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I slung the bag over my shoulder and followed him. "Are we allowed to participate?" I asked. "We're not Romuva."
"Neither are most of the people in Velarta," Raheem said. "They're all Christian. But Kupole's for everyone, apparently." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and locked the lab door behind us. "Unless you have to be Romuva to enjoy a Midsummer shake from the Palian McDonald's."
"I got one yesterday," I said, perking up a little. "They put a flower on top. It was lavender flavored."
Raheem made a face. "Pass."
"Where are we eating?" I asked, as we slid into Raheem's car. "That seafood place from last weekend?"
"Oh, no," Raheem said. "Blanton's classing it up this time. We're going to Kepsnys."
I raised my eyebrows. "She'd better be buying," I said. "I can't afford a Michelin-starred steakhouse."
"What do you think that grant money's going toward?" Raheem grinned. "Our buckets and trowels are from the kid's section at the dollar store."
"Good point."
The sky turned dark as we made the nearly hour-long drive into Palia. As it turned out, we were the last ones to arrive. The restaurant was adorned with garlands and greenery for the festival, and it was packed. Raheem was right, it seemed: Midsummer was for everyone. All of the hosts were wearing white, and most of the women—as well as several of the men—had flower crowns like mine in their hair. The atmosphere was joyful and lively, with bursts of laughter exploding from various areas of the crowded room.
"Finally," Vanessa said, as we approached the table. "I was starting to think you'd turned into an artifact yourself."
"Very funny." I hesitated. There were only two empty seats at the table. One was between Blanton and Neath, and the other…
"Neath," Raheem said, edging ahead of me and dropping into the seat between the professors, "I wanted to pick your brain about something."
His question faded into background noise as I moved toward the empty chair between Theo and Luca. They were both watching me intently: Luca with a small smile on his face, Theo with barely-concealed concern.
This had the potential to get…well, complicated.
Luca moved first, standing as I rounded the corner of the table. He pulled out my chair. "Glad you could join us," he said. It almost looked as though he was going to lean toward me, to kiss me on the cheek, or God forbid on the lips, and I dropped my gaze and sat down before he could finish the movement.
"Thanks," I said. "It's been a long day."
A basket of bread appeared in my field of vision. "Here," Theo said, setting it down in front of me. "You look like you haven't eaten in a week."
"I had a granola bar," I protested, but I picked up a piece of the bread. It was warm and smelled absolutely heavenly. "Thanks.”
"We haven't ordered yet," said Dr. Blanton from across the table, reaching over to hand me a menu. "Just appetizers. Pick anything you want, okay? On me."
"Wine too," Vanessa called from four chairs down, lifting her glass. She was flanked by Irina and Georg, two of the graduate students, who both looked slightly stunned by their luck. I watched her flash a dazzling smile at first one, then the other.
"She's at it again," Theo murmured in my ear. "You'll get the room to yourself tonight."
"Knowing V, she'll bring them both home with her," I murmured back, watching Irina twine a strand of Vanessa's hair around her finger.
“Hmm,” Luca murmured. It occurred to me that he might suggest that I stay the night at his apartment again—something I was not at all ready for Theo to know. "What's good here?" I said quickly, holding my menu up to block my view of Vanessa and her entourage.
"Ah." Luca leaned toward me, his arm brushing against mine as he shifted. "You will find nothing on this menu dissatisfying, but I recommend—"
His fingertips grazed the back of my hand, the contact igniting a low flame in my belly. "Here. Chateaubriand. Served with octopus; you will love."
I tipped my head a little, trying to read his expression out of the corner of my eye. He didn't seem to be focused on anything but the menu, but he hadn't moved his hand, either.
"I thought you didn't eat octopus," Theo said, from my other side.
I straightened, putting the menu down, but before I had a chance to reply, Luca interjected. "In that case," he said, smooth as the whipped butter on my bread, "perhaps something more adventurous."
I looked down at where he was pointing: wild boar steak. Again, the strangest vision popped into my head: I saw myself, eyes aflame, tearing into raw flesh as blood dripped from my lips.
