Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1)(85)
Author: Richelle Mead

“Especially since you have a prætorian working with you,” added the man. “I, uh, don’t suppose she’s here right now?”

“No, she went home.”

“Ah.” The prætorian sounded disappointed. Maybe he wanted the extra level of security for Tessa. “Well, then, it’s on you to make sure she doesn’t escape.”

Justin gave Tessa a sharp look. “Oh, I assure you, she’s not going anywhere.”

“We’ll decide her fate tomorrow.” The woman made a grand gesture toward the house. “You may go now.”

Tessa hesitated and looked to Justin.

“Go,” he said.

“And get some ice for your ankle,” added the guy. For half a second, she thought she saw his lips start to twitch into a smile, but then his face was all hard lines again.

Tessa gave hasty nods and then scurried inside, afraid that they’d change their minds if she looked back.

CHAPTER 23

THE BALLAD OF MAE AND PORFIRIO

Justin listened as Tessa went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and then headed off to her room. When he heard her bedroom door close, he finally spoke to the stone-faced prætorians.

“So,” he said. “You must be friends with Mae.”

And then the most extraordinary thing happened. The terrifying prætorians started cracking up. The man actually burst into outright laughter and nearly had tears in his eyes. The woman buried her face in him and shook as she tried to keep her own laughter quiet.

“Oh,” he told her, “that was so mean. And hilarious.”

The woman was still trying not to giggle. “Really? The Miscreant Terrorist Girls’ Reform Camp?”

“It was all I could think of on the spot,” he said. “And it worked, didn’t it? Did you see her face? Poor kid.”

Justin looked between them, not entirely sure how to handle this situation. He’d accepted that his life was becoming increasingly surreal these days, but it apparently still held new and exciting ways to surprise him. “Would…you like to come in for a drink?” He remembered belatedly that alcohol was useless on prætorians, but it seemed like appropriate compensation. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, but instinct told him the prætorians might have just done Tessa a huge favor.

“Sure,” said the woman. She held out her hand without hesitation. “Valeria Jardin. My friends call me Val, and you can definitely be one of my friends.” Justin often likened Mae to a lioness when she was ready to fight. There was something feline about Val too, but of an entirely different nature. She was sleek and sensuous—but most certainly had claws of her own.

“Back off,” the man warned Val. “You heard what she said.”

“Mae?” asked Justin. “What did she say?”

“She said you were cute,” said Val.

The prætorian man rolled his eyes. “She did not. She just told you to stay away.”

“That’s practically an admission of lust from her.”

“It is not. She just doesn’t want you complicating things, Val.”

Val looked up at Justin through long lashes, a demure look in her dark eyes. “I never complicate anything,” she purred. “Not too much, at least.”

“I need that drink,” the guy prætorian said, stepping around her. “Hope you’re well stocked.”

“Extremely,” said Justin. He was still a little mystified. “I didn’t catch your name…?”

“Dag,” called the man, not elaborating on whether that was his first or last name. He was already striding toward the kitchen, with the self-assurance of one who knew he could go anywhere.

Justin showed them the liquor cabinet, which met with their approval. They grabbed two bottles each and looked at him expectantly. “Out to the patio,” he said. He took a bottle of bourbon for himself and three glasses, not that the prætorians seemed to need any vessels. “Everyone else is asleep.”

The expansive backyard patio was far away from the bedrooms, which were clustered together. Like everything else around here, it was opulent and lovely. It had a slate floor set with patina-covered furniture and a trellised cover wrapped with vines that offered protection on hot days. A fire pit sat off to the side, ready with warmth on cooler days. The whole area was ripe and ready for entertaining, but backyard parties hadn’t exactly been on Justin’s agenda recently. He never would have guessed he’d be breaking it in with two prætorians.

Both of Dag’s bottles were whiskey. He set one on the table and then immediately began drinking the other, no glass required.

“Isn’t that”—Justin groped for the right words—“kind of a waste? With the implant and everything?”

“He’s slamming the implant,” explained Val. She opened a bottle of tequila. “If he can down that bottle in a couple minutes, he’ll get a buzz. A short one, but hey, you take what you can get.” From the way she then dove into her own bottle, she was apparently “slamming” her implant as well.

This was news to Justin. “Seems like you’d mostly get alcohol poisoning.”

“Nah.” Dag paused in his drinking. He was about halfway through the bottle. “The implant will catch up. I’m just getting a head start.”

“I see.” Justin watched them continue their binge drinking and felt a little lame for sipping his own drink. He had no delusions about trying to keep up, though. He’d probably have been dead already.

They both finished and looked supremely pleased with themselves. Dag gave Val a high five. “There it is.”

She sighed happily and settled back into her chair. “Fun end to a fun night.”

“What happened tonight?” Justin asked. “Why is Tessa a terrorist?”

That brought the grins back. “She scaled the wall into the National Gardens,” said Dag. “Happens every once in a while. I mean, there’s so much surveillance there that they’re always spotted before they even get to the wall, but they should really cut that f**king tree down.”

Justin didn’t even hear the part about the tree. “Tessa broke into the gardens? Why would she do that?”

“Because kids do that with other kids,” said Val. “And she was drunk.”

Justin nearly dropped his glass. “No. Not her. No way.”

Dag actually looked sympathetic. “I know it’s hard to accept, but no matter how innocent you think they are, teenage girls are always going to do things you don’t want to believe.”