The Goddess Inheritance
Page 59

“I wouldn’t if I were you, my dear,” she purred.
It was a damn shame I was insubstantial, else I would’ve happily punched her lights out. Ava clenched her fists, apparently having the same idea, but she made no further move toward Calliope. “You monster,” she hissed. “He’s your son.”
“We all make sacrifices. Surely you of all people must understand that.”
The room trembled, and like she had the night before, Ava began to glow magenta. “No wonder Daddy never loved you. There’s nothing lovable about you. All this time I thought he was in the wrong, treating you the way he did, but you deserved it. You pervert love and family until they’re unrecognizable, all for your own twisted sense of satisfaction. No one, not even Cronus, deserves to burn in Tartarus more than you do.”
“Is that so?” said Calliope in a dangerous voice. “It must be such a pity for you then, knowing we will win and you will never escape me.”
“Oh, I will,” said Ava. “First chance I get, I’m getting the hell out of here and—”
“What’s going on?”
Henry stood in the doorway, cradling Milo. I moved toward them so fast that I could’ve sworn I created a breeze, but Henry looked straight through me, his focus on Calliope.
A knife twisted in the pit of my stomach, but he couldn’t see me. He had no idea I was there. Even if he did, he’d still be looking at Calliope like she was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“Hello, darling,” said Calliope. “I was just coming to see you. How’s the baby?”
“He’s fine.” Henry gave Ava a curious look, and she averted her eyes, her hand hovering half an inch over Nicholas’s. “What’s going on?”
“Ava here seems to believe that despite his crimes against us, Nicholas is entitled to leave now,” said Calliope, and she giggled. “As if we could afford such a risk. We can’t have Nicholas rushing back with our secrets, now, can we?”
Henry eyed Nicholas the way he’d looked at Calliope after the brothers had captured her in the Underworld and tied her up in chains. My stomach lurched. The Henry I knew and loved had to be in there somewhere, but right now, this wasn’t him. No matter how badly it hurt, I had to remember that. Whether it was Ava’s influence or Calliope’s power to cut the ties of loyalty between Henry and the rest of the council, it didn’t matter. He was the enemy now.
No, not the enemy. As much of a prisoner as Nicholas and Milo.
“Of course, my dearest love,” said Henry, and I gagged. “We will do what we must to ensure victory.”
Crossing the room, he gave Calliope a sensuous kiss. I shielded my eyes and scowled. But despite my best efforts to ignore them, I couldn’t resist a glance, and that’s when I saw it.
Henry’s eyes were open, and he was staring right at Ava.
In his arms, Milo stirred and reached for me. He knew I was there. Did Henry know, as well? He wasn’t Cronus—Calliope would never kiss him like that if he was. But could he sense me?
To my astonishment, Ava nodded once, so slightly that at first I wasn’t sure if I’d seen her right. Henry closed his eyes again, however, and I was certain. Henry and Ava were working together.
Against Calliope? For Calliope? To save Milo? Or had she told Henry that I would be here and listening in on everything that happened?
I couldn’t be sure unless Ava told me, and whether or not Henry knew I was there, he was still kissing Calliope. Maybe he had to. Maybe he wanted to. I didn’t have the answers, but that didn’t matter. He wouldn’t have been kissing her if it was up to him, and I had to hold on to that.
At last Calliope pulled away and touched her swollen lips. “Perhaps we should retire to the bedroom.”
Oh, god. Were they sleeping together? Nausea overwhelmed me. Knowing he’d been with Persephone eons ago was one thing, but this was too much. He was my husband. My Henry, not hers.
“Yes,” said Henry quietly. “Allow me to take care of the baby, and then I will join you.”
With a giggle, Calliope kissed him once more and glided out of the room. For a split second, Henry deflated, his arms tightening around Milo protectively, and he met Ava’s gaze again. Neither spoke. At last Henry turned and left the room, leaving Nicholas bound to the chair.
I closed my eyes. This wasn’t him, and if we had any chance of getting through this without our relationship being irreparably damaged, I had to remember that. Just like I’d offered myself to Cronus in exchange for Milo’s safety, Henry had done the same with Calliope. I had no right to be upset with him. With Calliope and Ava and every single member of the council who’d let him do this, yes. But not Henry.
“Kate,” said Ava once he was gone. I opened my eyes. Nicholas was unconscious again, his chest rising and falling shallowly, and Ava stood beside him. “Now do you understand?”
I understood. It didn’t excuse any of this, and it didn’t fix our friendship. But I understood.
“Henry still loves you, you know. I didn’t take that away from him. I never could.”
She’d made him fall for Calliope, though. Artificial or not, it was still love, and it wouldn’t erase what happened in that bedroom.
I shuddered. I had to stop thinking about that. I’d seen enough. Ava had apologized so many times that the words were meaningless now, and I had to leave before the hurt dug so deeply inside me that I could never get it out.