The Goddess Test Boxed Set: Goddess Interrupted\The Goddess Inheritance\The Goddess Legacy (72 page)

“Persephone and Emmy are getting him out of there as we speak,”
I said. “He'll be fine.”

“Emmy? You mean Henry's—”

“It's a long story.”

Ava hesitated, and at last her expression hardened. “Come on.
I'll take you there.”

Alarm bells went off in the back of my mind. “Why should I
trust you?”

“Because we were friends once,” she said. “And because I'd want
someone to help me protect my son if our positions were reversed.”

Right. She'd mentioned her son before, and while I believed
her, it seemed awfully convenient that she'd bring him up now. “You never told
me about him.”

“Eternity's a long time to cover between classes,” she said.
“His name's Eros—Eric now, I suppose. Are you coming?”

Searching the entire castle room by room would take too long,
and for all I knew Henry and Milo were bunkered down in a place I'd never be
able to find on my own. So before I gave myself time to consider it, I
nodded.

We ran through the hallways, and I tried to ignore the rolling
black clouds through the windows and the bone-shattering crash of water against
rock. The council was getting closer. Maybe we'd have a chance, after all.

“Where are they?” I shouted over the roar, and Ava dashed up
the staircase, pulling me along with her. The hooked knife nearly slipped from
my grip, but I hugged it to my chest. I couldn't lose it.

“On the roof with Calliope and Cronus,” said Ava.

My heart sank. Persephone was supposed to cover that area, but
she was undoubtedly still with Nicholas. If none of the other girls had made it
up there yet after clearing their sections of the castle, we would be on our
own.

It didn't matter. Milo and Henry were on that roof, and I
would've gone up there as naked and mortal as the day I was born if it meant
having a chance to save them.

I followed Ava without question. She could have been leading me
straight to my death, but I desperately wanted to believe that the Ava I knew
and loved was in there somewhere, willing to give her all and risk her life for
the greater good. She wouldn't have led me astray, and I had to believe that
this Ava wouldn't either.

The door to the roof appeared, and I took a breath. I would
know soon enough, one way or the other.

Chapter 18

Bloodshed

We burst into the open air, the afternoon sky blacker
than night. The cyclone that had been Cronus was gone, spread across the sky and
struggling against pinpricks of light that looked like stars. The council. I
ducked my head. If my mother saw me and got distracted—

That had to be a risk I was willing to take. My mother was
strong. She wouldn't let Cronus get the best of her. If I had any chance of
getting through this, I couldn't doubt her. I couldn't doubt myself.

Calliope stood at the edge of the roof, her hair whipping in
the wind and her head tilted upward toward the heart of the battle. Henry stood
at her side, his arms shielding a bundle of white blankets from grains of sand
that cut through the air like bullets. What was he doing, bringing Milo up
here?

I shoved aside my protests. Milo was immortal, and there was
nowhere safer for him than with Henry. I couldn't get distracted.

“Calliope,” I cried. My voice was nearly lost to the wind, but
she faced me, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“So you really are as stupid as I thought you were,” she said
as she walked toward me, leaving Henry and Milo behind. “Come to die?”

“Not quite.” I gripped the hooked knife. It had to be as good
as her dagger. “Let Henry and Milo go. This is between you and me.”

Calliope's eyes widened innocently. “Henry's free to leave
whenever he wants. It's not my fault he chose me over you.”

My blood boiled. “How does it feel to know that your reality is
nothing more than a fantasy you've concocted and blackmailed your way into?
Nobody loves you. Not your husband, not your children, not your brothers or your
sisters—no one.”

The air around her crackled angrily. “Do you think I care? I
win, Kate. I have everything you've ever wanted, and soon everyone else you love
is going to be dead. You're going to spend eternity alone, and no one's going to
be there to save you anymore.”

“It isn't
about
winning.” I took a
step toward her. “Even if you never let Henry go, somewhere inside him, he's
always going to love me—because he wants to, because we're good together. Not
because Ava forced him into it. And no matter how alone I am, I'll always have
the comfort of knowing that at least someone in the world loves me because they
want to. But you—you're nothing but a heinous, lonely, unloved bitch, and that's
all you're ever going to be.”

Calliope screeched and barreled toward me. In the few seconds
we had, Ava tried to push me behind her, but I sidestepped her and sprinted
toward Calliope, clutching the hooked knife. I had one chance, and I was damn
well going to take it.

We collided, immortal against immortal, and the force of it
nearly sent me flying. Her nails scratched my face, her shrieks of rage rang in
my ears, but her hands were empty. Mine weren't.

