Thessaly was packed. I’d never seen it so full of people. The noise was ear-splitting. Over the roar of conversation I could hear Alkippe and the other little ones shouting as they chased each other in the garden. Pytheas wasn’t immediately visible, so I assumed he wasn’t there. All my uncles were, and Arete, along with most of Grandfather’s close friends, all my cousins, and what felt like half the city. It seemed as if all my relations and everyone who knew Pytheas and hadn’t needed to be in Chamber had squeezed themselves in here. Thessaly was a standard-size sleeping house, and there really wasn’t room for everyone, even packed so tightly together that there was hardly room to move. Ma and Uncle Fabius were mixing wine in one corner and some of my cousins were passing it around. There were so many people that even though I was looking around to see whether Grandfather was attending his own wake, it took me a moment to notice the naked man talking to Thetis.

He was young, and he was gorgeous, and even in profile across the room I recognized him instantly. He didn’t seem to have aged a day in the eight years since I’d seen him. Of course, he had been naked then too, which might have helped. “Poimandros,” I said. He looked up as I said it, even though he could hardly have heard me across the room. His eyes met mine with absolutely no sign of recognition.

I know I’m not Thetis. I’m used to that. By most measures I’m better than she is. I’m a Gold. I had chaired a meeting that day which made decisions about the future of the planet, the future of humanity. I can haul a net of fish unaided over the side of the boat. It shouldn’t matter that nobody’s eyes linger longingly when they look at me. But it stung a little when Jason looked at her that way, and at me as if I’m a good comrade. I try not to feel it, or if I do feel it then not to act on it or let anyone know how I feel. But even though Poimandros was standing next to Thetis, I would expect a man who’d been married to me at festival to at least remember having seen me before!

My uncle Porphyry had noticed us come in and was pushing his way through the crowd towards us, two cups of wine in each of his big hands. “Do you know him?” Dad asked me, sounding much more surprised than I’d have expected.