Chasing Xaris (9 page)

Delphina strode to the door. “I’ll let you change for dinner. If you need anything, my room is on the other side of the suite.”

“Okay, tha
nks.” I paused. “Do you all live here together?”

“We do now, yes. All the families that lived in the Chronis House on the east end of the island moved to the Galanis House after the wars ended.”

“That’s a lot of people in one house.”

“I suppose so.” Delphina gave me a curt nod. “Goodbye,” she said, and left me alone in the room.

I clutched the purple dress and wondered what dinner on Aletheia Island would be like. My stomach fluttered, but I assured myself that Ari would be sitting with me. Of course, so would his maybe-possibly-girlfriend who hated me. So there was that.

A

FTER
I changed into my purple dress, Delphina led me down the hallway to the dining hall. She wore a gray dress and carried her spear, which made for a very solemn and very intimidating ensemble.

A cool breeze blew through open windows as we walked and I glanced out the window. A gigantic yacht was headed for the
distant red wall that circled the island.

My hands gripped the wooden sill.

The yacht raced closer to the wall, then completely disappeared.

I blinked. No way. My eyes must have played a trick on me. But that’s what had happened to the speedboat.

“It is strange at first,” Delphina said with a faint smile. “If we were on the east beach, we would see the same boat, sailing away. They pass straight through the misos shield like we don’t even exist.”

“That’s so weird.”

“Not really.” Delphina shrugged and hurried on, leading me to a double set of doors. She flung them open to reveal a room overflowing with rich, boisterous voices.

Stepping inside the giant room
, I saw circular tables covered by blue cloths, placed all across the tiled floor. Clusters of candles hung down from the ceiling. The whole atmosphere felt like a high-class wedding reception—even Gran would approve.

“Why is everything all fancy?” I asked.

“We always decorate for dinner,” Delphina replied.

“Just dinner?”

“Every dinner in our culture is cause for celebration.”

Delphina took my arm and weaved us through the tables. I noticed everyone glancing at a table just ahead. Ari and Nikandros sat there, talking with their heads bent together. Their spears rested against the table. Girls were practically falling out of their chairs to get a better look at the brothers.

But as I reached the table, onlookers turned their attention to me. So did Ari. His eyes swept over me in a brief flick before looking away.

I smoothed my hands against my dress. This was the proper kind of outfit Gran would love, but I felt weird in it.

Ari didn’t look weird. That was for sure. He wore a button-down shirt that opened nicely at the collar. His skin looked even darker against the baby blue of his shirt.

He and Nikandros rose to their feet.

“
Yia sas
,” they said.

“
Yia sas
,” Delphina replied.

“I’m sorry we kept missing each other this afternoon, Chandler,” Nikandros said. “I was supervising the dressing of the tables for tonight.” He wore a white button-down shirt, open at the collar like his brother’s.

“You decorated the tables?” I asked.

“We all rotate duties on the island,” Nikandros replied.

“They’re beautiful,” I said.

“Thank you.” Nikandros gestured for me to sit in the empty spot next to Ari.

A small crease formed between Ari’s eyebrows as I sat. He shifted his body and gave me a practiced smile, the kind you give a stranger in the elevator.

Delphina sat on Ari’s other side, between him and his brother, and rested her spear against the table like the others had done.

“What do you think of our island, Chandler?” Nikandros asked.

“It’s… different,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Of course you haven’t.” Delphina picked up a silver pitcher, poured a glass of red wine, and passed it to me. “There is no other place on earth as beautiful.”

“How do you know that, Delphi?” Ari asked. “We haven’t been anywhere else.”

Delphina cocked her head to the side and turned to me. “Chandler, you have been other places. Is our island the most beautiful place you have seen?”

“Yes,” I said. That seemed like the right thing to say.

“See?” Delphina flashed Ari a smile.

“I am simply saying—” Ari said.

“Please, not this talk again.” Delphina shook her head, her dark hair swaying.

