She sat beside him, tipped her head to his shoulder. “I’ll be a better buddy.”

“Good enough. How’d you do, Sasha?”

“I was fine—I can’t say I much like those tight openings, but I did fine. But I didn’t feel anything, unlike Annika.”

“Let’s cross it off.” Slicking her cap of hair back, Riley guzzled water. “And hit the next. We should be able to do three today. All of them in this general area. We’ve got others to try on the east coast, and down to the south. But we can finish up this section today.”

Sawyer figured Annika could have dived all day and half the night, but the rest of them put in a solid five hours under the water, on the boat, with a short break for a quick lunch.

They found nothing but the appeal of sea life, rock formations, and in one cave a crude carving on rock with the names Greta and Franz inside a heart with the date 15/8/05.

He liked to think Greta and Franz stayed together, maybe living in a little farmhouse along the Rhine.

He hadn’t expected to stumble across the star the first day out—didn’t think any of the team expected that kind of luck. A quest required time, effort, sweat, and risk.

And when gods were involved, blood.

But steps had to be taken, and they’d taken them for the day. Best of all, they hadn’t encountered any of Nerezza’s minions. Any day no one had to shed that blood was, in his book, a good day.

Once they’d docked the boat, turned in the tanks, he shouldered his pack. The hike home loomed, but there’d be beer at the end of it.

“Now we can go shopping.”

As one, the other five stared at her.

“There are many shops, and pretty things, and all the people. And Sawyer said we could have the outstanding.”

“A beer sounds outstanding,” Doyle commented.

“She means gelato.” Reluctantly charmed again, Sawyer shifted his pack. “She doesn’t forget anything.”

“I could go for gelato,” Riley considered.

“And I need another suit for swimming. I only have one.”

Now Riley arched her eyebrows. “What you have is a fraction of one.”

“Worn brilliantly,” Doyle put in, and made Annika smile.

“I think gelato’s an excellent plan.” With her damp hair drawn back in a tail, Sasha scanned the marina. “I bet it’s an easy find, too, and on the way.”

“Let’s find out.” Bran took her hand.

Within five minutes, after tugging Annika away from window displays of shiny objects, they met rock-hard determination.

“This shop has suits for swimming. I need this.”

“Take her in, Sawyer.”

“Oh, no.” His determination just as rock-hard, he shook his head at Riley. “That’s a girl thing. That’s absolutely a girl thing.”

“I’m going with Sawyer on that.” In solidarity Bran slapped a hand on his shoulder. “I say the females deal with this, and the rest of us head right up there.” He gestured. “We can pick up more beer.”

“I’m going with them.” Riley stepped over to the male side.

“Wait a minute,” Sasha began.

“I’m going to find what we need to make Bellinis. We definitely need Bellinis.”

“Bellinis.” Sasha sighed, looked at the shop, weighed shopping chaos against Bellinis. “All right, you’ve sold me. Annika, I’ll go in with you, but you can’t try on everything. You have to stay focused.”

“I won’t. I will. Then we’ll get outstanding gelato.” She dashed straight inside.

“They better be exceptional Bellinis,” Sasha muttered, and followed Annika inside.

She found such a pretty suit with red flowers, and another in bright, bright green, and what Sasha called a wrap almost as thin as air, and shoes with pretty seashells that left most of the foot bare. With Sasha’s help, she bought them all, and another wrap with blue waves over white for Sasha.

“For you.” She offered the little bag. “For helping me.”

“Oh, no, Anni, you don’t have to buy me something for helping you.”

“But it’s for you.” Firmly, Annika pushed the bag into Sasha’s hands. “The blue is like your eyes. It’s a gift for you, and makes me happy to give.”

“Thank you. It’s beautiful. We really have to go now. Remember, we have to carry all of this.”

“Pretty things never weigh too much.”

To Sasha’s mind, a couple of bikinis that barely covered the essentials weighed virtually nothing, but she steered Annika out of the shop.

“There they are.” Wary, Sasha kept a solid grip on Annika’s arm as they walked up to where the rest redistributed bottles into packs.

“You’re exempt,” Riley told Sasha as she hefted her heavier pack. “Fair’s fair.”

“I can carry more.” Annika turned around, offered her pack. “It’s not heavy.”

Doyle zipped a couple bottles of Italian beer inside her pack. “That’ll do it. We’ve got the rest.”

“There’s gelato!” Annika dashed up the steep street as if her new sandals had wings.

She’d struck up an animated conversation with a couple of American tourists by the time the others caught up.