“I'm going to beat your pretty face to a pulp,” growled
Calliope. “Once I'm done, I'm going to make your son watch as I scoop out your
eyes and peel your skin from your body. And maybe, once you're nothing more than
a lump of quivering flesh, I might let you—”

Her eyes widened, her words cut short as I sank the hooked
knife into her side. “You might what?” I said. “You might let me die?”

Calliope fell off of me, her brow furrowed in confusion. She
stared at the knife sticking out of her side. “How did you—”

“The weapons Nicholas forged,” I said. “You're not the only one
with brains, you know.”

She tugged on the knife, wincing as the hook ripped her skin
apart, doing more damage going out than it'd done going in. Blood soaked through
her pale blue dress, and she dropped the blade on the ground with a clatter.
“But...”

Her eyes went blank, and without another word, she
collapsed.

I stared at her body, and the way my hands shook had nothing to
do with the bitter wind. After two and a half years of struggling to stay alive
in her wake, that was it. I'd done it.

It felt too easy. I kicked her body to be sure, and when she
flopped like a dead fish, I staggered backward. I'd killed her. I'd really,
truly killed her.

I was a murderer. It was justified, but she hadn't had her
dagger. I could've given her a choice, and instead I'd killed her in cold blood.
How did that make me better than her?

I wasn't, not anymore.

Clenching my jaw, I turned away. I'd have time to hate myself
later. Calliope might've been dead, but the whirling cloud of doom overhead
hadn't stopped.

“Henry!” I cried. Abandoning Calliope's body, I dashed toward
him through the violent gusts. “You need to take Milo and get out of here.”

He stared up at the sky, and at first I thought he hadn't heard
me. As I opened my mouth to repeat myself, however, he turned toward me, his
moonlight eyes glowing. For a moment I thought I saw a flicker of something
behind them, but it vanished. “Leave, Kate,” he said, his voice sounding like a
thousand gods speaking all at the same time.

I gaped at him in horror. “Are you—are you
helping
Cronus?”

“You weren't supposed to come.”

“Yeah? When has that ever stopped me?” I reached for Milo. “If
you won't take him to safety, then I will.”

He snatched the baby away from me, and a knot formed in my
throat. This couldn't be happening. Henry should have been in there somewhere,
waiting for this, waiting for the moment he could finally break free. But I only
saw the blank face of a powerful deity. Not Henry. Not my family.

“Ava! Whatever you're doing to Henry, stop it!” I shouted over
the deafening roar. No response. I looked over my shoulder. Ava stared at me,
her mouth hanging slack-jawed and her eyes wide with fear, and it took me a
moment to figure out why.

Calliope's body was gone.

A girlish giggle echoed through the storm, mingling with the
screeching wind and the crash of waves rising higher and higher. I froze. How
was it possible? I'd watched her die.

“Funny thing about those weapons,” said Calliope, and I whirled
around again. She stood beside Henry, his arm wrapped around her shoulders the
way he always held me. Her dagger floated in the space between us. “They were
discarded because they didn't work.”

Behind me, someone screamed, and the glowing blade hurtled
toward me. I scrambled backward pivoting in hopes it would fly past me, but it
followed my movements without missing a beat.

My back hit something solid. The edge of the roof. The dagger
pressed against my throat, and I leaned back as far as I could without falling.
“Henry,” I choked. “Please.”

“Don't listen to her, Henry,” said Calliope in a sickly sweet
voice. “She's the enemy, remember? You're loyal to me.”

“Only because she's using her powers against you.” I gulped in
the gritty air. “Come on, Henry, you're stronger than this.”

“Yeah, Henry,” called out a voice from the other end of the
roof. Persephone. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the other girls
joined her. “I thought you were better than this.”

“Persephone?” Henry frowned. “What are you—”

“Don't listen to her,” said Calliope. “You've got me now.”

Henry shook her off, and he stepped toward Persephone and the
gang of girls. “What are you all doing here?”

“Rescuing your sorry ass,” said Anna, swinging her mace. “And
taking down this bitch.”

She let out a war cry, and the girls took off across the roof,
heading straight for Calliope and Henry—and Milo.

“Stop!” I shrieked. My cries fell on deaf ears though, and they
only sped up. “Henry, get out of here! Take Milo and
go!
”

He ignored me and stared at the girls as if he'd never seen
anything so strange in his life. Beside him, Calliope waved her hand, and the
dagger flew from my neck to settle directly above my heart. The tip of the blade
dug into my skin, and I winced as a drop of blood soaked into my shirt.

“Please,” I begged. “Just go.”

The sound of twisting metal drowned out my pleas, and half a
dozen bewildered voices rose above the commotion. Though he was fighting a
battle far above us, the fog that was Cronus had created a barrier in front of
Calliope, protecting her. Persephone and the other girls pushed against it,
roaring with outrage. Their weapons struck the fog again and again to no
avail.

