining something. "You and I both know that-"

"That what?" Harper asked skeptically, her tone patronizing. "That the mean and evil Hunters are going to kidnap Libby and trap her in some terrible life of comradery and adventure?"

I glared at her.

"Yes."

"Libby is not interested in joining the hunters James." Harper said in exasperation, as if she couldn't believe she was having to explain this to me. "Besides, why do you care? I thought you said as long as they stayed away from Lucy, you 'Didn't care what those hags got up to.'"

She put quotes around the words and I winced.

"Am I really that much of a tetchy git?"

"Yes. You are." She said amused looking back at the girls. "You know this is a really strange thing for you to be jealous about James."

"I am not jealous." I said frowning.

"Then what are you?" she asked patiently and I felt my expression darken, not enjoying this line of questioning or her tone.

"Concerned."

"Concerned about what?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

I didn't answer, but as usual, with Harper I didn't have to.

"Libby isn't going to join the Hunters." Harper said rolling her eyes. "And even if she did, it wouldn't make her hate you."

"You don't know that." I argued surprised to hear in my tone how unnerved the situation had made me.

Harper didn't seem to be experiencing the same problem.

"Yes I do." She said dismissively.

"Oh yeah?" I asked and she nodded. "Why is that?"

It was hard to explain the look Harper gave me at this question. It was dubious, but significant at the same time. As if she thought I was being intentionally thick.

"They're the same reason, James." She said flatly. "Why do you think I never wanted to join?"

"I always thought it was because of Ashton." I muttered and both her eyebrows raised at this.

This expression was clear, almost as if to say. 'There's your answer, idiot.'

I glanced at Libby, this time not certain how I was supposed to feel about the situation or what exactly Harper was implying. I decided not to ask.

I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

The Hunters didn't stay the night for which I was grateful, but Libby continued to work on the problem for hours until it was well into the morning at camp.

"You should probably sleep." I said eventually, sitting across from her and sliding a glass of water across the table.

She jumped.

"Gods." She said with a gasp and her eyes went wide as she looked up.

"Sorry." I said trying not to laugh as she rubbed her eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." She mumbled through a yawn. "What time is it?"

"In New York?" I asked glancing at my phone. "Nearly two am."

"That's so weird to hear you ask that." She mumbled sleepily. "What city or time zone or whatever."

"Well, it is kind of important to specify." I pointed out. "Seeing as we're not really in one."

"Still weird." She sighed frowning at her page, then at a photo of the injury the Hunters had come to inquire about. "Does this look weird to you?"

She pushed the photo towards me and I frowned.

"It looks like a werewolf bite."

It was what I'd told the Hunters, though they hadn't seemed to appreciate the information.

"I know." She said comparing it to an illustration in the book in front of her. "But look at the incisors," she pointed to the area on the photo. "They're too narrow, and the cut seems to be too clean for a bite that deep. It doesn't match up with the rest of the impression." She frowned. "Besides, they said it had scales. One of the girls got an injury trouching it. She said it was like it had been coated in acid."

It always managed to surprise me how unaffected Libby was when looking at even the most gruesome of injuries. I knew it shouldn't have, she was a healer after all, a great one. But being one of the most empathetic people I'd ever met, I always seem to convince myself she'd have issues separating herself from her patient's suffering. She was looking at the photo with a clinical sort of interest however, and while I hadn't been too pressed to help the Hunters, especially as it looked as if the injured girl would recover, I found my interest in the subject had been somewhat renewed.

"Like a basilisk?" I asked curiously and she nodded.

"But I have no idea what sort of basilisk would make a bite like that," she continued with a second sigh. "And from what it sounded like, the thing had limbs."

I frowned, again trying to picture a creature like the one that was described but came up with nothing.

"I really wanted to be able to help them." She muttered dejectedly. "It sounds like their friend was really hurt, healing, but still…"

"You can't win them all Libby."

"I'd like to win my first one." She countered stubbornly. "It's kind of a big deal that Harper asked me to help her over the summer. At least to me." She glanced at her hands, appearing to be caught somewhere between nervous and disappointed. "I want to be useful."

"You are." I said automatically and when she shot me a skeptical look, I grinned. "Someone has to listen to Lucy about the insane shows she watches."

"That we both watch you mean?"

"Exactly."

She looked as if she wanted to be annoyed at the taunt, but couldn't quite manage it and broke into a bit of a smile.

