I could’ve held on to her forever, waiting for her to warm up again, but she pulled away. Behind her the others gathered, all the worse for wear, but no one was bleeding.

“I told you not to go to her,” said my mother, and it took me a moment to realize she was talking to Henry. “You shouldn’t have gone anywhere in your condition.”

Henry grimaced, and he set his hand on my back, as if he couldn’t go a moment without touching me. I wasn’t about to complain. “You would have been just as angry if I had not,” he said.

“Likely so,” admitted my mother, and she kissed us both on the forehead. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Hey, what about me?” said James, and she moved aside so he could join us. “I did most of the work.”

“You insisted on dropping off in New York City instead of Africa, like I told you to do,” said my mother sternly. “You could have had her back days ago.”

James shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah, well. Henry was stable, and it isn’t a trip if there’s no traveling involved, you know.”

“Do not pretend it was anything more than you wanting to spend more time with her,” said Henry.

James grinned. “Can you blame me? She’s the only one of you who bothers with me for more than a few minutes at a time.”

“I wonder why that is,” said my mother, nudging him with her hip, and he smirked.

Behind them, someone cleared their throat, and my mother’s smile faded. Walter stepped forward. “Brother,” he said to Henry. “Welcome back. You are well?”

Something flickered in Henry’s eyes, as if he were making a decision. No real question what that was—the last time they’d spoken, it’d been an argument over me. But I was safe now, and there were more important things to worry about. Like rescuing Milo.

Be angry with him after the war, I thought, pushing it toward Henry. The council is fractured enough as it is.

Henry’s eyebrow quirked, and though he didn’t look at me, his shoulders relaxed. At last he addressed his brother. “I will be well soon enough. How was the battle?”

“It was what it was,” said Walter, exhaling. Even he couldn’t hide his relief at Henry’s apparent forgiveness. “Tomorrow we will attack again, and we will continue to do so until we have made the progress necessary to allow for a winning strategy. James told us of your discovery at the Parthenon. Perhaps that will give us clues as to Cronus’s plan.”

“Perhaps,” said Henry. Walter eyed him as if he was sizing him up, and I automatically shifted in an attempt to protect Henry from that calculating stare.

“And you, brother,” said Walter. “Will you be joining us as soon as you are well?”

“As I am outside my realm, I cannot imagine that my contribution will be any great thing. But yes,” he said quietly. “I will join you.”

“Me, too,” I said, and before anyone could protest, I added, “I have a right to fight for my family. While Henry’s recovering, he can teach me.”

“No.” Henry’s voice was little more than a whisper in my ear. “I will not have you fight in this war.”

Once again, we were back to this, to Henry insisting I couldn’t take care of myself. To the entire council refusing to accept that I might be able to help them, if only a little. Maybe a little would be enough to change the tide, yet they refused to consider the possibility. Hadn’t I just proven I wasn’t completely incompetent? I’d been the one to suggest going to the Parthenon in the first place. I’d been the one to discover the etchings. I didn’t know how to fight like them yet, but I could learn. And in the meantime, I could do a hell of a lot more than sit around and twirl my hair.

I opened my mouth to protest, but my mother beat me to it. “Kate can fight if she wants,” she said. Her eyes locked on mine. “If Henry won’t teach her, I will.”

Henry scowled, but Walter was the first to speak up. “Very well. If that is what Kate wants, so be it.” He touched my mother’s shoulder and turned to join the others on the opposite side of the circle.

I stared after him. That was it? After everything that had happened, that was all he was willing to give me? No offer to teach me himself—not that I expected one, and I would’ve turned it down anyway, but still. No attempt to insist I stay safe. Just permission to go out and die if that was what I wanted.

Maybe if I hadn’t already been so on edge, it wouldn’t have stung as much as it did. My mother knew I would’ve gone anyway. She knew who I was, and she knew it was pointless to try to argue. Walter didn’t know me though, and if he was really any sort of father, he should have cared.

“Kate,” started Henry, but I stood, pulling my hand from his. He could only shield me for so long before he paid the price, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. I had to learn how to control my abilities. I had to learn how to protect myself, if only so I could protect Henry and our son.

“You need to rest,” I said sharper than I intended. Leaning down, I kissed his cheek, a silent apology. “I love you. I just need to be alone right now.”

He caught my lips with his, and a long moment passed before he finally broke away. After giving him a small smile, I ducked my head and hurried off toward the suites, silently praying no one would follow me. Of course they would, though. If Henry didn’t, James would, and if James didn’t—

“Sweetheart.”

If James didn’t, my mother would.

I slowed to give her the chance to catch up, but I didn’t stop. What would she do if she found out about the deal I’d made with Cronus? Would she help? Tell the rest of the council? I couldn’t be sure, and that mistrust hurt like hell. I should’ve been able to confide in my own mother without worrying about the consequences.

“I just want to be alone,” I mumbled, but she draped her arm across my shoulders and fell into step beside me. I didn’t pull away. I couldn’t. Even if the anxiety of waiting and worrying for her to come back was gone, there would be a next time. There was always a next time, and I didn’t want to beat myself up about turning her away now like I had before I’d left with James.

“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” she said, and there was something underneath her words I didn’t understand.

She was right, though. If I had my way, I’d never be alone again, but I no longer had any guarantees. If the worst happened—if the council didn’t discover a way to stop Calliope and imprison Cronus once more—then I might have Milo, but I would be Cronus’s plaything for eternity. And I would rather Milo die and spend the rest of forever oblivious in the Underworld than be subjected to the same fate.

My mother led me to her bedroom, and as she entered, the branches of her bed frame flowered with magenta blossoms. I sat down on the edge of her mattress and inhaled. They smelled like summertime.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your father sooner,” she said, rubbing my back, and I let myself relax under her touch. After years of wondering when her last moment would be, I no longer had it in me to be angry with her.

“It’s all right,” I said, although it wasn’t. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I selfishly wanted to keep you for myself.” Settling in behind me, she combed her fingers through my hair and began to braid it. “I loved our life together. I missed the council, but having you more than made up for it. I hadn’t been that happy since—”

She stopped short, and I stared at my hands. She didn’t need to finish for me to know what she was going to say. “Since you had Persephone,” I mumbled.

“Yes. Since I had Persephone.” She shook out the braid she’d managed in those few seconds and began again. “I raised you as a mortal because I believed that kind of life, away from this grandiose existence, would give you the best possible chance of passing the tests. But along the way, I discovered how much happier I was when it was just the two of us lost in the sea of humanity. And if I ever allowed Walter into our lives, that would have shattered.”