“Not in Titan territory. You’re positive it isn’t the other way?”
I ignored him. They had to have some way to move from floor to floor. I tried to mentally picture the parts of the palace I knew, but I couldn’t remember ever seeing a staircase.
“Kate,” said James with a hint of desperation in his voice. “I think you’re going in the wrong—”
A crash of metal against metal ripped through the air, and a man screamed. In an instant, James yanked me back so we were both leaning flat against the wall.
“What—” I started, but he pressed his palm against my mouth. A cold giggle echoed down the hallway, and I turned my head enough to spot Calliope exiting a room at the end of the corridor.
Humming to herself, she stepped through another doorway and disappeared, quickly followed by a stooped figure that couldn’t have been anyone but Ava. Where was Cronus? And who was inside that room?
“Nicholas,” breathed James. “He’s alive.”
My conscience pulled me toward Nicholas, but I’d come here for one reason and one reason only. As much as it killed me to sneak past his cell, if I wanted any real shot at saving my son, I had to.
“We’ll come back for him,” I said, half a promise to myself and half a promise to James. We wouldn’t have the chance to come back for Nicholas though, and we both knew it.
James led the way this time, and despite my hissed protests, he opened the door that Calliope had disappeared through. I held my breath, certain she’d be waiting for us on the other side, fully aware we were there, but instead—
“Guess there really is a stairway to heaven, after all,” said James with a grin, and if I wasn’t already on edge, I would’ve laughed at his stupid joke. We hurried up the stairs in silence. Two levels up, I nodded toward the door, and he pushed it open wide enough for one of us to fit through.
“Me first,” I said. If Cronus was waiting on the other side, he wouldn’t attack me. James, on the other hand, hadn’t exactly been invited. Slipping through the door into the empty peacock-blue-and-gold hallway, I waited the space of three heartbeats before I flagged him to follow. “Which one is Milo’s room?” I hadn’t spent any time outside the nursery, but during my vision, James had left.
“Fourth one down,” he said. “Kate, if anything goes wrong—”
“Hello there.”
Cronus’s voice, frigid and void of compassion, slid down my spine. I turned on my heel, automatically stepping in front of James to shield him, but it was an empty gesture. If Cronus wanted to kill James, he wouldn’t need my permission.
“I told you I was coming,” I said icily, but it was nothing compared to the way Cronus spoke. He could freeze the sun if he wanted to.
“Yes, but I do not recall consenting to a guest.”
“I can’t very well head back to Olympus with Milo. James is going to take him for me.”
“Is that so?” said Cronus, and James nodded. His eyes were too bright and his jaw rigid, but he raised his chin and stared Cronus down.
Terror seized me. Cronus wouldn’t hurt me no matter how insolent I was, not as long as he thought I would be his. But James was expendable—barely anything more to Cronus than the millions of people he had already wiped out with a single thought.
“Yes,” said James. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to do what I came here to do.”
“By all means.” A strange smile twisted across Cronus’s too-perfect lips, and he stepped aside with a flourish.
What was Cronus playing at? James moved forward, and I went with him. If this was some kind of trap, if Cronus had known and was only setting James up—
Cronus didn’t try to stop me, though. James and I hurried toward the nursery, and my heart pounded. Was Milo still here? Had Cronus done something to him? James and I reached for the handle at the same time, but before either of us touched the metal fixture, the door burst open.
Calliope.
At first her blue eyes rounded with shock, but after a beat, she smirked. She looked like she was my mother and Sofia’s age now, much more appropriate for one of the original six, but that did nothing to distract me from the fact that she cradled Milo in her arms.
“Kate,” she purred. “How good of you to join us. Here I was thinking you were smart enough to stay away. Silly me.”
“Kate?” said a small voice behind her, and Ava appeared in the doorway. “Oh, my god, Kate! Cronus said you were alive, but I didn’t think—”
“Silence,” said Calliope. Ava immediately quieted, but her cheeks flushed and her eyes danced with light. For the first time in nearly a year, she looked alive. Calliope cleared her throat and turned to James with a simpering smile. “Darling, it’s been far too long.”
“I’m not your darling. Give me the baby,” said James, holding out his arms.
“Why would I do something like that?” she said with a sniff. “Callum is my son.”
I wanted to sink my nails into that pretty little face of hers and claw her eyes out. “He’s my son, not yours,” I snarled. “Cronus and I made a deal. I’m here, and Milo leaves with James.”
“Oh?” Calliope peered over my shoulder. “Why wasn’t I part of this deal, Father?”
“It was not your deal to make,” said Cronus. “You will do as I say and uphold my word.”