"You've been at this for hours." I said shutting the book despite her protests. "The problem will be there in the morning. You should sleep."

"I'm fine." She insisted. "I'm still in finals mode, I can work for another couple of-"

But her sentence was interrupted by another yawn which seemed to have her reconsidering.

"Maybe you're right." She said stretching and looking down at the photo a little helplessly. "Maybe I do need to look at it with fresh eyes. Where's Harper?"

"She went to bed about an hour ago. I can get her if you want to go back to camp or your apartment."

"No, don't wake her up." She said waving this away. "You said I can crash in the room next to Lucy's right? I can just sleep here."

"Alright." I said with a shrug.

We walked from the main part of the library back to the living area, and Libby seemed to be stuck on the problem despite saying she wanted to give it up for the night.

"I keep having this crazy idea that whatever the Hunters ran into, might be a crossbreed."

"Of monsters?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, I know it's insane." She continued, rubbing her temple with the base of her palm, clearly still a little lost in thought. "But I mean, it would make sense. That would explain why we don't have any records of whatever it was. Still, why would anyone want to do that?"

"I dunno," I said shrugging, not entirely sure I bought this as an explanation, but I'd seen enough to know stranger things had happened. "There's some pretty twisted people out there though."

"Yeah." She said with a sigh stopping outside of her door. She leaned against the frame and crossed her arms over her chest looking a little unnerved. "Though I can't say I'm excited that there's something out there even the hunters can't handle."

"Sounds like whatever it was surprised them." I assured her. "I'm sure next time they'll be more prepared."

"If not you might have to be dispatched." She said grinning a little and I shrugged.

"If the price is right."

A strange emotion crossed her expression, and she considered me for a second.

"Not too eager to play good Samaritan, are you?" she asked skeptically.

"I've got a reputation to uphold."

"You're not that bad."

"I think there's quite a few people that would disagree with you on that." I pointed out. "Pretty much all of the pantheon."

"Our parents aren't always right."

"Harper's getting to you."

"I'm starting to think she might have a point." Libby said quietly glancing down.

She seemed to debate something to herself for a moment before looking back up at me.

"Look James, I get it if you don't want talk about everything that's happened to you."

"You can ask me whatever you want, Lib."

"I don't know what to ask." She said honestly. "Being here, it's kind of turning everything I thought I knew about the Olympians and their world upside down. Now I don't know which direction to go, what's right and which was is up."

"Well considering we're currently between dimensions, that's not all that surprising."

"You know what I mean." She said hopelessly and I regretted the joke. "I have no idea what to think lately. I hear so many different things, from so many different people."

"And you don't know if you should believe them."

I was surprised at the emotion that went through me at this, even if I'd kept it out of my words. It wasn't quite disappointment and it wasn't bitter either, but it did hurt. Far more than I thought it should.

"I want to believe you." she said putting emphasis on the word. "But you haven't said anything to anyone apart from Harper. I mean, we were friends back at camp." She continued sounding a little embarrassed. "At least you put up with me in the infirmary-"

"Will you stop talking about yourself like that?" I interrupted, cutting across her statement feeling a little impatient.

"Like what?" she asked sounding so genuinely confused, it was almost infuriating.

"Like you annoy me."

"I annoy everyone." She said automatically and I stared at her.

"Ok I'm starting to hear it..." she mumbled looking away.

It amazed me that Libby thought she could annoy anyone. Pretty, friendly, extremely smart, and one of the kindest people I'd ever met, she was the type of person it was impossible to be mad at. She was just too nice. You couldn't justify it. I was fairly certain it was impossible for me to dislike anything about her, let alone be mad about it, except maybe her tendency to bully herself. Even then I just wanted to cheer her up.

"You don't annoy me Libby." I said softly which seemed to surprise her. "And you don't annoy Lucy. You don't even annoy Harper. She's just uncomfortable around basically anything that isn't a book. She actually think's you're really smart. So do I. And yes," I added knowing it would drive her crazy if I didn't confirm it. "We were friends."

She looked a little relieved at this, a ghost of a smile forming before she bit her lip, looking anxious again.

"And what about now?" she asked, almost as if she thought she might be pushing her luck. "Are we still friends? Co-workers?"

"Deviant outcasts stepping outside the laws of the gods?"

"I'm pretty sure that's just you and Harper."

"Probably." I agreed with a nod. "But we are friends Libby. And if you really want to hear my story I'll tell you want to know. But not right now."

