To my immense satisfaction, Calliope froze, her mouth forming a small circle. “I didn’t—” She paused, flustered. Served her right. “You know I respect you, Father, more than anything in the world. I just— Nothing’s going right anymore. Henry was supposed to be mine by now, but Ava couldn’t be bothered to fulfill her promise when he was here rescuing that hag.”

I stilled. What else had Ava promised Calliope?

“Such insolent behavior will not get you what you want, my daughter,” said Cronus. “Surely you must know that by now.”

She nodded, and for half a second, she appeared almost meek. “You’re still on my side, right, Daddy? You won’t stop loving me, too?”

I could’ve thrown up at her saccharine manipulation, but Cronus didn’t bat an eye. “No, daughter, I will not. We are in this together, and it would serve you well to remember that.”

“Of course.” Calliope bowed her head, the first sign of deference she’d shown since I’d arrived. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, Father.”

He waved dismissively, and she headed out of the nursery, closing the door behind her. For a long moment, the only sound that filled the room was Milo’s whimpers.

At last Cronus focused on me. His face morphed into a copy of Henry’s once more, though he now wore a mask of false concern. “My dear, what is wrong?”

Everything I’d planned to say was gone, but at least I didn’t have to pretend to cry. My eyes were red and puffy, and my cheeks flushed from arguing with my mother. Watching Calliope with my son had renewed my frustrated tears, and a lump formed in my throat. There was nothing fake about my grief.

“You know I know who you really are,” I whispered. “Change back to your normal face. Please.”

Cronus eyed me, and at last his appearance shifted until it was his own again. “I thought you would prefer it this way.”

He knew damn well he was fooling me the entire time, but maybe it wasn’t just to trick me—maybe he thought it would bring me some comfort, as well. Maybe that was his version of consoling me. I shook my head. “Henry’s dead. Rhea couldn’t help him. And she won’t—she won’t help us either.”

“I am sorry,” said Cronus. He set a sleeping Milo down in the crib and wrapped his arms around me. I held my breath, refusing to hug him back. He could say he was sorry all he wanted, but we both knew he wasn’t. He couldn’t be. He didn’t have it in him. “I was certain Rhea would help him.”

“We—we were too late,” I said in a broken voice, allowing the tears to flow. “By the time we got there...” It was so close to the truth that it wasn’t hard to imagine what it would have felt like to lose Henry completely. If Rhea hadn’t healed him, he would have been dead by now. I was sure of it.

We stood there in silence for several minutes. Cronus made the usual gestures someone did when comforting a loved one; soothing words, a gentle touch, promises that it would be all right as I wept into his shoulder. But I wasn’t crying about Henry’s supposed death, and Cronus didn’t really love me. How had I ever believed he could possibly be Henry?

“What did Ava promise to do for Calliope?” I said once my sobs had subsided. “Did she do something to make him die?”

Cronus shrugged and loosened his grip. “I am certain she did not, though I could not begin to guess what her intentions are.”

He was lying, but there was nothing I could do to call him on it. “Are you really loyal to Calliope?” I said in a small voice. “I thought you wanted me.”

“I do,” he said. “I am loyal to no one but you. I tell her what I must to keep her happy, but I live to see you smile.”

Bullshit. I hiccupped and pulled away from him, though he didn’t let me go completely. “Stop killing people. Please. No one else should have to die because of a stupid family argument.”

Cronus paused. “I would like nothing more than to grant your request, my darling, but surely you must know that is not possible. What do you expect me to do? To retreat back to Tartarus without so much as a second thought?”

“Of course not,” I mumbled, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. Cronus produced a handkerchief out of nowhere, and only because refusing him would do me no good, I took it. “Why does there need to be a war in the first place? Why can’t everyone coexist?”

“Because, my dear Kate, they will not stop until I have been imprisoned once more, and I cannot allow that to happen.”

“What if they promised not to try to send you back into the Underworld?”

“If it were that easy, we would have reached a solution eons ago. Unfortunately it is not. Zeus will never agree.”

“He’s a stubborn jackass,” I muttered, and Cronus chuckled.

“Right you are, my darling. Surely you understand that as long as he rules the skies, I cannot stop.”

“But what if he and the rest of the council promised not to attack?” I said. “If I could get Walter—Zeus to agree to leave you alone as long as you didn’t hurt anyone else?”

Cronus shrugged. “If you are capable of doing the impossible, then perhaps I might consider a truce, though I certainly cannot speak for my daughter.”

Without Cronus, Calliope was all but powerless against the other members of the council. “Someone once told me that anything is possible if you give it a chance,” I said softly. “If Zeus agrees, you’ll back off and let the council take Calliope?”

“Yes,” said Cronus, snaking his arms around my waist and gently drawing me toward him again. “I have no use for her any longer. You are all I need.”

My entire body went numb. Of course he still expected me to be his queen. He thought Henry was dead.

I stared into the cradle. I’d never held Milo. I’d barely even touched him, and now he would be doomed to a lifetime with Cronus as a father. Then what would everything I was fighting for mean?

Nothing.

“Okay,” I whispered. “I’ll come back to you as soon as you call a truce and the others have Calliope in custody. But I want you to let my son leave.”

“If he leaves, I cannot allow you to go with him.”

I nodded tightly. “I know.”

He studied me. “You do not want to be his mother?”

I wanted to be his mother more than anything in the world, but if I let Cronus near him, I would be anything but. “I want my mother to raise him in Olympus,” I said firmly. That way Milo would be with Henry, and I could breathe easier knowing they would have each other.

“I see,” said Cronus. “You do not want me to be his father.”

I balled my hands into fists. “You’ll have me. You don’t need anything else.”

He brushed his knuckles against my cheek in what I was sure he meant to be a loving caress. It sent shivers down my spine, but not the kind he was aiming for. “I need you to be happy. It would give me such great pleasure to show you the honesty and compassion you have shown me.”

“If you want to show me any of that honesty and compassion, then you’ll give me my son,” I said. “And you’ll promise to stop killing all of those people.”

“Have Zeus agree to a truce, and you have my word,” said Cronus with a bow of his head, and he produced a scroll out of thin air and set it in my hand. “A token of my intentions.”

I began to untie the black silk ribbon, but he placed his hand over mine.

“It is a list of names of those who have turned traitor and pledged their allegiance to Calliope. With your husband dead, it is only a matter of time before I overthrow the council,” said Cronus. “If they wish to survive, my forgiveness is their only hope. And for that, all I ask is you.”

I clutched the scroll, and even though it tore me to shreds, I whispered, “Thank you.”

“No, my dear,” said Cronus, and the fog in his eyes swirled malevolently. “Thank you.”

Chapter 9

Messenger