Thalia’s POV:
“What in the world—?”
The words were a breathless whisper, stolen from my lips by the sheer impossibility of what I was seeing. I moved slowly, almost reverently, to stand beside Xander, my arm brushing against his.
We stood at the heart of the garden, but it felt like we were standing at the heart of the universe itself.
At the heart of the garden, was a vast, circular pool and in it stood a tree so ancient it seemed to hum with the memory of a thousand years. But this was no ordinary pool. The water was thick and viscous, shimmering with a silvery, mercury-like glow. It looked as if the night sky had been melted and poured into its basin, a million tiny stars winking and glittering on its surface. A few fallen leaves from the great tree floated there, not like debris,
