by Aimee Carter
Daughters? Only Irene was his daughter. Sofia and my mother were his sisters. Unless he meant me, too.
No. It was a slip of the tongue, nothing more. Because if he did mean me, too, then why hadn’t anyone ever—
“It saddens me greatly to report that Athens has fallen.”
All my questions about my father flew out of my head. Athens had fallen? Irene sobbed, and Sofia hugged her, rubbing her back and murmuring words of comfort I couldn’t make out. Bewildered, I looked from them to Walter. How could Athens fall? This wasn’t ancient Greece—what did that even mean?
“How?” said my mother. “Why? We have no army there. No soldiers to threaten Cronus’s hold over the Aegean Sea. Why would he attack unprovoked?”
It wasn’t unprovoked, though. Cronus had promised no one would die as long as I stayed by his side, and now I’d abandoned him. My hands began to tremble, and I shoved them between my knees. Across the circle, Walter’s eyes met mine. He knew.
“We cannot pretend to understand how Cronus thinks,” he said, and a rush of guilt-laced gratitude overwhelmed me. He wasn’t going to tell.
“As for how he attacked,” said Phillip, rising to stand beside his brother, “he used my domain. It was a calculated attack with Athens pinpointed specifically—no other area was touched. However, the damage he did...”
Irene cried even harder, and Phillip raised his voice so we could all hear him.
“The tidal wave washed nearly everything away.”
My body went cold, and the golden room spun around me until I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Did—did anyone die?” I whispered.
Walter said nothing for a moment, and I thought I saw a spark of compassion pass over his face. “Yes. Nearly a million people lost their lives.”
Something twisted inside me, sharp and unforgiving, and if I could have thrown up, I would have. Nearly a million people were dead because of me, because I’d lied to Cronus. I’d known there would be consequences, yet I’d done it anyway.
No, I hadn’t known it would be anything like this. This wasn’t war between two equal opponents; this was a massacre of people who didn’t even know that gods and Titans were real.
“A purely symbolic attack then,” said Dylan, his brow furrowed. A three-dimensional map of Greece appeared in the center of the circle, complete with mountains, islands and seas, all to scale and colored exactly like they would be if this were an aerial shot. For all I knew, it was.
The map zoomed toward Athens until the damage was visible. During my first summer away from Henry, James and I had visited Greece, and we’d spent weeks in the city. My memories of paved streets, kind people and the modern nestled alongside the ancient might as well have been a dream.
Nothing was left. Debris and mud replaced what had once been a vibrant city, now washed out to sea. Tears slid down my face, and I wasn’t the only one crying. Beside me, my mother slipped her hand into mine, and even James’s eyes grew red.
Athens was really gone.
“Look,” said Irene suddenly, her voice thick. “Closer.”
The map zoomed in, and I averted my eyes. I couldn’t see the bodies, if there were any left to begin with. I couldn’t see the faces of those who were dead because of me.
“The Parthenon,” said Irene. “He left it standing.”
I cracked open an eye. The temple of Athena—of Irene—remained standing, untouched except for the ravages of time and history.
“A message?” said James, leaning forward.
“I cannot say,” said Walter gravely. “Perhaps he has a small amount of respect for all we have done for the world.”
“Or maybe it means he’ll keep us alive if we don’t stand in his way,” said Irene, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
“We must not fall victim to the belief that removing ourselves from this war will prevent it from happening,” said Walter with surprising gentleness. “He intends on killing us—all of us—for keeping him locked in Tartarus. Humanity is nothing to him, but he will not hesitate to wipe them out as well, knowing our existence is now linked to theirs. We have no choice but to fight until it is over.”
“One way or the other,” whispered Irene.
Walter nodded. “One way or the other.”
“Isn’t there something we can do?” The words were out before I could stop them, and each council member focused on me. “Cronus must want something.”
“You know what he wants,” said Walter, and my cheeks burned. Yes. He wanted me.
“We all know what he wants,” cut in Dylan. “Death. Destruction. Mayhem. War. To rule the world once more. Usually I’d approve, but not when we’re the targets.”
“So what do we plan to do about it?” said James. “Let him get away with this?”
