But those kids weren't gone yet. They weren't too far past saving. They could still have what I never got: a way out that didn't end with their hands covered in blood.
"Shut down the school," Hades said. "Destroy it. Save those children. Do what your father never could." He picked up the case again. "Succeed, and I give you my seal. You'll have what you need to challenge Minos in the Labyrinth."
He set the case down between us. "But understand this: the moment you hit that school, Constantine will know. He will escalate. He will come for you with everything he has built, and he has built an empire on the bones of better men than him. You might not survive it."
His eyes moved between us. "So. Your choice. Disappear separately and live. Or fight together and probably die." He spread his hands. "I will not judge either path. Both require courage. But I need your answer now."
I couldn't pretend to be normal. I knew that much. And if I could save those kids, maybe I could prove I was something more than what the cage made me.
But more than that, I couldn't walk away. Not from this. Not from them.
"We'll take the Alaska mission,” I said after only a beat of thought.
Rafael’s frown deepened. "Lorenzo, are you sure?”
“You want to leave those kids to fend for themselves?” I demanded. “You want to leaveme?”
Rafael sighed. “No, of course not. But we’re putting both of our lives on the line here. We should both get a say.”
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leaned back. This was what he meant when he said he wanted me to choose him. In order for that to be true, I had to let him choose me, too, which meant giving him an opportunity to walk away, even if it hurt. “Okay, Rafael. What do you want to do?”
Rafael took my hand in his. “We’re going to Alaska to save those kids.”
My heart jumped into my throat, and it took everything in me not to throw him down on the bed then and there and have my way with him.
"Good." Hades leaned back in his chair. "My grandmother used to say that some men are not meant to tend gardens. That they are meant to stand at the gates and keep the wolves away." His expression shifted, becoming distant. "I have spent forty years proving her wrong. Every morning, I tend my wife's garden. Poisonous flowers, most of them. Beautiful and deadly, like she was."
His voice roughened. "But I have learned that even a gardener must sometimes leave his flowers to fight the wolves at the gate. The garden can wait. The children cannot." He met my eyes. "I needed to know if you understood this. That peace is precious, but some battles cannot be avoided without losing who we are. You have answered."
He stood, and suddenly he seemed taller, older, carrying the weight of decades. "Succeed, and you’ll have what you need to challenge Minos." He closed the case with a decisive click.
"We understand," I said with a nod.
Hades studied us for a long moment. "You remind me of my son," he said finally, and his voice was rough. "Adebayo."
Rhadamanthys turned away sharply, his hand coming up to cover his mouth.
Hades' expression didn't change, but something ancient and broken flickered behind his eyes. "He would have made the same choice you just did."
Rhadamanthys spoke quietly. "Constantine won't just kill you if he catches you. He'll make it hurt. He'll take everything you care about and burn it in front of you."
I nodded because I didn't trust my voice.
"Then you better make it count," Hades said. Hades smiled, but it was sad and worn. "I am old. Not in years, but in weariness. I have watched good men become monsters and monsters become martyrs. I have tried to believe that what we do matters, that the violence serves a purpose." He looked out the window at the trees and the gray sky beyond.
"My time is ending. It's in my bones, in my soul. The world is changing. Perhaps it needs new blood, new ideas, new warriors who still believe in redemption. I've made my choice. Now you make yours."
He moved toward the door, and Rhadamanthys followed. Then Hades paused and looked back at us, at Rafael specifically.
"For what it’s worth, I wish you both luck. God be with you."
“And also with you,” Rafael replied almost automatically.
Then they were gone, and the door closed behind them with a soft click.
Diego moved to the window, watching them go. "Well. That was terrifying."
“Typical Hades.” Jasper snorted and returned to his laptop.
