When Alvid excuses himself to take a leak, I can’t help myself anymore. I slide onto the barstool next to my brother.

“What is it?” I ask. “You have something to say to me?”

“No.” He remains facing forward, not looking at me.

I tilt my head, studying his stony face. I don’t know what I’m doing here. Maybe I’m looking for some sign of the brother I remember, the brother I miss. Or maybe it’s just the same self-destructive instinct that drives me to the bottle, again and again, even though I know I’m going to regret it in the morning.

“No, come on, what is it? You disapprove? Don’t tell me you’re still a prude after three years on Titan,” I say, laughing. The rest of us always used to tease him about how seriously he took romance. But he’s not laughing now. He only grimaces, reaching for his drink. I push it out of his reach with one finger.

Corvus lets out a long sigh.

“Have you always been this annoying?” he asks, turning to face me fully.

“Absolutely,” I say with another laugh, though there’s a deep ache in my chest cutting through the numb drunkenness. “You just used to have a sense of humor.” He snatches his drink and turns away, but I keep going. “Is that one of the many Titan army requirements? You have to sacrifice your sense of humor?” I lean closer. “Or was it only your humanity? I forget.”

He slams his glass down on the counter hard enough to make me jump, his other hand curling into a fist. When he turns to me, I flinch. I barely recognize him with the look on his face.

“Do you ever think about anyone other than yourself?” The way he asks it, with a cold and casual cruelty, cuts deeper than the words themselves. He’s never spoken to me like this before. While I stare at him, he lets out a disgusted sound and shakes his head. “Of course you don’t. Go fuck yourself, Scorpia.”

A moment of silence passes. Then I let out a weak laugh and stand.

“You too, huh?” I murmur. “Fine, then. Fine.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised; Corvus has already made it clear he stands with Momma. Once he’s in charge, he’ll probably be worse than her. Everything he’s said and done since returning to the family proves that I can’t trust him anymore. But after my screwup today, I’m in no position to do anything about it other than try to drown the hurt.

As I stumble away from the bar, I see Alvid is back. I make my way over and grab his arm, though he’s barely steadier than I am.

“Let’s go to your room,” I say, and after searching my face for a moment, he nods.