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"And how do you expected "That is up to you, brother I aer, after all If you do not wish for the twins to be captured, then so be it But I was under the impression that this was as important to you as it was to htfully a citizen of the Underworld, and every day he spent on the surface was another re He had to be returned to his rightful place, and Walter’s pride dictated his need to ensure that Pollux no longer thumbed his nose at the council "Which brother is Kate with?"

"Ella believes she is with Pollux," said Walter, and Henry took a deep breath He needed no other infor to do or not, his hands were tied

"Very well I will find a way to keep the twins apart But you have twenty-four hours--I will give you no more than that"

Walter inclined his head "I assure you it will be enough time"

His brother walked down the aisle and back the way he’d coone, Henry exhaled and closed his eyes, and the still air of the Underworld changed to the breeze of the world above He stood in a field near the edge of a Greek forest, and as he cleared hisfor the fa skills of certain other members of the council, but with close proximity, it was not difficult to find the others

James

He pushed the thought outward, and for several seconds he heard only the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves At last, however, a thought returned to him, and even without a voice, Henry could sense Jas considered

What do you want?

I would like to knohere you are

You really think I’ain, and this tionize you

Yeah? Sure could’ve fooled me

Less time to receive a reply James was much closer now Is Kate with you?

No

Where is she?

I don’t know

Henry clenched his fists Yes, you do

She’s safe She’s with Pollux

"Safe" and "with Pollux" are mutually exclusive

Too bad It’s her sixanywhere near her

Henry closed his eyes, and this time when he opened them, James and one of the twins--Castor--stood only a dozen feet away Their reaction was immediate; James stepped in front of Castor, who turned the color of chalk, and once again Henry and Ja off A villain and a hero Funny how those roles were so interchangeable between theravel in his voice

"I will only ask you this one more time," said Henry "If you do not answer me, I will take Casey to a place where not even you will be able to find him Where i

James pursed his lips, and his eyes hardened, but he said nothing Of course he did not To hie--a chance to win a battle in their never-ending war Everything else came in second to him, even Kate’s safety Even Kate’s life James must have known that if there was a way to kill her and exact revenge upon Henry, Pollux would find a way to do it Yet he did not care

Henry drew a long, deep breath, forcing hi contest Her very existence could be at risk if you do not tell me where she is--"

"She’s immortal now," spat James "And Lux isn’t the monster you think he is"

"My brother would never hurt her," said Castor, his voice quaking, but he had a steely look in his eyes that Henry ade in the face of his ultimate fear No wonder the twins had the reputation they did

"As I would never hurt you," said Henry Doubt flashed across Castor’s expression, but that came as no surprise to Henry Castor trusted hi happens to her, James, it will be on you"

Ja screamed at him to blast him back to Olympus But he kept calm, as he nearly always did Despite what his brothers seeer rarely led to resolutions

"Very well Then consider this your doing" One moment Henry was in front of them, and the next he stood beside Castor and touched his shoulder

Jarab for Castor By the ti but air

Kate

That night was one of the longest of h the forest, atte to retrace our steps and find his brother, and I was exhausted by the tih one of ive her cancer-riddled body a few

"Lux, we’ve passed this spot five ti myself over a fallen tree "He’s not here"

"He has to be so branch so hard that it snapped in two and fell to the ground

"Somewhere else then" And if we didn’t find hied to regain some semblance of control after we’d lost Casey and Jaid, and he snarled everything he said to me When he decided to speak at all

"Maybe we should stay in one place," I said "James and Casey will find us"

Lux shook his head and ducked down to check behind a boulder that couldn’t possibly hide both of the for him He knows to stay put, even if they’d have an easier ti a loose n rhlock of hair behindfor a ponytail holder, not to e look thatto answer me, he turned back to his search I huffed Fine Another secret Not that the gods didn’t have enough of theo back to the cabin," I said "They’re probably waiting for us--"

"No they’re not," said a singsongy voice behind --or someone--over my shoulder

I turned, and as soon as I saw the blonde leaning against a tree, I let out a sigh of relief Finally, so on "Ava? What are you doing here?"

She wore a hiking outfit of khakis and a tank top that showed off her curves, and her blond hair ept over one shoulder in a fashionable braid She’d even tucked a flower into the end Stupid ofyou, of course"

Lux bared his teeth Apparently he and Casey had been away fro "Like I would ever accept your help"