He heard Ares sigh and crack his knuckles. The truth was it probably didn’t bother him. What bothered him was being awake at this hour and the way the nest tipped back and forth like a pendulum. At twelve turns each, the boys had been friends long enough for Donnally to recognize when Ares’s irritation was an arrow in need of a target. And he’d been the target frequently enough to know he’d rather avoid it, so when Ares didn’t answer, Donnally didn’t press.

They’d been posted as lookout for nearly an hour, long enough for Caledonia and Pisces to reach the nearby island called the Gem and start foraging, but not quite long enough to expect them to return anytime soon. Donnally leaned even farther over the edge of the nest, letting his arms hook around the railing and the blood rush to his head. The ocean was all gentle black chop. It lapped against the hull of the Ghost as the tide swept in, pushing them back and forth.

Suddenly, Donnally felt a foot hook beneath his own and kick upward. The force lifted his whole body, and he began to slip over the edge of the basket. He shrieked, arms flailing. Then hands gripped his knees and tugged him right back into the nest, where Ares was hooting with laughter.

“You know you’re strapped in, right? You can’t actually fall?” Ares laughed all the harder, bending over to brace his hands against his knees.

Donnally didn’t find it funny in the least. He lunged for Ares, aiming a fist for his face. But Ares was taller and stronger. He deflected Donnally’s blow easily, snatching the arm of his gray jacket and whipping it off him in one smooth motion. The jacket flew into the air and fluttered toward the ground, where it landed in a heap.

Now Donnally was mad. He felt his temper burning in his cheeks and in the curl of his fists. He roared and dove for Ares again.

“Boys!” The voice belonged to Donnally’s dad, and it stopped them dead in their tracks. They’d both be in trouble for this. It didn’t matter that Ares had started it. There was no roughhousing in the nest. “Sounds like you need something else to keep you occupied.”

Donnally peered over the edge, sure to keep a firm grip on the railing this time. He spotted his dad standing near the port rail, chin tipped up to watch the boys, a gray coat pulled over his shoulders.

“Found your coat,” he called to Donnally.

Ares laughed again while Donnally fumed. “Thanks.”