The Goddess Inheritance Read Online Free Page B

right? Was she just hiding me away so Henry couldn’t find me?
    Didn’t matter. I had to try.
    Crack.
    The walls around us shook, and Ava flung herself at me, covering my body with hers as the ceiling came crashing down around us. The back of my head slammed against the wall, but even though I expected pain, it never came. I was immortal now. Even if the entire world buried us, we would never die.
    “Are you all right?” said Ava, gasping. The air had turned to thick dust, and as I sucked in a breath, the grit choked me.
    “Need to keep going,” I said, coughing. Henry wouldn’t ask any questions—the moment he got his hands on me, he would take me back down to the Underworld. We had to find the baby before Henry found me.
    I climbed over the rubble, groping my way through the dust as sharp edges tried to cut my impermeable skin. My foot caught on a rock I couldn’t see, and I stumbled, throwing my arms out to catch my fall. But instead a pair of strong hands caught me, and I looked up.
    Dark hair, handsome face, broad shoulders. Henry.
    I blinked rapidly, my eyes tearing up to flush out the dust, and his face swam into focus.
    No, not Henry.
    Cronus.
    “Come, my dear,” he murmured, pulling me to my feet. His palms were hot coals against my skin, and bile rose in my throat. Where was Henry? Why wasn’t Cronus trying to stop him?
    Because he didn’t need to. One god versus the King of the Titans—there was no question. And with Calliope’s weapon, it wouldn’t be a fair fight between siblings either. Henry wouldn’t know what was coming, and then—
    I clenched my fists. I had to find the baby before Henry found me, and I had to find Henry before it was too late. No other option was acceptable.
    “I want to see my son,” I said, jerking my arm away from Cronus and struggling to keep my voice steady. To my left, a gaping hole in the stone wall opened up to a golden sky and the sound of waves crashing against the shore. “Take me to him.”
    “All in good time.” He led me through the wrecked corridor, and the rubble swept aside to make a path for us. For him. Ava trailed after us, dragging her feet and scattering the pebbles as if she were trying to make as much noise as possible. A warning to Calliope that we were coming? A signal to Henry to tell him where we were?
    Suddenly the air changed as the dust vanished, and the salt-tinged wind blowing off the sea gave way to the thin wails of a newborn. I blinked. It’d been a long time since I’d slipped into a vision without meaning to.
    I was surrounded by walls painted to resemble a sunset, and the room was empty except for a white cradle in the center. A lump formed in my throat, and I peered over the edge, barely daring to hope.
    There, wrapped in a knit blanket, was my son.
    His sobs paused, and he cracked open his eyes as if he were staring directly at me. But that was impossible—he couldn’t see me. No one could see me in my visions. I was an observer. Less than a ghost; I was nothing.
    The lure of his blue eyes was irresistible, and I reached out to touch him. For a split second I imagined the warmth of his smooth skin and tiny fingers, and a smile crept onto my face.
    “Hi,” I whispered. “You’re such a handsome little man.”
    He stared up into the space I occupied, and I could hardly breathe. He was perfection.
    “Milo.” The name left my mouth before I could think about it, but once it was out, it seemed to wrap around the baby, becoming as much a part of him as his dark hair or how much I loved him.
    Yes. Milo.
    An enraged cry broke the spell between us, and Milo’s sobs returned, even louder than before. I tried to touch him again, to offer whatever small measure of comfort I could if he really could sense I was there, but my hand passed through him. His screams only grew shriller.
    “Calliope!”
    I froze. Henry.
    Torn between leaving Milo or finding Henry, I lingered near the cradle. As much as it killed me to leave the baby, I