“Ari, when will you release your obsession with traveling?” Nikandros asked, lowering his voice. “You drone on about distant shores, but you will find no place better—”

A gong sounded, interrupting Nikandros. I jumped in my seat.

“The buffet is ready,” Ari explained, with a slight smile. “Do you eat seafood?”

I nodded.

“Good,” Ari said.

He stood and took Delphina’s plate. Nikandros grabbed mine and followed his brother to huge tables brimming with fruits, vegetables, and steaming dishes of fish.

My stomach rumbled at the salty and lemony smells.

“I’m glad you enjoy seafood, Chandler,” Delphina said. “You would have offended every person in the dining hall if you said no. Especially Ari. He killed tonight’s sailfish.”

“Sailfish?” I’d spent enough time on Dad’s boat to know that adult sailfish were massive, ferocious fighters.

“He is the most lethal Hunter on the island,” Delphina said. Her voice warmed with pride. “All the children hope to be in his class.”

“Class?” I asked.

“We all learn how to fight on land and in water,” Delphina said. “After the wars began, families trained their children at younger ages. Now that we’re at peace we don’t teach combat tactics, but we still train in free diving and spear fishing.”

Delphina touched her wheel tattoo. “The strongest are marked with our symbol, the
triada
. We are Hunters.”

“You leave the island to hunt?” I asked.

“We used to. Our tattoos have a xaris piercing in their centers.”

“But don’t people see when you come and go from the island?” I asked.

Delphina sighed. “There was fear of that, yes. Now we only hunt the waters within our shield. We take great effort to keep the number of fish in balance.”

“Like a fish farm.”

“Like a very well stocked fish farm.”

“What’s the point of xaris in your tattoos then?” I asked, pointing to her tattoo.

“Tradition. For generations, Hunters have earned the privilege to wear xaris. We still wear xaris as a symbol for all that we are.” Delphina smiled, baring her teeth. “We have freedom, you see. But we aren’t permitted to abuse it.”

“There’s no way Ari is the first Hunter to test the whole freedom thing,” I whispered.

Delphina’s lips flattened into a hard line. “There have been others, yes. And they are all dead. We don’t take treason lightly on our island.”

I swallowed.

“We’re a fair people,” Delphina continued. “But we place great priority on our island’s secrecy.” She took a long sip of wine and set down her glass, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. It was such a dainty action, but not when Delphina did it. Everything about the set of her mouth, the swipe of her hand, was fierce.

I thought about Mr. Whit’s talk on the Spartans again. Delphina would have fit in nicely with them.

“I could totally picture you spear fishing,” I said.

Delphina’s eyebrows rose.

“Sorry,” I said. Was that rude?

“It’s all right,” Delphina said. Her mouth lifted in a faint smile. “I like that you speak openly.”

“I agree,” Nikandros said, walking up to the table. Ari stood beside him with heaping plates in each hand and one resting on his arm.

Delphina rolled her eyes. “Nick, you don’t even know what we’re talking about.”

“Then I’ll shamelessly insert myself into the conversation,” he said, handing a plate to me. “What do they say of us on the mainland, Chandler? Are we as renowned as Hercules?”

I laughed. “Not exactly.”

“We are still unknown?” Nikandros asked, sitting.

“Pretty much,” I replied. “There’s a little information out there, but you have to dig.”

“Good,” Delphina said, as Ari placed a plate in front of her. He sat and scooted his chair closer to the table.

I leaned toward him.

“When can we talk?” I whispered, bringing my wine glass to my lips.

A muscle in Ari’s jaw flinched. At first I thought he was angry, but then I noticed his eyes crinkling in a smile.

“Are you laughing?” I asked.

“Your whisper is hardly quiet,” he replied.

“What are you two saying?” Delphina asked. “Ari, you can’t steal Chandler from the rest of us. I want to know more about her.” She then fired off a ton of questions—about my grandparents, school, surfing—one right after the other.

