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I turned to leave on foot, but instead I crashed face-first into a warround My heart da here in hile Cronus distracted everyone else? I gripped the knife with hooked teeth, fully prepared to use it

"Kate?"

Not Calliope Ava "Where is he?" I said, scra to my feet She blocked my way out, her cheeks pale and her eyes round Clearly she hadn’t expected me Good That meant Calliope likely didn’t either

"Milo?" she said "He’s with Henry"

"And where exactly is that?"

Ava bit her lip "I can’t tell you Calliope will kill you"

"Not if I get them away from her before she knows I’m there," I said "Unless you decide to tell her"

"What? Of course I wouldn’t," she said, stunned "I’m on your side"

"Then tell me where Henry and Milo are"

She sed, her eyes red and shining with tears "She’ll kill all of us Me, you, Henry, Milo, Nicholas--"

"Persephone and E him out of there as we speak," I said "He’ll be fine"

"E story"

Ava hesitated, and at last her expression hardened "Come on I’ll take you there"

Alarm bells went off in the back of my mind "Why should I trust you?"

"Because ere friends once," she said "And because I’d want someone to help ht She’d mentioned her son before, and while I believed her, it see hi time to cover between classes," she said "His na the entire castle roo, and for all I knew Henry and Milo were bunkered down in a place I’d never be able to find on ave h the hallways, and I tried to ignore the rolling black clouds through the s and the bone-shattering crash of water against rock The council was getting closer Maybe we’d have a chance, after all

"Where are they?" I shouted over the roar, and Ava dashed up the staircase, pulling rip, but I hugged it to my chest I couldn’t lose it