The Goddess Test Boxed Set by Aimee Carter
“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—
An ugly screech echoed through the heavens. Calliope. Panic seized me, but before it had time to set in, Henry and Milo appeared. I threw my arms around them, nearly sobbing with relief. “You’re safe.”
“As are you.” Henry pressed his lips to my forehead, but our reunion didn’t last more than a few seconds. “I must go back.”
“You—what?”
Henry held Milo out for me, and I froze. The baby’s blue eyes were wide open, and he waved his little fists, watching me. Waiting for me to finally take him. I ached to hold him, but the moment I touched him, I knew I would never be able to leave him again. And we had a war to win.
“Go on,” said Henry quietly, and I shook my head, clasping my hands behind my back. “He needs you.”
“So do you,” I said thickly. Refusing my son was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I had to. “I’m not taking him, Henry.”
We held each other’s gaze, and I refused to back down. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, he knew how this was going to end. And we didn’t have time to argue. At last Henry sighed, and a cradle appeared between us. Without looking away from me, he gently set the baby inside, tucking his blanket around him.
Once Henry straightened, I snatched his hand, holding it with a crushing grip. “I’m going with you.”
Henry winced. The deafening clash of the battle raged below us, and every second he wasn’t there was another second we might lose. “Kate, I must.”
“If you go, I go.”
“I cannot risk you.”
“And I can’t risk you. We’re a team. We work together. From here on out, no one gets left behind, and no one does something stupid without consulting the other first.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “If you go back, Calliope will do everything in her power to kill you.”
“I know.” I squared my shoulders and summoned every last shred of bravery I had left. “I was born mortal. I always knew I was going to die, and I’m not afraid of it. But I am afraid of losing you. I am terrified of eternity without you.”
“And I you,” he said quietly. “Milo—”
“If something happens to me, then you’ll come back to take care of him,” I said firmly. “And if something happens to you, I’ll do the same. I promise. He won’t be alone.”
Henry hesitated, and the sounds of the battle grew louder. We didn’t have time for this.
“Henry, I love you. I’m not asking your permission. I’m asking you to tell me what I can do to help.”
He opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, I cut him off again.
“Besides staying here.”
He managed a faint smile at that. “We’re a team, you say?”
“A team.” I touched his cheek. “From now until the end. Whether that’s today or in a million years, we’re in this together.”
A long moment passed. His eyes locked on mine, and the air seemed to still around us. In his cradle, Milo made another soft sound, and Henry deflated. “There is one thing you could do to help.”
“Anything.??
He set his hand over mine, and I released my grip on his wrist before threading my fingers through his. “Did you see the way Cronus faltered when the girls attacked him?”
I shook my head. “I can’t tell what he’s doing in that fog.”
“He was distracted. Enough for us to edge in closer.” He squeezed my hand. “I need you to fetch the girls from the nursery and do everything you can to divert his attention to the roof. If you do that, we might have a chance.”
A smile spread across my face. “You didn’t send them back to the Underworld?”
“Of course not. It was a brilliant idea.” He bent down to brush his lips against mine. “Now let’s go win this war.”
I kissed him back. “Together.”
“Together.”
* * *
I arrived alone in the peacock-and-gold hallway outside the nursery. Henry presumably appeared on the roof, but even though I strained my ears, I didn’t hear any signs that the tide of battle had shifted.
“It’s about damn time,” said Persephone as I opened the nursery door. The other girls milled behind her.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We need to—”
“We know,” said Ingrid, tapping her temple. “Henry already filled us in.”
Right. “Then let’s go play chicken with a Titan.”
We raced to the roof, and I took the stairs two at a time, every bone in my body drawn to Henry as if we were magnets. As we burst through the doors, however, I skidded to a stop.
Ava and Calliope stood in the center, only inches apart. Ava glowed magenta, Calliope gold, and Cronus swirled behind them, a massive funnel of pure power. Henry wasn’t there.
Had he stayed in Olympus? No, I wasn’t that lucky. I glanced upward. The streaks of light were dimmer than before. The council was losing. But another appeared, brighter than the others, and the fog seemed to part to make way for it. Henry had joined the battle.
“Go!” I cried, and the girls hurtled forward, picking up their weapons as they reached them. They might not have been deadly, but wherever they connected with the fog, it shimmered, and a shower of sparks burst through the darkness.
“I will kill you.” Calliope’s voice seemed magnified, louder than thunder. “Once I’ve won, I will skin you alive and watch you bleed.”
Ava’s wind chime laughter filtered through the air. “You won’t ever win. You deserve worse than fading. You deserve to have your name erased from history, and I’m going to make sure that happens. You’re pathetic now, but just wait—once I’m done, you’ll be nothing.”
With everyone distracted, I skirted around the glowing goddesses, searching for the dagger. It wasn’t in Calliope’s hands, which meant it had to be around here somewhere. Maybe she was hiding it in a pocket, but with the way she and Ava were going at it, she would’ve taken a stab at her by now if she’d had it nearby.
Come on, come on, it had to be around here somewhere—
There. I spotted the glinting dagger lying on the ground near the edge of the roof, where I’d stood only minutes before. Swiping it off the ground, I turned toward Calliope. It was now or never.
