My knuckles connect with flesh, and everything suddenly feels too real. My eyes fly open, and Carver is doubled over me, grabbing his neck. His eyes are bulging, and the breath he finally manages to drag into his airway rattles in his throat.
Seeing him, I go limp with relief. A shudder tangles in my chest. I’m not there.
“What in the Underworld was that?” he rasps, rubbing the Cat-sized fist mark already shadowing his skin.
I glance at my shaking hands, expecting to see red bubbles and slashes, blood turned to lava in my veins. They look normal, but I know the truth; they’re stained.
“Nightmare,” I croak.
Carver sits back on his heels. He shoves a hand through his hair, frowning. “You were twisting and howling like a damned lunatic. Scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I clamp my mouth shut. If I open it, I might scream.
Drawn by the commotion, Kato and Flynn exchange a look. Flynn drags his bedroll closer until I’m pinned between Carver and him, and Kato sits down near my head, using one of my knives to carve a likeness of Athena into a chunk of fragrant cedarwood.
I should tell them all to go away. I really should. I unlock my jaw, and something else comes out. “Why Athena?”
“Wisdom and war,” Kato answers. “What every man needs.”
“Not home and family?” I ask.
He grins. “Not a young man. A hearth and a wife are for later, when the battles are won.”
“Haven’t you won? Sinta is yours.”
“Sinta is Egeria’s,” Kato says. “There are battles yet to come.”
His cryptic words send a chill down my spine. Is Tarva next? Fisa? “What makes you think she’ll rule any better than the royals before? Capricious, violent, cruel, bestowing favors only to take them away…”
“You’ll understand when you meet her.”
That’ll never happen. I’ll escape soon. I have to.
“That was more than just a nightmare. Who hurt you?” Flynn asks. He sounds angry, and his genuine concern leaves me feeling raw and exposed.
I press my lips together and stare up at the night sky. I have a better question. Why haven’t I had my daily dose of nightmares since Beta Sinta abducted me? That is, until tonight?
*
The next morning, Beta Sinta still hasn’t returned. No one seems particularly worried, and they don’t break camp. I grit my teeth and hint that I might want a bath. Even Poseidon is telling me I stink.
Carver grins. “So how does this work?”
“How do you think? We both turn invisible. The rest is pretty much self-explanatory.”
Chuckling at my crankiness, he wiggles his eyebrows at Kato and Flynn, who joke about wanting their turn at an invisible swim. I roll my eyes and make a rude hand gesture. Then we disappear before they can retaliate.
On the bank, I strip and grab my soap. “You ready?”
“Naked as the day I was born,” Carver answers, sounding far too proud.
I tug on the rope and lead him into the stream. The pool on the east bank is perfect, four feet deep with a sandy bottom and a light current.
“Too bad I can’t see you,” Carver says.
“What?” I feel my cheeks heat. “Why?”
“That would be more fun,” he answers matter-of-factly.
I can’t help laughing. “Splash.”
“What for?”
“So I know where you are.”
The water sloshes about three feet from me, and I hurl the soap at him. Carver lets out a satisfying grunt.
“Don’t flirt with me.”
“Why not?” He sounds completely innocent. The rascal.
“Because I’ll kill you.”
“You could try,” he says, imitating his brother’s deeper voice.
I snort, smothering another laugh. “Is that the new royal family’s motto? Very plebeian. Perfect for your lot.”
“What’s wrong with plebeian?” Carver asks. “I’d rather be us than them.”
He means Magoi nobles and royals. “So would I,” I answer truthfully.
I dive under and blow bubbles. Carver must see them because he hits me with a huge splash when I come up. Sputtering, I splash him back, or at least I think I do. Sometime in the middle of a full-on water fight, I realize I’m having fun. I shouldn’t be enjoying this, but I can’t help it, and being strapped to Carver is so much better than being attached to Beta Sinta. That’s all weirdness and tension.
“You win!” Carver cries, a shiver in his voice. “I’m turning blue.”