"But-" she started to argue, I shook my head however.

"You need sleep." I said stubbornly. "You're at the clinic tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"What time do you get off?"

"Usually around three."

I did a quick mental recap of the upcoming schedule and figured I could move somethings around.

"I'll meet you then." I said not entirely sure how to feel about the obvious excitement in her expression, even if she was trying to hide it. "We can talk about whatever you want before you head back to camp."

"Alright." She said smiling, but it faltered as I said.

"On one condition though."

"What's that?" she asked and I grinned.

"You have to take me to meet your rabbits."

"Seriously?" she asked and I shrugged.

"Yeah. I like pets. I've never had one, and Harper doesn't want animals in the library."

"Including Hellhounds?" she asked and it surprised a laugh out of me.

"Especially Hellhounds."

"Deal." She said sounding mollified before throwing me a furtive glance. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Probably closer to a few hours." I said glancing at my phone screen. "It's pretty late."

"It's like my exams never ended." She said letting out a sigh, then glancing into her room. It didn't seem like she really wanted to head into it however. "Night James."

"Good night Libby."

She retreated into the room and shut the door, I hesitated, staring at for a second before turning and making my across the living space.

I intended to go straight to sleep, when I found myself halting, looking at the map.

Lucy had finished her pinning. She'd written notes and coordinates all across the continents along with the photos and keep sakes she'd managed to hold onto after all these years.

I looked at them for a moment realizing Harper had added a few as well, and had also written notes she must have thought Libby would find helpful from her encyclopedic knowledge of the library's contents.

I tried to think of anything else I could add, certain there was plenty we were missing not having taken meticulous records of our adventures over the years, but I found my gaze kept falling on the same, familiar location.

My camp necklace was still dangling from it's perch on Long Island, in the rough location of Camp Half Blood's shoreline. The start where so much of this had really taken hold.

There was a post it note stuck next to it, a question mark in what had to have been Harper's handwriting, and an arrow pointing towards the single bead strung along the cord. The one Libby had felt compelled to add.

Harper of course, would have wondered why it was there. Neither of us had received a bead that summer having left before they were made, and while both Ashton and Charlie had tried to give her one, she'd thrown them away.

We hadn't really discussed it, but I had a feeling she'd still been pretty bitter at the time at just how quickly the gods and a fair amount of the camp had turned on her that summer. Her necklace was still in her room however, even if she didn't wear it anymore, and maybe it was the same instinct that drove Harper to keep the memento that had me unpinning the cord.

I hesitated, wondering if I should put it on.

Feeling it might be odd to try to sleep with, I threaded the cord between my fingertips, before hanging it on the post of my bed and flopping onto the blankets, unable to help but glance at it more than once as I unlocked my phone and checked my email.

There wasn't much there, however I did feel a twinge of annoyance when I saw there was one from Mel, the subject containing a single word.

'Sorry…'

I ignored this and put the phone down figuring there was nothing so important that it couldn't be dealt with tomorrow.

I got ready for bed knowing that at this point I'd be getting a few hours of sleep at best, but that wasn't unusual for me.

Growing up, I'd always had issues sleeping. My brain had always been wired, never wanting to slow down enough to turn off, but the years jumping around the world seemed to cure it of that restless energy. I'd learned how to sleep almost anywhere, at any time and could wake up in an instant. The issues had come back recently however, along with that ever present drive of restlessness. I'd attributed to feeling a bit stuck, being so busy over the last few months. I'd really only been a few places, here, Harper's school, and the occasional trip to the divine domains. A part of me had thought I'd be too exhausted for my brain to be doing this, seeing as it seemed like we always had a million things to do, but it never seemed to stop. Now more than ever I was looking for the next excuse to go out into the world, to find the next spell book or lost temple. To do something.

I'd thought this aspect of me had settled over the years, now that I'd seen the consequences off following adrenaline to the point of recklessness. But it was back now and while I'd been trying to ignore it, it was getting harder. At this point, I'd almost welcome a second round with Hypnos if he did manage catch me on my own.

'What if you're not though?' a quiet voice asked from the back of my mind and a pang of fear went through me at the thought of Lucy or Harper, and strangely, Libby, cornered by the god without me around.

'Well, Libby might just shoot him again.' I thought amused, feeling the tension that had formed within me relax a little. Harper probably would have been ok as well, especially if she was in the library, and Lucy was never by herself when we had visitors.

