“I wasn’t even drunk,” I whispered to myself. “I’m mortified. How much do I owe you?”

One corner of his lips turned upward, forming a breathtaking smile. One that he had never given me. “Nothing. I’m just kidding. You don’t need to pay for anything. I’m just happy that we’re not yelling at each other.”

“Are you going to stay?” I asked, hopeful.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Surely my words last night were not the reason for his sudden change of heart.

“I was able to sort out a deal with my job after all. I’ll be working from Court most of the time. But I still need to go in for the trial.” He paused before admitting, “You were right. I should be here for Kristen.” He caught my eyes. “And for you.”

Vlad had just said that I was right. That had never happened before, even when it was true. And second, he wanted to stay here for me. My phone presented an avenue for escape, and luckily there were tons of texts from Kris, but also three missed calls and a voice mail from Carlo. “I suppose we should probably head in there, then, and get this over with.”

Vlad held the door for me. My eyes habitually scanned the crowded room for Kris. People on one side of the room were sitting on the floor, tossing all five knucklebones pieces into the air and trying to catch them on the backs of their hands. In the middle of the room, others were trying to throw the pieces into the opening of a small vessel. I had played both of these versions of astragaloi as a kid, but this was something else entirely. Vlad noticed my confusion. “They have to throw the dice onto the table thirty-five times. Each side of the die has a different value, but unlike the modern game of dice, it’s not the side of the astragaloi faced up that counts, but the side that lands on the surface.”

“Geez, Zeus, how do you know so much about this game? Do you remember all this from your first Gathering?”

He pointed at the table. “This one is my favorite version of astragaloi. I love counting those numbers.”

This was surprising. I had thought that for him games were a waste of time. I was about to make a joke about how his first Gathering must have gone if he was so keen on counting numbers instead of courting women, when I heard a laugh I would recognize anywhere. I swiftly turned and saw Kris standing near the corner of the room, her face full of joy and her arms wrapped around someone I’d been dying to see: Carlo.

Emotion crashed over me. Pain, confusion, anger. I curled my hands into fists at the sides of my body, clenching so tightly that my palms started to burn. My nails dug in deep as I fought back tears.