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.