Harper told me she thought I had anxiety when she noticed me like this, but I was pretty sure that wasn't it. Though I'd never admit it to her, a part of me was convinced I was just bored. It seemed pretty incredible considering most people probably thought my life was actually mad, but despite the action packed hour or two over the last few weeks, most of my days lately had been pretty monotonous. Books, deadlines, more books, translating, figuring out stupid scheduling conflicts because Athena and Poseidon really shouldn't be in the library at the same time, and making sure Hephaestus doesn't burn the place down experimenting with new formulas for greek fire, though I admit that last one had been at least interesting.

'You've got plans with someone other than Harper and Lucy tomorrow.' The voice pointed out. 'That's new.'

I smiled as the words 'That's bullshit,' popped into my head in Libby's voice and I almost laughed.

I gave the cord one last look before folding my arms behind my head and closing my eyes, almost surprised to feel my body almost immediately go heavy.

The last thing I remembered before dropping off, was strangely Libby's expression of genuine shock when I'd told her she didn't annoy me. That, and the slight smile she'd tried to hide when I told her we had been, and remained, friends.

Lpov

I walked down the winding corridor, trying to keep track of each twist and turn, convinced the walls were shifting around me.

A red hue hung over the hall, bathing everything in a hellish light that had me wondering if the fields of punishment and it's fire awaited me on the other side.

I looked over my shoulder and frowned. Which direction had I made at the last fork? Left or right?

Wishing I'd thought to chart my path, I touched the wall, determined to keep track of something as I pressed forward.

Despite the fact that I knew I was lost, I was a little surprised that I didn't feel panicked. Sure there was a sense of anxiety attached to the situation, however, despite the fact I didn't recognize my surroundings, it stemmed from knowledge that I had to be doing something. Something important. There was an odd sense of familiarity to this place too that kept me grounded, though admittedly, I wasn't sure why.

"Libby."

I looked over my shoulder, half expecting to see James before I realized that the voice obviously belonged to Harper.

I hesitated for a half a second before I turned, making my way towards it.

As if triggered by this action, the walls around me started to shift. Bending an twisting into alignment as the world around me shimmered.

Flashes of images played as if on screens on the blank surfaces beside me, my college campus, camp. I thought I saw familiar faces flashing into existence in my peripherals, but the second I shifted my gaze, they vanished.

Harper, Ashton, Lucy, James, all blinked in and out of existence as my eyes darted back and forth, scenes rippling as if under the surface of water that had been disturbed.

I pressed forward, stepping quickly, the pathway in front of me now linear, and picking my pace up to a jog when I spotted a figure in front of me.

Harper was sitting, apparently in the heart of the maze or whatever this was, eyes shut, almost as if she was meditating. The moment she opened them, the walls stopped shifting.

"Harper?" I asked confused.

I stepped into the circular room that seemed to be at the center of all this activity, but staggered back when the floor vanished, only to be replaced with what looked a pool of deep, clear water.

A familiar patter lined the floor under its depths, but before I could quite make it out, it flickered and vanished, leaving Harper staring intently at me. Her desk had materialized with the return of the room along with what looked like dozens of crystal vials, each one unique, filled with a clear liquid.

She picked one up.

"Lucy," she said deliberately, setting the vial in front of me as I approached the desk, apart from the others.

She picked up a second.

"Ashton." She said sitting it next to the first.

She then grabbed a third.

"Charlie."

A fourth.

"James."

She placed it with the others, then gave me a significant look before picking up a final vial.

"You."

She set it with the others and I frowned. I didn't know what she was trying to tell me, but something felt off.

"What about you?"

At this she smiled.

"I don't ever leave the library." She said as if this should have been obvious. "Not completely."

"What?"

"I'm a part of it." She continued cryptically. "It's a part of me."

"Harper, that doesn't make any sense."

"Don't drink the rest of these." She said, sounding much more like her usual self and gesturing to the remaining vials. "They might kill you."

"What?"

I was pulled from the dream by a knock on the door and Lucy's voice saying.

"Wake up Libby! Breakfast, most important meal of the day!"

I opened my eyes, a little confused at first, still trying to make sense of whatever the hell Harper had been saying when I realized I didn't recognize my surroundings.

It took a few seconds of grogginess to remember where I was and, after trying to shake off the remnants of sleep, I quickly glanced at my phone, realizing I'd been so distracted after my conversation with James last night, I'd forgotten to set an alarm.

