The Goddess Hunt by Aimée Carter Read Free Book Online

judging by the tone of his voice, it was obvious he knew why Henry’s opinion had changed.
    He shrugged. “Perhaps they have suffered enough. There is no need to turn a difficult situation into an eternal one.”
    The corner of Walter’s lips turned upward, but there was no humor behind it. “I thought I sensed you there. Your wife is quite the handful.”
    Henry didn’t return his smile. He hadn’t meant to spy on Kate, but it had hardly been his fault that his brother had run across her while Henry had been tracking him. “She may be right, you know. I am willing to entertain the notion that after searching for such a long time, we have lost all perspective in the matter.”
    Walter shrugged. “Perhaps, but it is not her place to say so.”
    “If she does not, who will?”
    His eyebrows shot up. “Do not tell me you are allowing her to make you soft.”
    “ Soft has nothing to do with it. We have sworn to protect humanity.”
    “My son is not mortal.”
    “No,” said Henry with patience he hadn’t thought he possessed. “But his brother is, and we will be causing him more pain than he deserves.”
    “So you are saying I ought to allow Pollux to go free simply because he is not the only one who will suffer, despite the crime also being Castor’s?”
    “That is exactly what I am saying.”
    Silence. Walter’s nose twitched, and satisfaction burrowed deep within Henry. His brother had been counting on his allegiance, but this was the one time he would not have it. Not when Henry was now certain it would destroy his relationship with Kate. His desire to reclaim Castor as a citizen of the Underworld was built on nothing but pride and laws he himself had created; the same which had ruined his marriage to Persephone and put him through the pain of separation that the twins were now experiencing. He knew that ache all too well, and it was cruel to purposely put another being through it.
    Though it wounded an elemental part of him to break the laws of the Underworld and allow Castor to go free, at least this would be his choice. And when he had to choose between making an exception and losing the only person who had made him happy in the past thousand years, there was no question.
    “I do not understand why you have changed your mind so suddenly,” said Walter, and even Henry could hear the effort it took for his brother to keep himself under control. But though Walter would never admit defeat, he must have known he was outnumbered, and after the loss the council had experienced that winter, they couldn’t afford any more dissidence.
    “You may not value your marriage, brother, but I value mine.” Henry fixed him with a steely gaze. “I respect and honor my queen’s opinion. You and I both know we cannot begrudge her when she is still too green to know why we make the decisions we do.”
    Walter stared back. “The more she learns, the whalearns,more responsible she will be for her actions. We cannot excuse her on the grounds of immaturity forever.”
    “No, we cannot,” said Henry. “But no one can argue that Kate brings a fresh perspective at a time when we are in desperate need of one.”
    “I am afraid, brother, that you are not the only person basking in her lack of wisdom.”
    Henry swallowed. His brother could not have possibly found anything more painful to imply. “What she does with James during her six months away is her decision.”
    “And what you do now is yours.”
    “Yes,” he said quietly, “it is. If you will excuse me.”
    He waited until he’d exited the cottage before once again closing his eyes. When he opened them, he stood twenty feet from Kate and the others, well concealed by the brush around him. He sent out a probing thought, not expecting an answer in return. James?
    Silence.
    If you want to help Pollux, you will not ignore me.
    James focused on the spot where he was hidden. The question isn’t whether or not I want to help Lux. You know that Kate called Walter a