Page 192 of Vameer

Volik snickers.

I hand my bottle to my gravito, call on my Fire Touch, and press my hand to my chest.

The rum soaking into my robe ignites in a poof of fire.

Then I look at my sleeve. And I start thinking about the sleeve of my shirt beneath my robe.

Then I notice how tight everything feels.

I shake my head. “I don’t like it.”

“Huh?”

“It’s too much fabric,” I tell my brother.

My gravito carefully wraps around Rune, turning pink as it lifts her, cradling her body in the exact same position.

With her in the air, I roll out from under her, stand, and yank my robe off.

I drop it on the ground, then work my way down my shirt buttons, pulling the material free from my pants.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Dread asks with a sigh.

“Undressing,” Volik replies evenly.

I start to chuckle. Then I start to fall as I try to free my arm from the sleeve.

A cloud of red gravito presses against my hip, pushing me back upright.

“But why?” The druid doesn’t let it go.

Volik makes a sound of thinking. “Probably too much time as a soldier. He forgets that nudity is frowned upon.”

Grinning, I finally peel my shirt off. “I don’t fight naked.”

“Thank the gods,” Dread deadpans.

“The fight!” Volik spreads his arms to point at both of us.

My fingers fumble with the closure on my pants. “The fight will be after the race. Remember?” I bend over, furrowing my brows, to see what I’m doing.

“Right,” Volik says with absolute confidence.

I finally get the pants open and start to push them down my legs.

“Must we be naked for the race? I do not think Nix would like it if I was.”

“You two are not supersonic jumping around the globe naked. And certainly not while you’re shit-faced.”

My pants pool around my ankles as I look at Volik. “When did druids get so boring?”

He shrugs and turns to Dread. “How old are you again?”

A laugh booms out of me. “I like that you’ve found your humor, brother.”

Volik tips his bottle at me.

I kick my pants off my feet.