“And what’s it like to surf?” Delphina asked.

“It’s… freeing.” I thought about my board, and my fingers drifted to my band-aid.

“Is that a surfing wound?” Delphina asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, fighting the urge to look at Ari.

“And did you have a boyfriend before you
came here?” Delphina asked.

“No.”

“What about Jordan?” Ari asked, frowning.

My cheeks warmed, and I stared at my plate. Was it that obvious? How did someone like Ari know about the two of us?

“How do you know about Jordan?” Nikandros whispered. He glanced around to see who was listening.

Ari’s face blanched. His mouth parted but no words came out.

“I told Ariston about Jordan earlier today,” I said.

Ari’s posture softened, and he gave me a slight nod.

With a smile, I popped a piece of lemony cheese into my mouth. It felt good to have the upper hand for once.

“But Jordan’s not my boyfriend,” I said. “He’s just a good friend.” The words sounded false, even as I said them, but I was telling the truth.

“But you’ve had boyfriends?” Delphina asked. “Yes?”

Ari shifted in his chair. “Can we change the subject? This is obviously uncomfortable for Chandler.”

“You’re the only one who looks uncomfortable,” Delphina said.

“I am perfectly comfortable,” Ari said.

“Then let Chandler answer the question.” Delphina glanced at me with a raised eyebrow.

“I did have a boyfriend in middle school,” I said. “Another surfer. We didn’t date long, though. His family moved away.” We’d basically been friends who’d kissed approximately three times.

“Do you miss him?” Delphina asked.

Ari tossed his napkin onto the table. “I am retiring.”

“Why? It’s still early,” Delphina said.

Ari grabbed his spear. “I’m not feeling well. I will see all of you tomorrow.
Yia sas
.” He bowed briefly before striding away from the table.

As I watched him go, I
really hoped he wouldn’t blow off meeting me later. I couldn’t leave without answers, and I needed to leave tonight.

“Are you attracted to him?” Delphina asked.

I turned to her, eyes wide. “To Ari? Definitely not.”

“I thought you spoke plainly,” Delphina said, frowning over her wine glass. “Plenty of girls feel the same as you do. I’ve grown quite accustomed to it.” Her gaze darted to Nikandros, but he was staring into his wine glass with a rigid jaw.

I was seriously confused. Were Delphina and Ari together? If so, they definitely didn’t act all that into each other. If anything, it seemed like Nikandros and Delphina were closer.

“Delphina, I swear that I’m not interested in Ari,” I said. “Honestly.”

She took a long sip of wine. “I believe you,” she said finally.

“Thanks.” I debated asking her about Ari. After all, she had put me on the spot with all those boyfriend questions, and apparently she loved open conversation as much as
Jordan did. But I couldn’t picture actually getting the words out. I barely knew the girl.

“I’m going to head to bed,” I said, scooting my chair back. “Thanks for letting me sit with you guys.”

“Of course. It’s was Ari’s wish,” Delphina murmured.

Nikandros frowned at her and then rose to address me. “It was our pleasure,” he said. “
Yia sou
.”

I raised an eyebrow, wondering at the phrase I’d heard several times.

“It’s our hello and goodbye,” Nikandros explained.

“Got it. Thanks.” I gave him a smile and then hurried through the dining hall. I passed a group of musicians who had
just started playing clarinets and drums. The music had an uneven beat that reminded me of some exotic land.

I lingered for a few minutes, feeling the music’s pull, but then forced myself forward. I had to meet Ari.

In my room, I changed back into my swimsuit, shirt, and running shorts, making sure my phone was still in the pocket. I didn’t want to explain the new dress to Gran.

My stomach knotted more with each passing minute. Gran must have thought something horrible had happened to me. Daughter gone, and now granddaughter, too. She was probably reliving those awful days all over again.

“
Yia sou
,” Ari said.

I jumped to my feet, stifling a scream.