when I’d first faced the council, I’d forgiven Calliope for killing me. I’d been able to see past her crimes and examine the reasons underneath, and in a way, I’d been able to understand her. But if Walter was really asking me to do the same with Ava...
It wasn’t my life she’d threatened. It was Milo’s, and some things were unforgivable. But despite my anger, I wanted to forgive her—I wanted to sympathize with her. I wanted her to be on our side again. And I could understand why she’d done it, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself. Calliope was blackmailing her, using Nicholas’s life to ensure Ava’s cooperation. The day she and I had left the Underworld, the signs had been obvious, and if I’d taken a moment to think about it, I would have known something was up. Ava’s strength was in how she loved others. I’d known Calliope had taken Nicholas and she’d spoken to Ava alone, and I should’ve realized that Ava would do whatever it took to protect him. I should have done something to help her before she’d had to betray me.
That was over with now, though. She’d made her mistakes, and I’d made mine. I would do whatever I could to fix them, and I could only hope she would do the same, as well.
“We will all do our best,” said my mother, and she squeezed my hand again, her gaze focused on me. I gave her a slight nod. I would try.
“Then it is settled,” said Walter, and somewhere deep inside the palace, thunder rumbled. “Kate and James will attempt to ally the council with Rhea.”
“And we will prepare for war,” said Dylan with a gleam in his eye.
“No,” said Walter. “We have prepared enough. Now we fight.”
* * *
I spent the next three days by Henry’s side as I regained my strength. He was in an undecorated room a few doors down from mine, and while my mother tended to both of us, I lay curled up beside him. I’d nearly lost him—still might if I couldn’t convince Cronus to undo the damage he’d done—and I wasn’t leaving him again until I absolutely had to.
The wind howled endlessly, and somewhere in the distance, the seas crashed against the rest of the world. Despite the sunny blue skies above me and the sunset below, thunder raged at all hours of the day and night, and even if I’d wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.
I split my time evenly between my present and my visions with Milo. Henry didn’t break his promise; each time I arrived, he was there, sometimes holding Milo, sometimes keeping watch at his cradle as he slept. We stood side by side for hours and simply watched him, and Milo gazed at us in return. Somehow, someway, he knew I was there, I was sure of it now. I envied Henry his ability to hold him, but at least he would have a chance to know our son. If the worst happened, Milo would have these moments with him.
“You’re going to come back to me, aren’t you?” I said on the evening my mother had finally decided I’d healed enough to travel. James and I would set out to find Rhea in the morning, and in all likelihood, this would be the last night I’d have with Henry and Milo for a while.
“What do you mean?” said Henry. “I am here now.”
“I mean here for real,” I said. “Are you going to wake up? I know Cronus hurt you, but—you’re here, and maybe if you tried really hard...”
Henry kissed my forehead, his palm pressed against the nape of my neck. “I will always be here for you, my dear. Nothing will change that.”
I took a deep breath, refusing to cry in front of Milo. Even if he was sleeping and would never find out, I would know. “Please wake up,” I whispered. “We need you. Not—not like this. We need you. We can’t defeat Cronus without you.”
“You cannot defeat Cronus with me. Not without Calliope,” he pointed out.
“We’re trying. He killed an entire city full of people. Athens is gone, and he’s going to kill again and again until he gets what he wants.”
“And what do you think that is?” said Henry, and I faltered. I couldn’t tell him about the deal I’d made with Cronus. It was too complicated, and if he slipped away, I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt of knowing that was one of the last things I’d said to him.
“I don’t know,” I lied. “The council thinks he wants to kill them for keeping him imprisoned in Tartarus.”
“Perhaps.” He ran his fingers through my hair, his touch so gentle that it felt like a warm summer breeze. “All I want is you.”
I shivered. Milo’s lips parted in his sleep, and he made an adorable suckling motion. “All I want is to be a family. A real, live family, together and safe from all of this.”
“We will be,” he promised. “I will make sure of it.”
I leaned against him and wrapped my arm around his waist, his silk shirt tickling the inside of my wrist. How long would it be before we got to spend time together like this again? “James and I are leaving to find Rhea tomorrow morning.”
Henry’s fingers stilled in my hair, and for a moment he said nothing. “What is so important that you have to put yourself in such a dangerous position?”
“The same reason as before,” I said. “If we can convince her to fight on our side, we might have a chance at winning.”
“But Cronus is ravaging the world. If you leave Olympus, you will not be safe.”
“I don’t care anymore,” I said with as much conviction as I could muster. “Besides, he’s mostly trapped on the island with Calliope. He’s powerful enough to cause natural disasters that kill millions, but Africa isn’t close enough to Greece to be a problem.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I hesitated. “No.”
He turned from Milo to hug me tightly, almost possessively, and he buried his nose in my hair. “Please do not go. Rhea will not fight for anyone, much less against her own husband. It is not worth the risk.”
“I have to try. You know I do.”
“Even though it might kill you?”
“I’m not planning on letting that happen, but—yes. Even though it might kill me.”
His expression clouded over. “Very well,” he murmured. “All I ask is that you remember what happened the last time you left the safety of the council.”
I scowled. “I get it. Something bad might happen if I leave Olympus. Cronus might catch me, Calliope might kill me or the sky might fall and land on top of me. But I can’t stand by and watch millions of people die because of me, all right?”
“Humanity is nothing compared to you,” he said, touching my cheek, and I stepped back.
“Even if that were true—and you know it isn’t—Milo deserves a happy life, and that means making sure there’s still a world for him to live in. I have to do this, Henry. I’m sorry. I love you and Milo more than anything, and if I had any choice in the matter—”
“You do,” said Henry. “You have as much choice as you are willing to give yourself.”
I huffed. “Fine. I’ve made my choice. I’m going to fight.”
“You should not be fighting in the first place,” he said. “You are too delicate, too—”
“Too what? Too young? Too inexperienced? I don’t need to be ancient to be worth something, and I’m doing this whether you like it or not.” I glared at him, but he averted his eyes. Several seconds ticked by, and at last I said in a softer voice, “I get why you don’t want to fight, Henry. I do. But that was before all of this happened. That was before Milo was born. If you won’t fight for me, then will you at least fight for him?”
Henry was quiet for a long moment, and not even the rise and fall of Milo’s chest comforted me. This was impossible. Half-dead or not, Henry was