We moved on to Athenia. Athenia looked just like home, except smaller. We stayed in a guest house and spent a lot of time with my brother Alkibiades. I was so delighted to see him that I was prepared to forgive Athenia a lot of its formality and rigidity. Alkibiades was a gold, naturally; he had also been a gold at home. He took us to his eating hall, Theseus—all the halls were named after Athenian heroes. There was a bronze statue of Theseus with the head of the giant Kerkyon in the hall, which I remembered seeing in the Athenian eating hall at home years ago. Alkibiades had good advice for Father.

“Talk about what happened to Mother. They’ll be sympathetic. We’re sick of art raids too. The Amazons keep raiding us. Talk about Plato. They think you’re compromised but essentially trying to do the right thing.”

“That’s about right,” Father said.

That night he asked me if I’d talk to Alkibiades and Porphyry about going to Delos. “It would be easier for you. It happened to you. You can explain it better. I can’t think how to bring it up. It was awkward with Euklides.”

“I don’t think it would be very easy, but I will if you want me to.”

The Athenians didn’t allow anyone under the age of thirty into their Chamber, not even envoys. Father said he’d have to sing alone, and that he could manage. Alkibiades and I went for a walk in the hills outside the city. They were planted with vines. “It’s good volcanic soil and they thrive here,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of work pruning them this year. We have vines and olives and barley, just as Plato says. No goats or sheep, though. We have to trade for all our cheese and leather. Fortunately, everyone wants wine.”

“When we went to Delos, Kallikles and Phaedrus and I acquired god-powers,” I said. I hadn’t been able to see how to tell him, so I just blurted it out.

He stopped walking. “What?” I could tell he didn’t believe me. Though he was fond of me, I’d been so much younger when he left home.

“Really. We can all do things. And Father says he’s going to try to take Euklides there, and you and Porphyry if you want to go.”

“What kind of powers?” He was still only half-believing.

“I can tell when people are telling the truth, so I can tell that you don’t believe me. And Kallikles can change the weather and call lightning, and Phaedrus can heal people and control the volcano.”

“It would be hard to demonstrate knowing the truth,” he said, skeptically.

“Oh, and I can fly as well,” I said. “Look.” I swooped up into the air, and had the satisfaction of seeing my favorite brother’s mouth fall open.