I let out a breath of relief when I realized it was six am, plenty of time before my shift started.

Hesitating for a second, not quite sure what the morning routine was here, I darted into the bathroom to brush my teeth and, not having brought spares clothes, walked out in the same camp shirt and shorts I'd worn yesterday.

I poked my head out to see Lucy waving at me cheerfully, clearly waiting, and she gestured for me to follow her. I grabbed my bag and jogged over, falling into step with her as she led me to what I realized was a dining area. I didn't know why, but I was surprised to see a plate stacked high with pancakes in the center of a circular table with various things like syrup, jam, butter, and even strangely what looked like a can whipped cream.

"Harper's completely addicted to sugar." Lucy explained when she realized what I was looking at.

"Yup." Harper agreed reaching for the canister and pilling her pancakes high with the stuff while James, who was sitting next to her, eyed her with evident judgment.

She was wearing a long sleeve with pajama shorts and giraffe printed fluffy socks that were impressively adorable. Her hair was messy and she looked only half awake as she chewed on her pancakes like a zombie. Judging by the fact that Lucy was in a tank top and sweats, and James hadn't bothered with anything but a pair of pajama pants sort of drove home to me the fact that these three weren't only friends, but basically roommates as well.

Lucy sat at the table next Harper and started putting pancakes on to her plate while Harper continued to stare blankly at a carton of orange juice.

"You're not a morning person, are you?" I asked Harper who shook her head as I took the only available seat next to James.

Lucy, who appeared tired but in good spirits, giggled while James shot his best friend a lofty expression.

"The word sloth does come to mind, doesn't it?" He asked with a grin.

He looked annoyingly perfect. Fully alert, as if he'd gotten a restorative night's sleep rather than just a couple of hours. Only his hair signaled he wasn't completely ready to start the day, and even that managed to look adorably rumpled.

Harper didn't respond to his taunt, but he hastily got to his feet when his chair suddenly threw itself across the room.

"Quit that." He said pointing at her. "Or I swear to gods I'm going to call an exorcist."

Harper ignored him once again, and continued her slow trudge through her food, only a brief, defiant glance in his direction suggested that she'd been involved with the incident at all.

"So, you really do control like… everything in here." I asked as James went to retrieve his chair, grumbling and Harper nodded.

I tried to look anywhere but at him as he returned to the table. I'd seen James without a shirt plenty of times, being a medic you couldn't help become acquainted with most campers physiology, at least the ones that often found themselves needing healing. But we weren't in the infirmary. Sitting next to him right now didn't feel clinical in the familiar way it often had when he'd done something brave or stupid on a mission, and gotten himself injured. It just felt awkward.

Clearly, Lucy and Harper weren't suffering from this, not that I expected them to. They were his sister and his best friend after all. This was obviously a typical morning for the group. Lucy was going over a list of scheduling while James nodded, and Harper slowly began showing signs of life by degrees.

Something about him seemed different however, apart from the hair and what he was wearing, or wasn't wearing I guess. I wasn't sure what it was though, and I was too busy trying not to get caught noticing a significant increase in his muscle mass to be able to figure it out.

It wasn't until he reached for the orange juice, and I caught a flash of movement as he leaned forward that I realized what was different about his appearance.

He was wearing his camp necklace. The bead I'd placed on it last night still dangling off the cord as it if had always been there.

I didn't know what to do with this realization, and was too shocked to even begin to try and figure out how to bring it up, or if I even should. Eventually, however, Harper woke up enough to remember I had to go home and she walked with me to the doors.

"I don't think I got the chance to say thank you yet." I said as they started to glow and I turned automatically towards the door to the mortal realm. "For setting up my room. All the stuff you put in there, it's gonna be really helpful."

"No problem." She said with a shrug and whereas before I might have considered the gesture one of dismissal, now I took it for what it was. Just a shrug. Harper had done it because she wanted to, or at least thought it was right to. To her it really wasn't that big of a deal.

"Sorry I couldn't help you with the hunters last night." I apologized and she looked confused.

"Didn't help?" she asked sounding surprised.

"Yeah, well. We didn't figure out what that thing was did we? Or how to help treat the wound."

"You helped" Harper assured me. "Actually, you helped more than you realized."

"I did?"

"Yeah, you and James helping them go through the records and comparing the wounds and descriptions ruled out a lot."

