“Yes, but you have had ample opportunity to do so since. And it seems to me as if the details of your arrangement were made much more recently.”
He watched me with his unwavering gaze, and I looked away.
“I am not angry with you, Kate,” he said gently. “I cannot imagine what you endured while they held you captive, and truthfully I would have done the same if our positions were reversed. But as you are my partner, I am yours. Regardless of the circumstances, it should have been a decision we made together.”
Tears sprung in my eyes. Not because I was mad at him, but because he was right. “I’m sorry. I was afraid you’d take off after him, and you’re still so weak—”
“I accept your apology,” said Henry. “And I ask that you accept mine, as well. I will not let you go, Kate, because I love you. Not because I believe you belong to me. Anyone who has been around you for five minutes knows better than to think that.”
“Apparently my own father doesn’t,” I mumbled, and Henry sighed.
“Yes, well. It’s easy to chalk this whole mess up to Walter. He is the one who never gave Calliope the respect and love she deserved, after all.”
“You’d think he would’ve learned from that.”
“You would think.” He sat down on the bed, and I didn’t move away. “I want to get our son back as badly as you do, but this is not the way.”
My eyes welled up again. When would I stop being on the verge of tears? When I finally held Milo? When Calliope was defeated? When Cronus was back in his own personal corner of hell? “I don’t know how to be me without him,” I said. “Everything I do, it’s like—it’s like this need is pulling me in one direction, and I can’t function without going toward it. And when I’m not, I’m empty. He needs me. He needs us, and we’re not doing anything to get him back. We’ve practically abandoned him.”
Henry lay down on his side so he was facing me. “Do you really believe that?” he said, sandwiching my hand in his. “I am certain Milo does not. You said so yourself that you believe he knows when you are there.”
I rubbed my eyes with my free hand. “I want him back, Henry. I want us to be a family.”
“We are a family.” He kissed my forehead, my cheek, and finally brushed his lips against mine. “We cannot pretend it has been easy, but we love each other unconditionally, and that is what matters. We will get him back. I swear it.”
My chin trembled. “How?”
“I do not know yet, but I will find a way. We will find a way together.”
I kissed him back, not caring if he could taste my tears. “How am I supposed to help you when everyone thinks I’m worthless and won’t teach me how to use my abilities?”
“I do not think you are worthless,” he said, his breath warm on my cheek. “Far from it, I assure you. I will teach you anything you desire.”
“Really?” I said, and he nodded.
“Really.”
I hugged him, burying my face in the crook of his neck, and let out a soft sob. That was all I allowed myself, though; one sob, and now it was time to get to work. Now it was time to prove I deserved my place on the council.
I only had to do one thing first. “Do you want to see him?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
I managed a watery smile. “Make sure Cronus can’t see you.”
“I will.”
Once again I sank into my vision, pulling Henry along with me, and this time no one interrupted us. Together we fought through the quicksand until the bedroom dissolved around us and we surfaced on the other side.
Milo lay in his crib, his eyes shut. It had to be well past midnight on the island. Cronus stood in the corner closest to the door, his arms crossed as if he was waiting for me, but I ignored him. I didn’t know how to tell him that Walter had turned him down. If he didn’t know already.
Henry and I leaned over Milo’s crib like I thought we had a dozen times before, but this time it was really him. The three of us were together, or at least as together as we could be for now.
“He’s beautiful,” whispered Henry. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t, not with Cronus hovering nearby. I smiled, careful to keep my eyes on Milo, and Henry touched my back. He understood.
“My darling,” said Cronus, appearing on my other side and taking my hand. “Have you news of the truce?”
I couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet. I had no idea what he would do to prove his dominance—kill another million people? Destroy all of Greece? Even if everything else stemmed from the way Walter had treated Calliope, this was on me. And I had to stall.
“They haven’t reached a decision yet,” I said, my stare not wavering from Milo. “They need time.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Henry gave me a searching look. I ignored it.
“Very well. I hope they do not take too long.” He began to knead my shoulder, and I winced. “Why are you so tense, my dear?”
Because Henry was alive and standing two inches from my elbow. Because the council—or at least certain members—blamed me for everything. Because if I made one wrong move, all of this would be over. “Do you really have to ask?” I said, echoing Henry.
“No, I suppose I do not,” said Cronus, and he moved behind me to massage both of my shoulders. Henry scowled and stepped away.
“Please don’t do that,” I said softly, but Cronus continued anyway. Henry moved to the other side of the crib so he could look me straight in the eye, and I pressed my lips together. Did he understand that I didn’t want this?