The silence seemed to echo in the ballroom as no one said or did anything. Only seconds passed, but it felt like an hour. As bitter disappointment settled in the pit of my stomach, one rational thought came to mind:
What now?
A noise from behind me caught my attention, and I tried to turn around to see what it was, but any movement now made my chest feel as if it were on fire. I heard the thud of a door closing, and the soft click of heels against marble echoed through the ballroom.
“Sister,” said Henry, his voice full of rich golden warmth that made my pain ebb away. As I looked into the faces of the other council members, I realized they all seemed happy and relieved. And smug, I noticed, glancing at Ava. Even James seemed happy to see her.
“Hello, Henry.”
All the air whooshed out of my lungs as her voice filled my head, chasing away my thoughts until there was nothing left but her. Forgetting the pain, I strained my neck to see her, watching as she greeted all but Calliope with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. Making her way around the circle, when she reached Henry, she stepped into his open arms.
In the back of my mind I realized I was gawking, but I couldn’t stop. She separated herself from Henry and took a seat in the throne next to him, the one made of branches and vines that had previously been empty, and something inside of me fell into place.
“Hello, Kate,” she said, and I opened and shut my mouth several times, but nothing came out. Finally I forced myself to swallow, and when I managed to speak, it came out more like a croak.
“Hi, Mom.”
CHAPTER 20
SPRING
My mother looked exactly as she had in my dreams. Healthy and whole, as if she’d never been sick a day in her life. But there was something about her, some indeterminable quality that made her seem as if she were glowing from the inside, like light straining to be released.
“What are you doing here?” As I asked it, I knew it was obvious. The only thing that kept me from seething was my joy at seeing her again, but even that was rapidly being replaced by confusion.
“I’m sorry,” she said with the same sympathetic smile I’d seen on her face a thousand times before. Every time I scraped my knee, every time I dragged home hours of homework and barely had time for dinner, every time a doctor had told us she only had months to live. In so many ways she was a stranger, but with that smile, she was still my mother. “Deception was the only way you could be properly tested. I never meant to hurt you, sweetheart. Everything I’ve ever done was to protect you and to keep you as happy as I possibly could.”
I knew she was telling the truth, but I couldn’t help but feel the humiliation of being duped. Even if it had been for my own good, that didn’t make me feel like any less of an idiot for not realizing who she was.
My own mother was a goddess. It wasn’t something I could simply shrug and accept.
“Diana,” said Walter, and she stepped toward me, the white silk robe she wore moving with her as if she were submerged in water. She wasn’t close enough for me to touch, but close enough for me to see that her eyes were shining. Whether it was from tears or pride or power, like Henry and his eyes made of moonlight, I couldn’t tell.
“For the seventh and final test, pride and humility.” My mother paused and smiled. “Kate passes.”
I didn’t understand. The ruling was over, wasn’t it? Hadn’t their decision already been made? I couldn’t fail any of the tests. Walter himself had said it. I waited for some kind of explanation, but it didn’t come.
“Those who agree?” said Walter.
Wildly I turned from face to face, but none of them gave any hint. Ava, Ella, even Henry gave no sign of what was happening. One after the other they murmured their agreement. To my surprise, Calliope, who looked so pale and miserable that I couldn’t help but feel a stab of sympathy for her, also nodded.
They were saying yes, I realized. They were voting. Even though I’d slept with Henry, by some miracle I hadn’t failed completely. But when the vote reached James, my breath caught in my throat, and I was sure he would shake his head.
Without meeting my eye, he, too, nodded. The others continued to vote, but I stared at him, and when at last he looked up, I mouthed a simple thank you.
“So it has been decided,” said Walter when the vote reached him. “Katherine Winters will be granted immortality, and she will be wed to our brother, to rule the Underworld with him as long as she so chooses.” And then he smiled, his ancient eyes twinkling. “Welcome to the family. This session of the council is adjourned.”
The finality in his voice confused me, and dumbfounded, I waited as the council stood and headed toward the door. Some—Ella, Nicholas, Irene, Sofia, even Xander—squeezed my shoulder or gave me a word of encouragement as they passed. Ava grinned widely. Others, particularly Calliope, said nothing as they left. James, too, passed by without a word, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed. Remembering his nod and thinking of what it must have cost him to give it, I wanted to reach out to him, but I was frozen on my stool, unable to move in fear all of this would shatter and reveal itself to be nothing but a dream.
Soon only three of us remained. Me, Henry and my mother. She stood once the others had left, and without a word she enveloped me in her arms, hugging me gently. I rested my chin on her shoulder and buried my nose in her hair. Apples and freesia. It was really her.
I don’t know how long she held me, but by the time we let go of one another, my chest ached and I’d slid halfway off the stool. She helped me right myself, but it was Henry standing a few feet away from us who caught my eye.
“Was—” I paused and cleared my throat, hating how small my voice sounded. “Was that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Henry stepped beside me, and both he and my mother gently helped me stand. “You passed,” he said. “I hope you are pleased.”
Pleased wasn’t exactly the word for it. Confused, yes. Reeling, sure. And I wasn’t going to be pleased until I understood what had happened. “He said I failed,” I said, wobbling on my feet. “How could I pass after I failed?”
“It was the seventh test, sweetheart,” said my mother. “You did not fail lust. Even if you hadn’t loved him, Henry made sure we were all aware of what happened. This was the only way the council had to test you on your pride. In accepting your failure despite wanting to stay, and in respecting the council’s decision, you showed humility.”