"Basically everything."

She shrugged.

"Well, now they have a lot less to look for with so much crossed off the list. And your distracting them prevented them from trying to hunt James."

"They've tried to hunt James?" I asked feeling my eyes go wide and she grinned.

"Sort of." she said trying to school her expression, as if she knew this wasn't supposed to be funny. "They know he's mostly invulnerable, so it's more like playing archery tag, but I think there's money on who can figure out the break in his impenetrable armor. The Achilles spot." Harper continued when she saw my confusion. "Arrows have been thrown around between the shelves more than once when arguments got heated."

"Oh." I said quietly realizing that yes, since James had jumped into the River Styx and taken on it's curse, he would have had to have a place of vulnerability, even if it was small.

A part of me wanted to know where it was, while the other hoped to never find out. Clearly if James told me, it would have meant he trusted me right? Or if someone else told me, like Lucy or Harper, because Harper would obviously be the person he told if he told anyone, that would mean they trusted me enough with the secret. Which by extension, meant he would too, right?

But then the reality of what that meant really hit me. I would know the one place to strike at, at a friend who otherwise might not be able to be killed. And if I did have that knowledge, who might come after me because of it? Especially as this was James. I was sure that information was something Olympus would love to get their hands on.

"James said you thought whatever they ran into was a cross breed."

"Maybe." I said frowning wondering when on earth James would have had time to talk to Harper. How early did he get up? "I don't think he really bought it though."

"He might not of, but I could be convinced." She said her tone thoughtful. "I want to meet with you later if that alright, maybe after your shift ends. See if we can't figure out a little more about what's going on."

"Alright." I said surprised to be asked, but smiling feeling obscurely proud. "I'm meeting with James after my shift so I guess I can just head back here with him."

"Alright." She said with a nod then frowned. "Speaking of James."

My heart plummeted, and I felt unaccountably nervous at what she might say next. Though to be honest, I wasn't exactly sure why.

"He mentioned that I might need to work on my interpersonal skills a little around you. That I can sometimes come off as a bit… unfriendly."

"He said that?" I asked mortified wondering if she was upset, but she seemed to be on a different thread entirely.

"I know, ironic coming from him." She muttered rolling her eyes before letting them fall back to me. "But I'm sorry if at any point I've made you feel unwelcome. I do like you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean, you talk a lot but that doesn't mean what you have to say isn't interesting." She said with a shrug.

I decided to chalk that statement up to the lack of interpersonal skills she'd mentioned, and tried to let it go.

"You've got a lot going on in your head," she continued. "I can relate to that. You just want to share it with others."

"And you don't?" I asked and she smiled again, but this time it was a bit self depreciating.

"I've never really been all that social. Even back at camp."

"Yeah I sort of noticed that."

"But if you want to talk to me about something, you can."

"Ok." I said nodding feeling a little awkward, but also strangely assured. "Ok, yeah. Thanks."

"Sure." She said distractedly, but then seemed to force herself to focus. "One last thing."

"What?"

"I appreciate the position you're in right now." She continued sounding as if she was trying to be careful with her words. "Sort of one foot here and one back at camp, I really do. So don't take it as a criticism when I say you're not going to be able to fix that divide. And I wouldn't try."

It was hard to read her expression as she spoke. It wasn't quite a warning, but it wasn't lighthearted. It made me think no one more than Harper understood everything both she and James had done. Not only understood it, but accepted it. It seemed as if she truly had no regrets.

"Reasons aside, James went against the gods. There's no point in pretending he didn't. He's powerful, and if they could get rid of him they would." Her voice was steady as she spoke and while she didn't sound upset, it suddenly felt as if the air around us had gotten heavier. "He made his choices, and so have I. And even if they wanted us back I'm not sure either of us would go. At least on my part I know I wouldn't. And trying to pull either of us back into their good graces, or some sort of understanding out of Olympus probably isn't going to work." She continued quietly. "It's more likely to tear you apart. But just because we chose a different direction, doesn't mean you have to. You're always welcome here." She said shrugging. "You don't have to reject our parents for that to continue. You shouldn't have to decide."

"You make it sound so simple." I said quietly and she let out a humorless laugh.

"It's not. I know that. But you've never gotten on the wrong side of the gods before, and you should know from the infirmary what it's like to have someone's life in your hands. How much easier it is to make hard choices when the consequences of them are right in front of you."