I raced across the roof, holding the dagger like an ice pick. Calliope was so wrapped up in her argument with Ava that she didn’t see me coming, and I slammed into her. The golden glow disappeared as she crumpled underneath me, hitting the ground hard.
I pinned her in place with my knees. For one everlasting moment, we stared at each other, my grim satisfaction reflecting as horror in her eyes. I raised the dagger. This time, I wouldn’t hesitate.
“Father!” she screamed the instant I thrust the weapon toward her neck. Even as the word was still leaving her lips, a wisp of fog appeared, and time seemed to slow around us. The closer I got, the harder it was to move, and the dagger stopped completely half an inch from her throat. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t budge.
“Nice try, Kate,” said Calliope with a sneer. “Pity that’s all you’re ever capable of.”
A gust of wind hit me, ripping the blade from my hand. With a shriek, I flew through the air and landed hard on my back, cracking the stone roof beneath me. The fog sliced through the wound in my chest, and I groaned.
“So this is how it ends,” said Calliope, and she scooped up the dagger. “I’d say something witty, but you’re just not worth it.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, and an enraged scream filled the air, mingling with the crash of the ocean until I could no longer tell one from the other. This was it. This was the end.
One second. Two seconds.
The pain never came.
A collective gasp echoed across the roof and through the sky, as if the entire world had drawn its breath at the same time. Finally I had to look. Calliope stood near me, but her hand was empty; the knife was gone.
And between us crouched Ava, the handle of the dagger buried directly above her heart.
Chapter 19
Light
Behind me, Nicholas cried out, and his grief rose above the wind. The pinpricks of light in the unnaturally black sky echoed his pain, and at last I understood.
“Ava?” As she sank to the ground, I crawled to her side. My hand hovered over the wound. It was deep—too deep not to be fatal, unless I got the dagger out before the fog could penetrate her heart. Could I without making it worse? Wasn’t much of a choice. If I didn’t, she would die for sure. I gripped the handle. “This is going to hurt.”
Slowly I pulled it out, and her screams shattered the clamor of battle. As soon as the blade was free from her chest, I pressed my hand against the wound, willing the blood to stop flowing. She couldn’t die. Not after all of this.
“I’m sorry,” she wheezed, her eyes rimmed with red. “I thought—I thought it was for the best, I thought—”
“You did nothing wrong.” Her face swam in front of me, and I blinked rapidly. “Thank you. I’m so sorry I ever doubted you.”
“You—forgive me?” she whispered.
“Of course.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I love you.”
A trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth. “Finish this,” she said, barely audible. For one horrible moment I thought she wanted me to kill her, but she wrapped her cold fingers over my fist, the one that held the dagger, and I understood.
I glanced over my shoulder. Calliope stared at Ava, and despite all her posturing, undeniable shock spread across her face. Why? Wasn’t this exactly what she’d meant to do?
No, this was an accident. She hadn’t been aiming for Ava. She’d been aiming for me. Either way, I couldn’t afford to give her the chance to build her defenses. Lashing out, I went for her ankle, and grim satisfaction filled me as the blade sliced through skin and bone.
Collapsing to the ground, she screamed, a horrible, gut-wrenching sound that resonated through every cell of my body. With inhuman strength, she clawed at my hand, fighting to dislodge the dagger. “It’s over, Kate. Let it go.”
As she tried to take the blade from me, it cut her palms to ribbons, and her blood flowed freely down my arm. Her fingers dug underneath mine, and she began to pry the dagger loose from my hand.
“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?” she said in that girlish voice. Just a few seconds more, and she would have it. I cried out as the handle began to slip from my bloody grip, and tears of frustration streaked down my face. “I’m going to get Henry back, and Callum will be mine. He’s my son, not yours,
I roared, half blind with rage. My hand slipped past her, and between us, something made a sickening wet sound. She doubled over and went rigid, her eyes round with shock.
Breathing heavily, I tried to shove her off me, my fist still wrapped around the handle of the dagger. Something was wrong though—when I tried to pull back, the dagger resisted, and Calliope folded her body around my arm.
Her cries turned to gurgles, and she tore at my elbow with what little strength she had left. The weapon slipped from my grip, and she fell away, clawing at her chest.
I scrambled back. The silver handle stuck out of her chest at a sideways angle, through her sternum and pointing directly to her heart. Blood poured from the wound, and she convulsed, the golden aura around her fading until there was nothing left.
“You—” she managed, but the rest of her words died along with her. Her body stilled and her eyes stared at me, empty and unseeing.
“No,” I whispered. “You did this to yourself.”
All at once, the sky exploded, and white light blasted through the darkness. The din of war gave way to a chorus of the most beautiful voices I’d ever heard, and underneath me, Calliope’s body began to glow again. I hurried back to Ava’s side and took her hand. Nicholas joined us, and despite the fat tears rolling down his cheeks, he was smiling.
The black clouds reformed into a funnel, and it grew smaller and more concentrated until the darkness formed a man. Cronus.
“Rhea!” he boomed, his voice everywhere at once. The white light took form as well, and Rhea descended from the sky. She still wore the form of the little girl she’d been in Africa, but despite her stature, she radiated power.