I couldn’t breathe. Sob after sob ripped through me, and it was all I could do to speak. “I won’t.”
One by one, the members of the council joined Ava to silently say their goodbyes. Everyone, even Dylan, cried wordlessly. As destroyed as I was, it had to be nothing compared to what they were all going through, and I forced myself into silence. But even though it was selfish, I couldn’t let go of her hand. Walter didn’t stop stroking her hair either, his fingers glowing with the only thing keeping her alive. In those precious few minutes, he aged a thousand years.
At last, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the light in Walter’s hands died. And just like that, Ava was gone.
The world went silent. Even the ocean grew still, and the violet shades of dusk hung in the sky far longer than they should have. No one spoke. No one moved. No one took that step from before into after, and we all lingered together in that eternal moment.
It should’ve never ended, but the council couldn’t deny time forever. Eventually Henry set his hand on my back, and though he was gentle, he pried my fingers from Ava’s cold ones. The separation cut through me, but there was nothing I could do. She was dead.
Walter cleared his throat and set her head down on the rooftop. Standing on shaking legs, he struggled to draw himself to his full height, clearly weakened. “An eye for an eye,” he said. “Let it not happen again. Will you go peacefully, Father?”
“No,” said Cronus, and before fury could overtake what little sense of self-preservation I had left, Henry rubbed my back, his touch soothing the fire out of me.
“You will,” said Rhea. “It is over. I will not allow you to continue this cycle of destruction. They have taken one of ours, and we have taken one of theirs. That is the end.”
Cronus’s form began to blur into black fog, but as soon as it started, white light encased him, and he growled. “Let me go, Rhea.”
“I will not,” she said with quiet resolve. “Neither will the council. This is their world now, and you have proven you have no place in it. I will only repeat our son once—will you go peacefully?”
Silence.
“Then you leave me with no choice,” said Rhea, and the light around Cronus grew blindingly bright. I looked away, and Cronus cried out, the first real sound of pain I’d ever heard from him.
Good. He deserved it.
“Stop! I will—go peacefully,” he managed to say, and the light lessened.
“Very well. My son?” said Rhea, and Henry released me.
“I will return shortly,” he said, kissing my hair. “James, take care of her.”
As he stood, James’s arms replaced Henry’s, and for the first time, I took a good look at the council. Everyone was there, even Ella and Theo. Everyone except—
“Where’s my mother?” All the blood drained from my face as the world once again began to spin. “James, where is she?”
“She’s fine,” he said quickly. “I promise. She’s with Milo.”
“I want to see her,” I said, and he nodded, running his fingers through my hair like Walter had done for Ava. Maybe he thought it would help, but the hollowness inside me didn’t lessen. I wasn’t sure it ever would.
Rhea touched Cronus’s elbow, and Henry took her hand. My eyes met his, and he nodded once before the three of them disappeared, undoubtedly back into Tartarus. The last thing I wanted was to let him out of my sight, and familiar dread pooled in my stomach. What if something went wrong and I never saw him again?
Before my fear could work itself into anything substantial, James gathered me up and helped me to my feet. His cheek glistened, and I brushed the pad of my thumb against his wet skin. “I’m sorry.” I couldn’t say it enough.
James shook his head, his lips moving as he fought to find his voice. I hugged him, and he clung to me, needing me as much as I needed him.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go home.”
* * *
My mother was waiting for us in Olympus, rocking Milo’s cradle as he slept. Relieved, I staggered toward her, barely able to see straight.
“Oh, my darling, you’re all right,” she cried, throwing her arms around me. For a moment I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t care. She was all right, Milo was all right, Henry was all right—
But Ava wasn’t.
All at once, what was left of my inner strength crumbled. “Ava’s dead,” I whispered, choking on the words.
My mother tensed, and from the doorway, James cleared his throat. “Calliope, as well,” he said roughly. “Rhea and Henry are escorting Cronus back to Tartarus now.”
“A small victory,” my mother said as her eyes filled with tears. “At least...at least...”
She didn’t finish. For the first time in my life, my mother shattered. Her knees gave out, and she eased down onto the edge of her bed. Though I desperately wanted to go to Milo, I curled up with her, struggling to hold it together while she cried. She’d spent years pouring her strength into me and hiding her hurt so mine wouldn’t worsen. Now it was my turn.
“The way we treated her this past year...” My mother created a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. “She shouldn’t have been there. We should’ve let her come back when she asked.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. Walter had been the one to make that decision. “She tried to tell me why she was doing it so many times, and I never listened. Cronus—” My voice broke. “He wouldn’t save her. He healed me, and he could’ve healed her, too, but because of me—because of me, he refused.”