The Goddess Inheritance Read Online Free Page A

Maybe he didn’t. Maybe Calliope was trying to lure him away and—
    The weapon.
    Oh, god.
    “Henry!” I screamed. “Henry!”
    “Kate,” said a voice from the hallway. “Kate, it’s me.”
    I hurried to the door, crouching down beside it to peer through the keyhole. “Henry? Is that—”
    A blue eye with long lashes stared back at me, and my heart sank. Ava.
    “Move away from the door,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder. What was she so afraid of? Henry storming down the hall and blasting her to pieces? If only I were so lucky.
    “Why should I trust you?” I said. “You knew Calliope was going to kill my son, and you did everything you could to make that happen.”
    She blinked rapidly, and her eyes turned red and watery. Once upon a time I’d thought Ava had been one of the few who looked pretty when she cried, but now all I could see was the ugliness underneath.
    For months I’d learned about the antics of the Greek gods, the history that was the foundation of their mythology. Not all of it was right—so much of it had been twisted and corrupted throughout history as mortals passed the stories down. And because of that, I’d wanted to believe that the gods were basically good. That they really were looking out for humankind, that their lives hadn’t been full of mischief and betrayal and selfishness.
    Regardless of what Calliope and Cronus had done, Ava could’ve proven me right. A single word to the council, and this could’ve been over months ago. Instead she’d turned all of those hopes to dust.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’re my best friend, Kate. Please—I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t know.”
    “You knew enough.”
    She checked over her shoulder again. “Once this is over, you can rip me to shreds as much as you want. But right now I have to get you out of here.”
    I scoffed. Now Ava wanted to rescue me, after Calliope had exactly what she wanted? “Like hell I’m going anywhere with you.”
    “I can take you to your son.”
    My heart pounded. In an instant, my disgust turned to desperation, and it took everything I had not to claw the door open with my fingernails. “You know where he is?”
    Ava nodded. “And if you let me, I can help both of you get out of here.”
    That was all I needed to hear. Forget the past nine months. Forget her betrayal. Forget the very real possibility that this was just another trap to make sure Henry couldn’t find me. If there was a chance she was telling the truth, if there was a chance I could save my son, I didn’t care.
    I stepped back, and a breeze filled the room. The lock clicked, and the door swung open, revealing Ava. Now that it was light outside, I could see her properly. Her blond hair hung in limp curls, and the shadows made the dark circles underneath her eyes look hideous. I’d never seen her like this before, not even the night I’d met Henry by the river in Eden—the same night she’d taken a swan dive into the raging waters and crushed her skull against a rock.
    Would I have saved her if I’d known less than a year and a half later, she would steal me away from everyone I love? That she would stand by Calliope as she manipulated me into a pregnancy only so she could hurt me as badly as humanly possible?
    Would I have saved her if I’d known Ava had been fully aware of Calliope’s plan to kill my son the whole time?
    I didn’t know. I didn’t care. If Ava helped save him, if she helped us escape, the past nine months wouldn’t matter anymore. I would never forget, but in time I might forgive.
    I hurried out the door. Ava offered me her arm, but I pulled away. The thought of touching her made my stomach lurch. “Don’t bother. Cronus healed me. Which way?”
    Ava wilted and dropped her hand, and a pang of guilt ran through me before I pushed it aside. She didn’t deserve my sympathy. We moved at an agonizingly slow pace, all but tiptoeing down the slate-paved corridor. Was I