“He hasn’t attacked us since Kate made her deal with him,” said James. “You’re safe.”
Persephone slipped out of Adonis’s arms and started to pace. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? If I come with you, he might destroy me. If I don’t, he knows where I am now, and he knows I’m the only one other than Henry who knows how to f ind Tartarus, so he might decide to get rid of me anyway.”
“Why would Cronus do that?” I snapped, my irritation returning full force. This was too important for her to act like she was the only person in the universe. “He wants to open the gate, and Calliope has no idea how. He doesn’t stand a chance unless we get there. As long as you’re with us, you’re safe.”
Persephone scowled, and she looked up at Adonis, who hadn’t said a word. He nodded encouragingly, and her frown deepened. “You swear he has no reason to come after us?”
“Kate’s telling the truth,” said James. “If Cronus didn’t want us there, he would have killed us a long time ago.” Persephone seemed to consider this, and f inally she stalked back toward the cottage. “Fine,” she called, and Adonis trotted after her. “But I swear to you, if anything happens to me or Adonis, I’ll—”
What she would do, we didn’t get the chance to f ind out.
She slammed the front door shut, inches from Adonis’s nose, but he didn’t protest. No wonder Persephone loved it here with him so much. He put up with her.
“So what, does she expect us to go after her?” said Ava hotly. “Because if that’s the case, then we can f ind it on our own. I am not groveling to anyone, especially not her.”
“She said she’d come,” said James. “Patience.” Sure enough, a few minutes later Persephone stormed back out of the cottage. She paused long enough to give Adonis a deep kiss, and I turned away to give them some privacy. I wanted badly to be able to kiss Henry like that someday, or better yet, to have him kiss me like that and to know he meant it. But the closer we got to Cronus, the slimmer the chances of that ever happening became.
“Let’s go,” said Persephone, and she trudged through the meadow, slinging a canvas satchel over her shoulder. “It’s a long walk, but I know a shortcut.”
James gestured for her to lead the way, and the three of us followed. Ava trailed in a huff, still sulking about the whole thing, and I offered her my hand. None of us said a word, and with luck, it would stay that way until we reached the gate.
We’d been walking less than f ifteen minutes when the bickering began.
It started off innocently enough. James, who seemed strangely withdrawn, but determined to be polite, asked Persephone about how she and Adonis were doing, and for a moment Persephone actually smiled.
“We’re good,” she said. “Really good. You’d think as long as it’s been, it would get monotonous, but I guess that’s the beauty of this place. Everything’s so happy, and we haven’t gotten bored of each other yet.” Ava snorted. “That’s a miracle,” she muttered under her breath. I gave her hand a warning squeeze.
“If you have something to say, just say it,” said Persephone. “We all know you’re jealous because Adonis chose me over you, but—”
Ava let out a strangled laugh. “He chose you over me? Is that a joke?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Daddy made me let you have him.”
I sighed. It was like what had happened at Eden Manor all over again, except this time Ava had gone after Persephone’s boyfriend instead of Ella’s brother. The result would be the same though; hours upon hours of f ighting and the cold shoulder, and I would be stuck in the middle. At least this time James was here to help.
They argued about that for another hour or so, and eventually I let go of Ava’s hand and tucked myself into James’s embrace instead. He couldn’t block out their rants and name-calling, but the weight of his arm over my shoulders helped remind me that there was something more important going on right now than which goddess Adonis had loved more.
“Is this why you thought Ava shouldn’t come?” I said softly, and James nodded.
“You should’ve seen it when Persephone came to the council to ask for permission to become mortal for him,” he whispered. “It was a bloodbath. Ava refused to give Persephone her consent even though the rest of us had agreed, so eventually Walter overruled her. He’d never done that before, and he hasn’t done it since.” Even Calliope, as much as she hated me, had agreed to granting me immortality. I pressed my ear against his shoulder to drown out the two of them. It worked marginally, but Ava’s shrill voice dragged me back into the mess.
“What do you think, James?” she said snidely. “Who’s a better lover, me or Persephone?”
My eyes widened, and I stepped away from James, letting his arm fall to his side. He turned scarlet and shoved his hands in his pockets, and then—
Pain exploded in my head, and I cried out, stumbling to my knees. The forest fell away, and I plunged into blackness.
Despite my panic, I knew what to expect. I was still conscious, and when I opened my eyes, I was no longer in Persephone’s Eden. Instead I was back in Cronus’s cavern, and Calliope stood in front of me, once again staring right through me.
“I will kill her,” she snarled. “I will rip her body into little pieces and force you to watch.”
Startled, I whirled around to see who she was talking to, and when I saw a pair of eyes the color of moonlight staring back at me, my blood ran cold.
Henry was awake.
CHAPTER NINE
TIES TH AT BIND
A cut ran down his cheek, dripping blood onto the collar of his black shirt, but at least Henry was alive. Behind him, my mother and Sof ia were chained to Walter and Phillip, the four of them unconscious. I gingerly stepped around Henry, worried he might be able to feel me. His hands were chained behind his back. He struggled against them, but the metal links were infused with fog.
“You have one more chance,” said Calliope, and she closed the distance between them. To his credit, he didn’t back away. “Tell me how to open it, or the next time you see Kate, she’ll be in pieces.”
Henry tugged at the chains again, but his blank expression didn’t change. Calliope sneered and abruptly spun toward the fog that swirled around the gate.
“I want you to f ind her and kill her,” she said in a high, grating voice. There was no mistaking the command in her words. The cavern rumbled with vicious laughter, and Calliope’s fervor wavered. Apparently Cronus didn’t like being ordered around.