Richelle Mead - Gameboard of the Gods

“Show-off.”

The rest of the Gemman delegation responded with varying degrees of politeness and directed her and Justin toward the back of the jet. Along with the soldiers and Internal Security officials, there was a young woman named Candace who appeared to be some type of assistant. She jumped whenever any of her higher-ups spoke to her. When she looked at Justin, however, Candace would flush and smile.

Tessa had seen women behave that way near him before and couldn’t understand being stupid around a guy, even handsome ones. Her mother had had plenty to say about Justin’s appearance. Too good-looking, she’d said. Make sure you marry a plain man, Tessa. They won’t stray, and they’ll never have power over you. Tessa wondered what that said about her father.

No matter how much Justin kept poetically painting it as “soaring off into a new life,” she found flying absolutely terrifying from the instant they left the ground. The jet’s interior felt too small and the sky too big. As the plane bounced along air currents, it seemed impossible that the engines would keep them up. Tessa expected to come crashing to the ground at any moment. She wished now that she’d worn her rosary but had packed it at the last minute. Gemman attitudes toward religion were no secret, and she hadn’t wanted to attract attention.

She squeezed her eyes shut and felt Justin put his hand over hers. “Breathe, sweetie. You’re okay. This is completely safe.”

Tessa forced her eyes open, seeing rare compassion on his face. “How long is this going to take?”

“Nine hours. We’ll probably stop to refuel once we’re back in RUNA airspace. This is a small plane for a trip like this.” He grinned. “I guess I wasn’t worth first class.” His eyes drifted forward, focusing on Mae as she spoke to the orange-haired woman from Internal Security.

Tessa closed her eyes again and tried to distract herself from her imminent death. “Why are you obsessed with her?”

“She’s my boss. My life is in her hands.”

“Not her. Mae.”

“I suppose there’s an argument that my life’s in her hands too. But I’m not obsessed. I don’t even know her.” His tone was too casual, even for him, and his eyes constantly strayed to her when he thought no one saw. Mae never looked at Justin, and it seemed to Tessa that the avoidance was too adamant to be a coincidence.

Tessa eventually tried to sleep, with no luck. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before she heard Mae join them. Each minute felt like a lifetime. The plane had steadied a little, and with a great effort, Tessa opened her eyes. Mae was watching her, her face kind.

“Do you need anything?”

“I could use a drink,” Justin said.

Mae turned toward him with an exasperated look. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

She called for some water, and Candace came scurrying back with a glass. “Thank you,” Justin told her. It was only two words, but the way he smiled completely bedazzled Candace. She tripped as she returned to her seat.

Mae shot Candace a look of contempt and turned back to Tessa with concern, making Tessa feel even more backward than when she’d first boarded. She’d been an idiot to think she could slip off to this glittering world that her father dreamed about and Justin embodied. Her mother had been right, and this plane ride was probably some sort of divine punishment.

“Do you want something to watch or read?” Mae asked her.

Tessa shook her head. “I’ve got a reader.”

“You do?” Even Justin seemed surprised at that.

Tessa leaned over to her suitcase, welcoming the small distraction. She pulled out the beloved reader and handed it to Justin.

“EA tech,” Justin said, examining it. Even Mae leaned in for a closer look. “Where’d you get it?”

“Someone gave it to Papa,” said Tessa.

Mae sat back in her seat, no longer interested. “It’s out-of-date. Very out-of-date. They fold up now without hurting the screen. Can probably hold about three times as many books.”

Justin looked up from the device. “Voice commands?”

“On the newer models. About as good as the egos.”

“I don’t even think they bothered with voice on these.” He handed it back to Tessa, his expression as dismissive as Mae’s.

Tessa snatched it back, surprised at how irritated she suddenly felt. “You make it sound like it’s a stone tablet.”

“Not far off,” said Justin. He patted her arm. “We’ll get you a new one, a better one. You don’t need an EA castoff.”

“I like this one,” she insisted. She slipped it back in the suitcase, half-afraid Justin would throw it away right then.

“Because you don’t know any better,” he said.

A spot of turbulence suddenly made the plane lurch. It soon righted itself, but Tessa gasped and forgot all about readers. Justin nudged her arm. “Here, take this.”

When Tessa looked down, she saw he was holding out a tiny white pill to her in one hand. “What is it?”

“Something that’ll make you feel better. Just let it dissolve.” He shook a second pill out of the bottle. “Might as well take two. I won’t be able to bring them through customs anyway.”

Tessa took them without question. Mae looked disapproving, but it seemed to be more over Justin’s offering them, not Tessa’s accepting them. Mae tossed her long hair over one shoulder and returned to the front of the plane.

“Did you see that?” Justin grumbled. “That hair flip? Pretty sure castal girls have to learn that in school.”

“You’re obsessed.” It was the last thing Tessa managed to say before the pills suddenly seized hold and black curtains closed across her vision….

Someone was shaking her and saying her name. “Time to wake up. Come on, sweetie.”

Tessa blinked the world into focus, which was hard since it felt like someone had scraped her eyes with sandpaper. The wheels of her mind turned sluggishly, and for a few moments, she had no idea where she was. Slowly, she recalled the godforsaken airplane and saw that it was Justin who was waking her up.

“Is it time to refuel?” she asked. Her own voice sounded husky and far away.

“Been there, done that. You slept through it. Vancouver’s right outside your window.”

Tessa felt the plane tilt, and when she looked out, she could see that they were slowly circling over a body of blue-gray water. The sun was low, the sky dotted with a few stray clouds. A cluster of tall, shining buildings clung to the coast, like sentries of the water. They were pretty but not that different from some of the skyscrapers in Panama City—except for the fact that most of those Panamanian buildings had been abandoned and fallen into disrepair in the Decline.

From the way Justin stared at the city’s skyline, you would’ve thought they were flying to some golden city in the clouds that was populated by angels and unicorns. There was an emotion she’d never seen in his eyes, an ache that was radically different from the cynical air that usually followed him around.

Her teeth rattled when the plane landed, but it didn’t matter. She was on the ground again, back where she belonged. She’d never fly again if she could help it—unless, of course, she returned home. Maybe she could take a boat.

“Civilian airport,” Justin observed.

Mae heard him as she waited for them near the plane’s exit. “You need to go here to get your visa straightened out—and to get her authorized for chipping.”

Tessa jerked her head toward Justin. “I don’t want a chip.”

She knew about Gemman chipping, of course. It was one of their laws. Citizens were all tagged in their hands, allowing their government to keep track of their every move. Her mother said it was the mark of the beast and a sign of their pact with hell. It had never occurred to Tessa that she would have to get one too. Seeing her panic, Justin told her to worry about it later.