“I don’t count as a prisoner?” she said, her eyes watering. “Because I don’t fight the way you do, I’m not worth saving?”

For a fraction of a second, Walter’s expression softened. “My dear, of course you are.”

“I’ve done everything you asked me to,” said Ava. “I’ve risked my life, my integrity, my friends, all for false promises. Turns out you’re just as bad as Calliope is, Daddy. But at least she doesn’t pretend to be something she isn’t.”

Stunned silence. Was she telling the truth? Had he really asked her to do all of those things? Walter paled, but he didn’t argue, and that alone was an admission of guilt.

So it wasn’t entirely Ava’s fault, after all. She wasn’t blameless, not by a long shot, but she wasn’t alone in this either. Henry had been right. Walter had known I was pregnant. He’d known where I was and what was happening. He’d known, and he hadn’t done a damn thing to stop it.

And the things he’d made Ava do, knowing how it would affect everything, knowing how the rest of the council would see her—how could he possibly hurt his own daughter like that?

“I’ll agree to return to Calliope under your terms as long as you agree to fulfill one of mine,” said Ava. “I want to talk to Kate. Alone.”

A murmur rose from the other members of the council, and my eyebrows shot up.

“You know that is not possible,” said Walter. “It is draining enough for us to maintain this method of communication without Calliope and Henry.”

“Then she can come to me,” said Ava.

“Out of the question.” My mother’s voice rose above the others, and they fell silent. “I will not have her risk herself again. It is a miracle she managed to get out of there in the first place.”

“I know how her visions work,” said Ava. “I know she can see me and hear everything I say. I don’t need her to talk back to me. I just need her to listen. And I won’t agree to your terms until Kate agrees to mine.”

Whatever she wanted to talk to me about, she couldn’t say it in front of the others. Which meant she thought she couldn’t trust them—or at least couldn’t trust her father.

Something about Henry? About Milo? Had she found a way to smuggle him to me somehow?

Hope surrounded me, so fragile and delicate that a single word could have shattered it into pieces. It was possible, and because it was possible, I would do it.

I nodded once, and Ava deflated, as if she’d used up everything she had to make it to that moment. “Tomorrow at sunset,” she said. “In the nursery. I trust you to be there.”

She had no way of knowing if I would be, but she was smart enough to know that she had me hooked, and I wouldn’t miss it.

“I love you,” she said, and this time it wasn’t directed at any one person. Instead the words whispered through the council, touching each of us as they passed. “Goodbye for now.” The golden light in the sunset floor flashed, and she was gone.

For nearly a minute, no one spoke. Not to talk about Ava, not to ask James and me what had happened on the island, nothing. Finally Ella and Theo rose. “We must return,” said Theo. “Thank you for including us, Father.”

Walter nodded, and confusion washed over me. They weren’t here to fight? “What about the war?” I blurted. “I thought—”

“We are doing what we can on earth,” said Theo. “We’ve made overtures to many of the minor gods, but not even Nike will support us, not without Henry.”

“And the twins?” said Walter. “I thought you were making headway with them.”

Ella frowned. “Lux was receptive until you turned down his terms. Now they’ve disappeared again, and it was hard enough tracking them down the first time around. I’m not going through that again.”

James’s expression grew distant. “They’re in Paris.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” said Theo. “We can’t force them to help. Even the Fates have gone into hiding. Everyone’s scared, and nothing we say or do can smooth things over. They’re convinced if they don’t help us, Cronus might spare them.”

“Fools,” muttered Walter. “Very well. Keep me updated as you can.”

Theo and Ella nodded in unison. A split second before they disappeared, her eyes met mine, and I swore I saw pity.

“Come,” said my mother, and we both stood. “You’ve had a long day, and I’m afraid it isn’t going to get any easier. You need to rest.”

“You, too,” I said, taking her hand. As we walked down the hall, her shoulders slumped, and she paled with the effort it took to make it to her room. I wrapped my arm securely around her. After all she and I had been through together, after all we’d managed to survive, how long would it be before Cronus took her from me, too?

Chapter 14

Chains of Fog

I told my mother everything that had happened in Calliope’s palace, and though she didn’t confirm my fears, I knew I was right. She’d known about Henry’s plan—maybe she’d even helped him. And from the way she kept touching my face, it was easy to tell she was glad it was him Calliope had taken, not me.

“We’ll figure it out,” she murmured as we curled up on her bed together. “We’ve made it this far, after all.”

I wasn’t sure who she meant. She and I? The council? Did it even matter? This would end one way or the other, and no one, not even my mother, could reassure me that everything would be okay. Not this time.