My heart sank. So that was it then—eventually I’d have to hand myself over to her regardless of how this turned out. If the council was right, if Calliope and Cronus really were unstoppable, if we were all going to die anyway—

I didn’t want to. Every fiber of my being fought against it, and I felt woozy all over again, knowing what she would do to me. But what if that was the only solution? What if that was the only way to convince Calliope to help subdue Cronus again? If she’d really fought with the others in the war against the Titans, then the part of her that cared enough to risk her own existence for humanity had to be in there somewhere. And no matter how upset and humiliated she was, maybe having my head on a platter would be enough for her to change her mind.

Last resort, I thought. Only as a last resort.

If it did come to that and giving up my own life meant this nightmare could end—I wanted to be selfish and live, but I couldn’t stand back and watch everyone else be slaughtered because of me. I wasn’t sure which option was more selfish, but when it might have been within my power to end this, I wouldn’t ignore that, as badly as I wanted to forget it was even a possibility.

Either way, I had to find her first. “How do I get there?” I said. “To the place where Calliope and Cronus are. I know you don’t want me to go, but—”

“You’ll go even if I don’t tell you,” said James. “I don’t know where it is—honest. No one does. The elder gods can find it, but they made sure I couldn’t, and the location was kept secret from the others for obvious reasons. The only other person who knew where it was—” He stopped.

“Who?” I said. “Please, James, I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll wander through the whole Underworld if that’s what it takes.”

“I know you will,” he said with a tight smile. “That’s what I love about you. But, Kate, you have to understand—”

“What I understand is that if someone doesn’t try to stop them, Calliope and Cronus are going to rip the world apart, and everyone’s going to die,” I said. “I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll do it.”

James sighed. “The only other person who knows where the gate is—” He paused. “It’s Persephone.”

Chapter Six

Lake of Fire

Persephone. Of course. Out of all the gods who had ever existed and every person who had ever walked through the Underworld, it had to be her.

I rubbed my sweaty palms on my thighs and wished for the first time that I’d never heard of Eden. My life would have been destroyed, and my mother would be dead by now, but at least the lives of billions of people wouldn’t potentially rest on me swallowing my pride and finding the one person I hoped I would never have to meet. The person my husband was still in love with.

My sister.

“Isn’t there someone else?” I said with a croak.

“Henry,” said James. “But he’s a little preoccupied right now.”

I gave him a look. “So what? I track down Persephone out of the millions of souls—”

“Billions,” said James. “Possibly over a hundred by now. I haven’t been keeping track.”

“So I track down Persephone out of the billions of souls in the Underworld?” I said. “How long is that going to take?”

“As much time as it does. Finding a needle in a haystack is easy if you have enough time to look through it piece by piece.”

“But we don’t have that much time.”

James pushed himself off the wall and strode toward us. “Then I guess it’s a good thing you have me.”

I eyed him. “What do you mean?”

“He means he’s going with you,” said Ava. “So am I.”

Despite her bravery, I heard the tremble in her voice. “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “Either of you. I appreciate the offer, but you heard what the others said. The chances of getting out of this alive—”

“Will be much better if I come with you,” said James. “Just me. We don’t have time to sit around and debate this.”

“I’m coming,” said Ava firmly. “Three’s better than two, and I won’t be any help here anyway. I don’t know anything about tactics or whatever it is they’re going to do.”

James sized her up, and she squared her shoulders, as if daring him to refuse her again. “You know that’s not a good idea,” he said. “The whole point of this is to get Persephone to help us, and you being there won’t do a damn thing to convince her.”

Ava snorted, and some of the color returned to her cheeks. “What, and you being there will? You know I’ll follow you even if you tell me not to, so you might as well not waste your breath. Come on, Kate.” She took me by the arm and led me out into the corridor. I didn’t fight her, too consumed with the newest addition to the ever-growing mountain of problems.

Not only did we have to find Persephone, but somehow I had to talk her into risking the rest of her eternal life to help the family she’d abandoned. This wasn’t some walk through Central Park. This was the four of us facing the most powerful being that had ever existed.

And I had absolutely no idea what to say to convince Persephone to join us.

* * *

We didn’t bother with goodbyes. The others must have known James and Ava were going with me when they didn’t return to the throne room, and none of them came to find us while we packed. James and Ava—and me, once I learned how—could create what we needed, and none of us needed to eat in the Underworld, not in our immortal bodies. James was adamant we bring supplies anyway, including a change of clothes and sneakers I hadn’t had time to break in. James and Ava were used to wandering the world with only the clothes on their back. I’d never hiked farther than a few miles before.

At the last minute, I slipped the flower Henry had made me, the one with pink quartz petals and pearls, into my pocket. It was all I had of his other than what was in his wardrobe.

Leaving Pogo behind was the hardest part. I cuddled him to my chest and buried my nose in his fur for a few brief moments before we left, and when I set him down on the bed, his liquid eyes nearly broke my heart.

“He’ll be okay,” said Ava, leading me out of the bedroom. “The others will take good care of him, and he’ll be here waiting when we all come back.”

Except I might never come back to the palace again. Not if I had any chance of setting Henry free. Other than offering Calliope a trade, there was nothing the three of us could do to fight her that the others hadn’t tried, and I was pretty damn sure she wouldn’t give in out of the goodness of her heart.

I tore my eyes away from Pogo, and he barked as the door clicked shut. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed my tears, refusing to let myself cry. He would be fine, and Henry would be there to take care of him if I didn’t return. Like Persephone’s garden, at least he would have something to remember me by.

That was such a horrible thought that I immediately pushed it out of my mind. I wasn’t going to die. I didn’t want to, and James and Ava wouldn’t let me anyway. There had to be another way, and we would have time to figure it out.

I didn’t look back as we started down the path that led away from the palace, between the columns of black rock. The cavern was huge, and by the time we reached the wall, my leg ached so badly that every step felt like I was walking on knives.

“What now?” I said. There was nowhere to go, and as far as I could tell, there were no hidden caves or tunnels.

“Remember that trip we took down here?” said James, taking my hand. His warm palm dwarfed mine, and I glanced at Ava to see if she’d noticed, but she was busy staring at the cavern wall.

I didn’t have time to worry about the ground dropping out from underneath me again. Without warning, James walked into the rock, pulling me with him. Instinctively I shut my eyes and braced for impact, expecting sharp pain as my forehead hit the jagged edge, but all I felt was a faint breeze in my hair.