And right now, she was the only one who could give that to him. I bit the inside of my cheek and focused on Milo. He was so beautiful that it hurt to look at him, but I couldn’t tear myself away.
“Why did you attack those people?” I said to Cronus.
“For the same reason I attacked Athens,” he said. “To teach the council a lesson.”
“And what lesson was that supposed to be?” I snapped. “The more you hurt them, the less likely it is they’ll agree to your truce.”
“We both know that will not happen,” said Cronus, and in the rocker, Ava’s brow furrowed with confusion.
“Stop it,” she said, her grip on Milo tightening. “She isn’t here.”
“Tell her that you lied yesterday,” I said. Ava was doing something no one else could or would for Milo right now, and if Cronus said the wrong thing, I couldn’t risk Ava leaving the baby alone again. The last thing he needed was to lose someone else who loved him.
Cronus sighed and said in an annoyed voice, “My words yesterday were purely my own, not a reflection of what Kate expressed. My sincerest apologies.”
Ava smirked triumphantly. “I knew it. You’re scum.”
“So I have been told,” said Cronus with surprising ease. “My dear Kate, the fact remains that we all know a truce will not happen, not while Walter is in charge of the council.”
“It isn’t in my power to convince them to overthrow Walter, and even if I could, I wouldn’t,” I said.
“Then you know the consequences,” said Cronus. “The time for inaction is over. I have given the council long enough to surrender, and now that they have chosen not to, I will do what I must to put them in their place.”
My stomach dropped. “Please,” I said. “Give them a little more time. Give me a little more time.”
“It will not make a difference. The winter solstice is in less than three months. The council’s bonds will no longer hold me then.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you come?” said Cronus. “Do not tell me it was merely to see your son.”
I would’ve spent eternity locked in a room with Calliope if it meant getting to spend five minutes with Milo. But I didn’t say that, because Cronus was right. He was always right. “You know why I’m here.”
His footsteps echoed behind me, growing closer until he knelt beside me and snaked his arm around my waist. Ava pulled away from him. I didn’t blame her.
“Kate?” she said, her voice trembling as she searched the space I was in. I ignored her. Now wasn’t the time.
“I want to hear it from you,” said Cronus huskily, and despite his lips lingering next to my ear, he no longer had any breath. Not warm, not cold—nothing.
I tightened my hands into fists and focused on Milo’s blue eyes. Henry would understand. He had to. “I’m here to make a trade.”
“For real this time?” said Cronus.
“Yes,” I whispered. “For real.”
Chapter 11
Horizon
Cronus gave me seven days with Henry and my mother before he would attack again.
It wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart. I had no way of reaching the island on my own yet, and I couldn’t ask anyone to go with me. Besides, the more people I involved, the bigger chance it had of getting back to Henry.
So I had to learn how to get there myself. I could barely travel across the room without Henry’s help; learning how to cross half an ocean in a week seemed impossible, but I had to.
As my mind returned to Olympus, I grew aware of two things: first, I was crying. And second, Henry lay beside me, his eyes locked on mine.
“Are you all right?” He brushed his thumb against my cheek, catching a stray tear. The urge to tell him everything overwhelmed me, making it hard to breathe, but I couldn’t. This was for Milo. If one of us had to do it, I was the best choice. Cronus had already issued Calliope an ultimatum not to hurt me or Milo; Henry wouldn’t have the same security, and he was too important, too powerful, too needed to sacrifice himself. I would find a way back as soon as I could. Maybe if I could learn how to travel properly, I would be able to take Milo and escape. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and I couldn’t have Henry risk himself in the meantime.
“I love you so much,” I said, closing the distance between us and wrapping myself around him. “No matter what happens, no matter how this war turns out—I love you, forever and always.”
Henry was quiet for a long moment, and I counted the seconds, taking comfort in each breath he took. At last he lowered his lips to mine, kissing me with aching tenderness.
“You are my life.” Though his words were barely a whisper, they seemed to echo from somewhere deep within him, enveloping my body and infusing me with something unshakable. “There is nothing I would not do to make you happy. Before I met you, my world was a string of days that were gray and empty. I had nothing to look forward to, and I cannot tell you what it was like, facing down eternity alone. Every day I wished for you. Every day I held on in hopes that eventually we would meet. And when I finally found you...”
He leaned in and kissed me again, as tenderly as before. His hand slid underneath my shirt, splaying across my stomach, but the touch wasn’t sexual. It was as if he were trying to memorize me, just as I was trying to memorize him.
“I have existed for more eons than I remember. I have seen the sun rise and fall so many times that the days lost all meaning. For so long, they passed me by in a blur. But that night we met by the river—the night you gave up yourself in order to save a virtual stranger—my heart began to beat again.”
He took my hand and pressed it against his chest, and there it was—thump thump, thump thump, strong and beautiful. I would’ve given anything to keep his heart beating. The black abyss that had become my world in those hours I’d thought he was dead had faded, but it was a scar I would always bear. I couldn’t go back to that. Even if I had Milo, I would never have another Henry.
“I see the sunrise now,” he said. “Because of you, the days have color. Eternity has meaning once more. You found every broken piece of me and put me back together, even though I hurt you too many times for me to deserve it. You are the glue that holds me together. If I lose you, it will be the end of me.”
A knot formed in my throat. “You’ll never lose me,” I said, my voice breaking.