Beside me, I hear the slosh of the bottle as Perry takes a drink. Minutes pass before he speaks again. When he does, he’s so quiet that I know the words aren’t really meant for me.

“You’re better than a brother,” he says.

After an hour or two or four, Liv walks up. My head feels better and the ringing in my ear is gone, but my eyes don’t seem to be working because I can’t bring myself to look at her directly.

Perry climbs to his feet. “In case you’re really wondering,” he says to me, “it is going to rain tomorrow.” He taps his nose like Liv did last night. “If you ever want to know, just ask.”

He looks at Liv, watching her for a long moment. “See you at home?”

Liv nods. “See you at home.”

Perry heads south along the beach, which isn’t the way home. I wonder if he’ll spend the night on his own, thinking of all the ways he could’ve fought back against Vale. No, I don’t wonder. I’m sure that’s what he’ll do.

Liv sits next to me and takes the bottle. “You couldn’t even save a drop for me?” she says when she realizes it’s empty.

“I didn’t know if you were coming back.”

Her head whips over to me. “What?”

“I thought you were so eager to meet your future husband that you’d already left.”

“Stop, Roar.”

I don’t. “Why even waste your time with Luster? Sable is rich. He’ll give you the best. The finest wines.”

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. She’s hurting. Why am I trying to hurt her more? I make myself shut up and press my finger against the cut on my thumb until it stings. It’s such a small amount of pain. So bearable.

“This isn’t what I want, Roar,” she says. “You know that.”

Do I? I always assumed my future would be with her. I thought she wanted the same thing, but now I realize I’m not sure. I don’t know what she wants. We’ve never talked about it before. We’ve never needed to.

I look at her. “What do you want?”

Her back stiffens. “How can you ask me that?”

“Easy. I’ll do it again. What do you want, Olivia?” My voice is sharp, more demanding than I intend.

Liv springs to her feet. “I want to make my own choices! I want my life to be mine again! I want my brother to care about what I want. I want out of this situation!”