Her expression was meaningful.

"I won't trade James and Lucy's lives for our parents acceptance Libby. It's cruel. Our parents and their world, it's so ancient and powerful it's twisted into something I don't want to be a part of. I don't want that kind of approval, or that sort of love. And I won't trade anyone's life for my own."

"You don't think our parents love us?" I asked quietly feeling something cold and sickly spreading through me and while she shook her head, it wasn't quite the relief that I was looking for.

"I think they love as much as they can learn to love mortal things, but look at the camp Libby." She said softly. "Look how many demigods there are, how many of our parents have been abandoned. How many of us have gotten into trouble, or ended up dead because they couldn't be bothered to check in on us. This place, it was built by mortals." She gestured around at the doors. "In honor of my mother, it's powerful. Something they never would have thought of, and they left it to rot." She shook her head. "All of the temples, all of the wars. So many demigod and mortal lives. They don't care. Not enough to stop it from happening. All the man power, materials, and time just wasted as they move on through the centuries with their lives. I don't want to be a part of that."

Something about her tone however, made me think that there was more to what Harper was saying than she was letting on and in sharp slap of realization, it hit me.

"They offered you a spot in the pantheon." I said quietly. "Didn't they?"

She smiled, but it was bitter.

"I told you you were smart."

"You turned them down?" I asked incredulously.

"Their offer was pretty terrible. Hand over James, Lucy would be left to fend for herself, and my mother would have complete access and control over who got to visit the library and why. They even considered barring mortals, including demigods." She grinned. "I guess a doorway between dimensions to them is a lot more threatening when they realize they don't own the person controlling it."

"I can't believe you did that." I said quietly and Harper shrugged.

"It really wasn't all that difficult of a choice." She said before looking at me. "Would you let someone die in the infirmary on your watch? Even if they'd done something terrible? And what if you knew it wasn't their fault?" her eyes met mine, and her gaze was intent. "Would you stand back just because old man Zeus offered you a place in his shiny house in the clouds? Or because intervening would make him angry?"

"No." I said honestly.

"That's why you're here." She said nodding towards the door to the mortal world, the swirls of gold had faded, giving way to an image of camp where the campers were starting to wake for the morning. Making their way towards the showers or breakfast. "And they're not. That's why I like you Libby."

I hesitated for a moment, really trying to think over what she'd said.

"Did he ever take you to see the sirens? James I mean." I added. "He said he'd been to them, and his flaw, it kind of surprised me. I figured you of all people would be interested to learn what they could tell you."

"I did." She said and while her tone cautious, it wasn't unfriendly. "You're right. I did want to know."

"What did you learn?"

"You want to know my fatal flaw?" she asked and I nodded.

"That's sort of a personal thing to ask Libby."

"You said you trusted me." I argued. "Prove it."

Something flashed in her gaze and I had the feeling that not a lot of people pushed Harper like this, or challenged her at all. My guess was that it happened so infrequently, she was trying to figure out how she was supposed to react.

"Compassion, if you must know." She said eventually before giving me somewhat of a sardonic expression. "I know this might surprise you, but apparently I'm a bit of a bleeding heart."

"That actually doesn't surprise me all that much." I countered, and smiled when she shot me a curious look. "You're marrying Ashton. Someone had to take pity on that poor guy."

This seem to shock a genuine laugh out of her.

"Gods, you sound like James." She said continuing to chuckle. "No wonder you two get along."

There was a pause between us but for once, it didn't seem awkward.

It occurred to me that when she married my brother, Harper and I would basically be sisters. Despite her open opposition to Olympus, and her seemingly consistent under current of rebellion against the order of the gods, the thought was strangely comforting. Compassion might have been Harper's fatal flaw, but it seemed as if it, and the library she controlled, was becoming somewhat a place of refuge for the outcasts of the mythological world. I believed her when she said I was always welcome. And it was nice to know that if I ever did piss off the gods enough to risk being punished by them, I had somewhere to go.

"What do you think my flaw would be?" I asked her, suddenly curious to know her opinion of me. "Critical lack of filter?" I suggested remembering James's comment back at camp, and figuring if Harper did ever bring me to Olympus, something stupid might have fallen out of my mouth and get me blasted.

"No." she said with a slight smile and when she continued her tone was significant, as if she thought she knew something I didn't. "No I think we might find another commonality there. Another reason, probably, why James likes you."