Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)(24)

But no shouts came. Whoever was there banged on the door again, and several moments later, she could hear loud voices engaged in some sort of argument. No shouts of alarm. No stomping of feet. No gunfire.

Tessa waited a little bit longer, but when the noise didn’t stop, her curiosity got the better of her. It was a problem she often had. Slipping out of bed, she found her robe and tied it tightly over her floor-length nightgown. Out of habit, she nearly pulled up her hair but then decided to leave it down to save time. She moved quietly and slowly as she left the room, still cautious of any possible threat, and prayed the old wooden floor wouldn’t creak. The closer she came to the staircase leading down, the more she relaxed. She recognized the voices. There would be no raid tonight.

She made it downstairs and paused just outside the doorway to the foyer, keeping out of sight but still managing a good view. Her mother stood there in a similar robe, arms crossed, but she’d taken the time to pull up her hair. Marta Cruz would never be seen with her hair down, not even in the middle of the night. Tessa’s father stood nearby, and his clothing suggested he hadn’t even gone to bed yet. Two of the family’s bodyguards were also on hand, looking more confused than concerned.

But none of them really caught Tessa’s attention. It was the sight of Justin March, standing in front of the door, that made Tessa take notice.

She hadn’t seen Justin in a long time. After her mother had insisted he move out, Justin had only been by a few times to visit her father. Most of their outings were now to restaurants and clubs, places that were inaccessible to Tessa. She’d never met anyone like him and missed having him around. Justin seemed glamorous and worldly to her, and most important, he never talked down to her. He always spoke in a frank, open way and wasn’t afraid to discuss the topics no one else would. “He has no sense of propriety,” her mother had once told Tessa. “But what can you expect from such godless people?”

Justin certainly didn’t seem so glamorous tonight. His clothing was soaked from the rain, and the hair he usually kept so carefully styled was equally wet and disheveled. There was a bright, almost fervent look in his eyes that even Tessa recognized. He was drunk or high—maybe both.

“Slow down,” Tessa’s father was saying. “You aren’t making any sense.”

“I’m making perfect sense,” Justin insisted. He raked a hand through his wet hair and began pacing back and forth, a habit she recalled from when he was engaged in some intense mental exercise. “This is her out, Sergio. This is my out. Don’t be a fool and waste this chance. It’ll never happen again.”

“Mr. March, you are out of line.” Tessa’s mother always refused to call Justin “Dr.” and was driving home her disapproval now by using the Voice. It was the one she reserved for lectures that usually resulted in Tessa being confined to her room. “If you truly have something important to say, please return in the morning when you are in a more presentable state.” Her tone implied that she sincerely doubted there was anything important here at all.

Justin completely ignored her and focused his attention on Tessa’s father. “I’m not screwing around here! We have to—” His eyes flicked to the far side of the room, toward the doorway, and Tessa realized she’d been spotted. “There you are! Come here. Your life’s about to change forever. You can thank me later.”

Tessa hesitated for a few seconds but then realized she might as well take the plunge. There was no more hiding. She stepped forward, and her mother nearly passed out.

“Teresa! What do you think you’re doing? Return to your room this instant!”

Belatedly, Tessa realized that maybe she should’ve pulled up her hair after all. It was bad enough for a non–family member to see her in her robe, even if it did completely cover her nightgown. Wearing loose hair, at her age, wasn’t something that women of her status did. It was the kind of thing you’d find in New Money or the lower classes, in women who worked beside men or ventured out alone.

“No, no,” said Justin, taking a few steps forward. He didn’t go too much farther. Drunk or not, even he knew getting closer to a girl in her nightgown might spur the bodyguards to action. They knew him and liked him—and had won a lot of money from him—but some lines still weren’t meant to be crossed. “Let her stay. This is important.”

“I don’t even know what ‘this’ is,” her father said, looking weary.

Justin took a deep breath, seeming to finally realize he needed to approach the matter in a calmer way. “I’m going home, Sergio. Back to the RUNA.”

Her father lit up. “You got your citizenship back?” Tessa noticed her mother looked happy too, but probably because she thought they’d be getting rid of Justin once and for all.

“Not exactly.” Justin’s enthusiasm dimmed for a moment. “It doesn’t matter, though. I’m going back and talked them into making a visa exception.”

Tessa’s father’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as he tried to parse the words. Then, suddenly, his face transformed. Never, never, had she seen such joy within him. “You did it,” he breathed. “You’re bringing us back.”

Justin shifted and looked uncomfortable. “Um, not all of you.”

That radiant joy went away. “But you always said—”