“Around,” commanded Persephone, and the others scattered. No
matter where they moved though, they couldn't get any closer.

Calliope smirked. “Here's the deal, Henry.” She set her hand on
his arm, and he flinched away. Was he back now? Had he come to his senses?
“You're going to send all of these pretty little nuisances back where they came
from, and maybe I won't kill Kate.”

The blade dug into my chest, widening the wound, and I gasped
as the fire of a Titan spread through me. Henry tensed, but as soon as it had
come, his fear was replaced with the mask of impassiveness he wore when he was
hurting the most. He was there. Did Calliope know? Had she let him go on
purpose?

“What will it be, Henry?” she said. “I wouldn't linger too long
on the options if I were you.”

Deeper now, through cartilage and bone until it was half a
millimeter away from piercing my heart. Light exploded in front of me, and sweat
poured down my face as the fog spread through me, securing a choke hold on what
remained of my life.

I'm sorry.
Henry waved his hand,
and Persephone and the others disappeared, their useless weapons falling to the
ground in a clatter.

Blood trickled down my chest now, and I couldn't look away from
Henry. It didn't matter that Calliope had severed his loyalty to me; she hadn't
severed mine.

“Do it,” I snarled, summoning up the last of my strength.
Martyr complex or not, maybe this would be enough for Henry to bring Milo to
safety. “I dare you.”

A shriek pierced the howling wind. Nicholas came through the
roof door, and Ava pounced on him, kissing his purple cheeks and capturing him
in an embrace. Even if no other part of my plan had worked, at least we'd freed
Nicholas. At least we gave Ava a reason to fight with us.

“How cute,” said Calliope. “A reunion before Cronus sends you
all into oblivion.”

Nicholas straightened and held Ava protectively. “You're never
going to win,” he said. “Cronus could kill us all, and you would still only be
second.”

Calliope growled, and immediately I saw the effect his words
had on her. Her fists tightened, her jaw clenched, and her cheeks flushed. In
her distraction, the dagger slipped from my chest. Eyeing the blade, I shifted
slowly to the side, hoping against hope she wouldn't notice.

“Being my son will only buy you so much lenience,” she said.
“Is this how you want to spend it?”

“Lenience? Is that what you call what you did to him?” Ava
shrugged off Nicholas's arm and stormed toward Calliope. Without her, Nicholas
sagged and collapsed against the wall, his legs shaking so badly that it was a
wonder he could stand at all.

Calliope met her in the middle of the roof, nose to nose.
“You're in this as deep as I am. Forget what you did to Kate—you've been
betraying the council from the beginning. You think they'll be so willing to
forgive you for that?” she said, a malicious glint in her eyes. “You're dead
either way.”

Ava smirked. “I'm here because Daddy asked me to come. He's
known everything this whole time. And as for why I helped you with Kate—” Her
smile faded, and she glanced at me. “It's because Daddy knew we couldn't win the
war without Henry. Even your own husband is against you.”

Calliope hissed, the golden aura around her nearly blinding
now. “Do you think I care why you did it? It happened. It's over. Because of
you, I win. Henry loves
me,
not her. Not
anymore.”

“That's the best part,” said Ava. “Henry doesn't love you, you
fool. He never has. He's been pretending the whole time.”

I inhaled sharply, and Calliope spun around to face him. “Is
this true?” she demanded. Henry's lips formed a thin line, and he gave Ava a
reprimanding look. That was all the confirmation I needed.

Calliope hadn't stolen him from me, after all. He was still my
Henry.

Go.
I pushed the thought as hard as
I could in his direction.
If you don't now, she's going to
kill Milo. I'll be okay.

He hesitated. Calliope was screaming at him, but her words
became nothing but background noise as his voice surrounded me.
You need to come with us.

I can't.

Yes, you can. The moment I leave, Calliope
is going to try to kill you. I will not leave until I know you are
safe.

I glanced around the roof. Ava was still here. Nicholas still
leaned helplessly against the wall, barely conscious and beaten within an inch
of his life. I couldn't leave them, but Henry was right—there was nothing
keeping Calliope from killing me now, not with Cronus tied up in battle.
Okay.

Henry exhaled.
Meet me in the bedroom in
Olympus.

I will.

A pause.
Ava's telling the
truth.

The words wrapped around me, a salve against all of the pain
Cronus and Calliope had caused me. Had caused us both.
I
know. We have to go.

You first.

I closed my eyes, and a second later, that familiar sensation
ran through me. When I opened them, I stood in the sunset bedroom I'd shared
with Henry, and I held my breath. He had to come. He wouldn't break his promise
like that, not with Milo's safety at—