“I have already called a meeting among my subjects,” said Phillip. “They know not to bow to his will no matter the cost.”
“Cronus has more power than all of us combined,” said Irene, a determined edge in her voice now. “We cannot fight back as we are and expect to achieve any measure of success.”
“What about the other gods?” said James. “They could help.”
“They have nearly all signed a petition insisting they will not,” said Walter. “Besides, they could all join us and put everything they have into this war, but it would still not be sufficient. They are not powerful enough to make up for the loss of Henry and Calliope.”
I gritted my teeth. Henry wasn’t dead yet. “I could talk to Cronus,” I said. “He—he was nice to me. He might listen.”
“No,” said my mother. “Even if you did have that sort of hold over him, he will stop at nothing until he has what he wants. He has waited and planned for eons. You will not change his mind no matter how fond of you he might be.”
Across the circle, James focused on me. I ignored the question in his stare and concentrated on the floating image between us instead. “It could work,” I said.
“That is a risk we cannot take,” said Walter. “Calliope has already proven she will kill you if given the opportunity, and Cronus may not be willing to protect you any longer. No, we must focus our efforts on coming up with a way to even our odds despite our missing members.”
Frustration, hot and unyielding, rose inside me. Of course they would invite me to join them only to dismiss every idea I had. What else did I expect? “What about Rhea?” I said. It felt like years since I’d decided to leave the Underworld to ask for her help. She was the only one who could match Cronus in power, and if anyone could win this war, it was her. “What did she say?”
Silence. Walter and Phillip exchanged an uneasy look, and finally James piped up. “No one’s tried to find her.”
“What? Why not?”
“We did not know you were not—” started Walter, but my mother cut in.
“Most of us did not know Kate was not searching for her,” she corrected, fire in her eyes. Walter’s lips thinned underneath her stare.
“Yes. Most of us did not know you were not already searching for her.”
Right. That moment between Henry and Walter in the office. Henry had hinted Walter may have known what was going on. “And that entire time, you didn’t stop to think it might be a good idea to send someone else instead?” I said.
Walter cleared his throat. “Our efforts were focused on trying to stop the impending war, not escalate it.”
“Oh, yeah? How did that turn out?” I said, and my mother squeezed my hand,
a silent command to stop talking.
This was my fault though, every last bit of it. I’d won immortality and stolen Henry from Calliope, or at least that was how she saw it. My stupid mistake had forced Henry to release Cronus from Tartarus in the first place. Now, because I’d left Cronus, nearly a million people were dead, and more would undoubtedly follow.
No, I wasn’t going to shut up.
“While the rest of you flounder and try to figure out what to do, I’m going to find her,” I said. “And I’m going to get her to help us.”
I expected an argument, but instead the council was silent. “It’s our greatest chance at obtaining a powerful ally,” said Sofia after a long moment. “We can’t hope to sway Calliope back to our side, and without a balance of power, more cities will crumble, and more people will die. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m willing to try anything that might bring us peace.”
Walter sighed wearily. “Very well. If you are able to convince Rhea to assist us in containing Cronus, then you will do us a great service, Kate.”
And possibly prevent millions—maybe even billions—of people from dying. Yeah. No question. “I’ll do it.”
“I’ll go with her,” said James. Our eyes met again, and this time I didn’t look away. “Like it or not, I’m the only one who can find her, so don’t argue.”
“I wasn’t going to,” I said. “I trust you.” If there was one person I knew wouldn’t betray me, it was James. He had nothing in this fight except his own survival, and his ability to find anyone meant we wouldn’t waste time searching for Rhea. He would know exactly where she was.
“We must all trust each other now,” said Walter. “Those who are here and those who are not.” He focused on Ava’s empty seashell throne for a moment before turning his gaze to me. “We all have made mistakes. We all have a burden to bear. But unless we are united, we will fall, and we must find forgiveness and understanding within ourselves. Pure evil does not exist. Even Cronus has his reasons for doing what he does, and the better we understand each other, the better chance we have at finding a solution before our foundation crumbles.”
I averted my eyes. Once upon a time, 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?”