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“Do you have siblings?” I ask.
“Two brothers and a sister. I’m the oldest. I feel bad for leaving them . . .”
“Me too,” I say.
We talk about our siblings for a few minutes, while Leo listens, mildly jealous. He always says he wishes he had a brother, but I don’t know how he’d actually handle that, since Leo loves to be the center of attention at all times.
The waiter carries away our rapidly emptying plates, then brings out chilled dishes ofrožata,which is some sort of custard pudding. Bram and his buddies got bored and left, so there’s no one throwing unpleasant sneers in our direction anymore.
We drink several cups of sweet, fruity brandy, the sky darkening and the ancient stone walls glowing from the row of lanterns all along the sea wall. The night air is fragrant with orange blossoms and sea salt.
Leo and I get a bit tipsy, pleased to finally be in a country with a reasonable drinking age.
Ares relaxes too, though he’s not drinking as much as we are. It’s funny that he’s named after the god of war. There’s nothing aggressive about him. In fact, without the candlelight brightening his face, I think he’d look sad and anxious. He’sprobably nervous about sailing off to Kingmakers tomorrow, as we all are.
“Let’s get another round!” Leo says, finishing his brandy.
“The boat comes at seven in the morning,” I remind him.
“All the more reason to stay up all night,” Leo says. “I hate getting up early.”
“Your logic is impeccable.”
“Come on,” Leo coaxes me.
I glance over at Ares, who doesn’t seem to mind the idea of another drink.
“Alright,” I say. “Just one more . . .”
4
LEO
“LEO!” Anna shouts, yanking off my blanket and dragging me out of the bed so my ass bumps on the floor.
The impact makes my skull throb. I don’t know what was in that brandy last night, but I’m experiencing a hell of a hangover. The bright Mediterranean sunshine streaming in through the window is about ten times more cheerful than I want to experience at the moment. I’d much rather plunge back into the lovely dark silence of a huge pile of blankets over my head.
“What are you doing?” I groan, shaking the hair out of my eyes.
“We’re supposed to be boarding in ten minutes! Didn’t you hear me banging on your door?”
“Anna,” I grumble. “Can you do me a favor? Can you please just . . . shush? You’re so loud . . .”
“GET UP!” she hollers, making my head ring like a bell. “WE’RE GONNA MISS THE BOAT!”
“Okay, Jesus,” I say, picking myself up off the floor.
Anna thrusts a glass of lukewarm tap water into my hand, and I chug it down. It tastes weird, as water always does in a foreign place. My stomach churns.
“How come you’re not hungover?” I ask her.
“Because I didn’t drink as much as you.”
“But I’m twice as big as you. I should be able to drink twice as much.”
“Good hypothesis—how’s the field test working out for you?”
“Not great,” I admit.
