A knock on the door startled me, and I sat up and wiped my puffy eyes. “Yeah?” I said, and the door cracked open.

“Kate?”

Henry. I exchanged a look with my mother, and she smiled encouragingly.

“Come—come in,” I said.

He stepped inside and closed the door. He was clean now, and somehow he’d changed clothes without coming into the bedroom. Was there another closet in the palace if he decided he didn’t want to stay with me? And who had helped him clean the blood off his pale skin like I had done so many weeks before? I didn’t have to think about that too hard to come up with the answer.

“Walter is requesting you,” said Henry, and when my mother stood, he shook his head. “Not you, Diana. Kate.”

There was something off about the way he said my name, but I pushed it aside. Whatever it was, it undoubtedly had something to do with Persephone, and the more I thought about her, the more everything hurt. After the journey through the Underworld, I wanted a single afternoon where I didn’t have to feel second-best. I was willing to wait for Henry like he’d waited for me, but that didn’t mean the time in between now and when he was ready to love me would be painless.

Confused, I climbed off the bed and excused myself to the bathroom. My skin was rubbed raw everywhere it’d been exposed to the fog, and now that I’d calmed down, I had to move gingerly if I didn’t want to wince. Under normal circumstances I would have changed out of my pajamas to see the King of the Gods, but today was anything but normal, and this was supposed to be my home now. If I wanted to wander around in pajamas, I would. Besides, anything else would have made the pain worse.

I made an effort not to think about what Walter wanted while I gently washed my face. To reprimand me, I was sure, but there was no use in worrying about it until I was standing in front of him. Henry wouldn’t let him banish me from the Underworld. I hoped. And if he did—well, at least I’d know for sure Henry didn’t want me anymore.

I heard my mother speaking quietly on the other side of the door, but when I stepped out of the bathroom, she immediately fell silent. “What?” I said, and she shook her head.

“Nothing, sweetheart. I’ll see you in a bit.”

I would’ve had to be blind to miss the exasperated look she gave Henry, but I said nothing as he led me out of the room and into the hallway.

“Are you feeling all right?” he said, clasping his hands behind his back. Gathering what determination I had left, I slipped my hand into his arm and refused to let go when he tensed. One day he wouldn’t, and until then, he had to get used to me being there.

“I’ve had better months,” I said, a weak attempt at a joke. He didn’t smile. “Did Theo heal you?”

He nodded. “I fetched the others a short while ago. I will send Theo to our room once Walter has finished with you.”

That sounded ominous. “Is he mad?”

“No,” said Henry. “He is not.”

Something was still off, and I hugged his arm, pleased when he didn’t move away. “Are you?”

This time his face remained blank. Of course he was angry. If what my mother had said was true, then he’d spent six months fighting like hell to keep me safe, and on top of failing when it’d mattered the most, I’d run after a Titan less than a day after arriving in the Underworld. Not exactly the smartest thing I’d ever done, but I hadn’t had a choice. Surely Henry understood that.

“I won’t say I’m sorry,” I said. “Not for going after you and my mother. But I am sorry for scaring you, and I’m sorry for not listening to James and staying out of the cavern.”

He unclasped his hands and took mine. He didn’t hold on tightly, but it was more than I expected, and hope fluttered inside of me. “Do not apologize,” he said. “I am aware we left you and the others with no choice. I am the one who should apologize for having put you in that situation to begin with.”

So he was blaming himself. Somehow that didn’t feel much better than him blaming me. “It wasn’t your fault though. You had no idea what Calliope and Cronus were planning, and you did your best with what you had.”

“Yes,” he said softly, “I suppose we did. That makes what Walter and I are about to ask of you even more foolish.”

We stopped in front of a nondescript door, and I frowned. “What do you mean?”

Henry let go of my hand to set his on the doorknob, but he didn’t turn it yet. “I will be with you the entire time,” he said. “Nothing will happen to you.”

My heart fluttered, and I racked my brain for what he and Walter might want me to do that would scare Henry like this. Of course nothing would happen to me. Unless Cronus was inside.

As he opened the door, I realized what he meant, and all the tension that had left me earlier flooded back. I stopped cold, and he draped his arm around my shoulders protectively.

With her face bloodied and marked by the chain I’d used against her, Calliope stared at me, her eyes narrowed and unblinking.

She was awake.

Chapter Fourteen

Interrogation

The burning hatred in Calliope’s eyes made every bone in my body freeze in place, as if she’d turned me to stone. I wasn’t afraid of her, not really, but anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would have stopped short when facing that kind of loathing.

Walter stood beside her, his hands on her shoulders, but it didn’t look like a protective gesture. She sat in a chair made of steel, and shimmering bands around her wrists and ankles held her in place. In the corner, Phillip silently faced her with his arms crossed over his broad chest, and there was a deep silver scar running through his left eye. It had turned milky-white.

“Kate,” said Walter with a nod.

“Hi,” I said, wishing my voice wasn’t shaking so much. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m afraid we had no choice.” He tightened his grip on Calliope’s shoulders, and her jaw clenched. “It seems Calliope refuses to talk to anyone but you.”

My heart sank. I glanced at Henry to confirm it, and he nodded stiffly. “That—that’s fine,” I said, even though it was anything but, and I took a deep breath to steady myself. Obviously this was important. “Whatever you need.”

A cushioned chair appeared a few feet in front of Calliope, and Henry let go of me so I could sit down. I fidgeted, certain that if it were in Calliope’s power, she would have made me burst into flames right then and there.

“All right, Calliope,” said Walter. “She is here as you asked. Tell us what we want to know.”

His voice seemed to echo in the plain room, as if he were really dozens of people talking at once. It was nothing like the same kind of tone Calliope had used in the cavern. If Walter wanted to, I was positive he could destroy the world with a single thought. No wonder he’d been appointed the head of the council.

Calliope remained silent, and Walter sighed. It was the sound a father made when his child was giving him the silent treatment, not the kind of sigh an interrogator made when his subject clammed up. For all his power, Walter would not use it against her, I was sure of it. She was family.

I didn’t know if I was all right with that or not. Walter had done terrible things to her, unintentionally or not, and he’d put her through hell. But like James had insisted, it didn’t excuse her for all she’d done, and Walter had an obligation to ensure that none of it happened again. We all did.

“Please talk to us,” I said, relieved when my voice stayed steady. “Whatever happened with Cronus, it’s over now, and Walter and Phillip and Henry—they’re not going to hurt you.”

I could feel Henry tense behind me. If he had his way, she’d be a pile of ashes by now.

A slow smile spread across Calliope’s face, and her eyes glinted with malice. “You think this is over? Henry opened seven of the bars. It was only a matter of time before Cronus broke out completely anyway, but now he will be out by the winter solstice. When he’s free, he will come for me, and he will destroy all of you for holding him captive.”