Page 53

I rub my face. “I’m really sorry, Esther. I’m not—”

“A goddess,” she finishes for me. “I know. Humility. Very on-brand.”

Leaf bites his lip. Ramona kicks him.

Conversation stumbles forward anyway, like a cart with a loose wheel.

Ramona stretches, grinning. “So. Solarball tryouts are in three days.”

Leaf’s sunfyre orb flares instinctively. “Finally.”

“You seem excited,” I note.

“Excited?” Ramona scoffs. “I’ve been waiting all year. I am not losing to my brothers again.”

Leaf tilts his head. “Again?”

“They still bring it up,” she says darkly. “Family dinners are a battlefield of old Solarball stories. This time, I’ll crush them all.”

Leaf smiles at her in a way that’s a little too soft. “You’re already better than half the third-years. There’s no way you won’t make a team.”

Ramona waves him off, but she’s glowing now. “Please. You’re the one they’ll make captain.”

He shrugs, trying for casual, but Leaf is anything but. “I mean. Obviously.”

I snort. “Subtle.”

Esther leans forward. “Solarball involves combat, correct? With channeling?”

“Yes,” Ramona says. “Speed, power, coordination.”

“And popularity,” I add.

Leaf grins unapologetically. “The people love me.”

Ramona rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t argue.

They both look at me.

“Well?” Ramona asks. “Are you trying out?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

Leaf blinks. “Really?”

“I’ll cheer,” I say. “Very enthusiastically. From the stands. Where I belong. Let’s be honest, I’m already pushing it by being here at all with no previous battle experience beyond a good ballad and a beer.”

Ramona nods. “Okay. But you’re painting our banners.”

Leaf brightens. “Stars on mine.”

“Absolutely not,” I say. “You get a sun like everyone else.”

Esther claps softly. “I will attend every match.”

We all stare at her.

“Wonderful,” Ramona says flatly. “The more the merrier.”