Page 37 of Gemini Queen
But the attack I’m expecting doesn’t materialize. A pretty girl with olive eyes and sorrel skin, buttoned neatly into the requisite uniform topped off with an anxious expression, rushes right past me to corner Neo. “Crikey, cobber, where you been? Master Aries has been looking for you all over.”
And even though I’ve got a score to settle with Lucius Aries for his snatch-and-grab and another one for knocking me out and spoiling my grand entrance, I can’t help feeling a little bit relieved to know he’s somewhere close.
Which is fucked up. Neither Lucius nor Ronin are my friends in this situation. They’re the whole reason I’m here.
Neo glances at me and hesitates. “Uh, thanks, Dez. Do you know if he needs to see me right away?”
“Yeah, he’s in his office. But no worries.” The girl, who’s apparently named Dez, also glances my way and offers a tentative smile. “I’ll make sure Zara gets fed and finds her first class, yeah?”
Neo still seems reluctant to go, and frankly I’m sorry to see the back of him. But he can’t always be with me. I have to face down the lions on my own, and it’s better to do it my way and on my terms. So I assume a power pose, hands on hips and legs spread, and don’t bother to lower my voice the way these two just did.
“You go right ahead wherever, Neo. I got this.” My voice echoes through the nave, and I can feel heads turn.
“All right, babe.” He hovers awkwardly for a sec, and it’s awkward for me too, because he probably wants to kiss me goodbye or something, but I’m determined not to show weakness.
So I make it easy for both of us by waving a casual goodbye and giving him my back. It’s a dismissal I sense he’s not crazy about, and he’s probably going to say something about it later.
But, hello, we’re in the middle of breaking up, remember?
Finally he gets the message and goes.
There’s a staircase plunging right down into the floor, and that’s the one he takes. It looks like the crypt in a vampire movie, and seeing it swallow him gives me the creeps, but I deliberately don’t linger on it.
Instead, I focus all my attention on the girl. Neo’s friend.
She’s staring at me from five-and-a-half feet away like she’s expecting me to summon lightning and blow the place up before I’ve had my sandwich or something. That’s the Gemini reputation preceding me right there.
So I dredge up a smile and stick out my hand. “Hey, I’m Zara. You’re Dez?”
“Desdemona, yeah. But everyone calls me Dez.” She has a definite Down-Under accent and a super sweet smile that animates her whole face, so it’s easy to warm to her, especially since Neo told me Dez is a member of my court.
Not that I have a court, since I’m not doing the whole queen thing. But the point is, he seems to think I can trust her.
“You can,” she says casually, over our handshake. “Trust me, I mean.”
Which officially makes the Down-Under girl named Dez one more Icarus witch who can read my mind. Which is just peachy.
Instead of being offended by my runaway train of thought like I halfway expect, Dez shoots me a wry grin. “You’ll get used to it, yeah? Living with telepaths.”
“I highly doubt it.” Feeling disgruntled, I hoist my backpack into an empty niche in the cupboard. “Just answer me this. Do you even want to be in this so-called court I’m supposed to have?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She gives me a funny look. “Being a member of the queen’s court’s a major deal. Gives us all social status, not only here, but across the whole witching world. Yeah, you’ll pick up other courtiers eventually, but we’re the first, just because we share your roof, and that makes us yours for life. We all lucked out when Master Aries landed you for Villa Augustus.”
“Huh.” It blows my mind to think anyone feels lucky to have landed me, with my fucked-up history and all my Gemini baggage, as a housemate. Especially for life. “Honestly? I know the queen’s supposed to have a court, but I don’t even know what that means.”
Not to mention the biggie: I don’t actually know what it means to be queen.
Dez flashes one of her sweet smiles. “No worries, cobber. The profs will explain the queen’s role and all that bit. As for what it means for me to be in your court? That’s up to you and me to figure out.”
“I honestly don’t have a clue.” Feeling awkward, I give a little shrug. “For now? Maybe we can just be, you know, friends?”
“Works for me.” Easy with that whole concept in a way I envy, my new courtier hitches one shoulder in a graceful shrug. “You hungry at all? You should definitely eat now if you are, because we’ve only got about twenty ticks till the afternoon bell.”
“Safe to say I can eat,” I agree, because I actually think the last bite of anything I put in my body was that popcorn at Wang’s party, which feels like a lifetime ago. My stomach was growling all the way down the hill, but now that I’m trapped in here with these pit vipers, my appetite has taken a nosedive.
Still, who knows when they’ll feed us again? I need to keep my strength up if I’m going to suss out a way off this rock.
“Lead on.” I wave her before me with a friendly smile. “Anything in particular on the menu you’d recommend—?”
