Glasses clinked together, the tray of some five or six shot glasses disappearing as Alice chucked them all down her throat one after the other, letting them down with a satisfied breath. She forgot how much she missed that feeling, her cheeks flushing with warmth.

“You’re really throwing those back, Morino,” Eric said.

She slammed the last glass down.

“Damn right, I am.” She waved for another round, the serving guy giving each glass a quick refill. “Finally got my friggin’ spark back. Time to celebrate!”

The minute he stepped back she was throwing back shots with reckless abandon, fists pumping in the air. Too bad neither Eric nor Uncle Brown joined her in. Or any of the six armed guards Dad had sent to make sure she didn’t go overboard. She had just been put on probation, after all.

With his sudden takeover of the PIB, Dad had made things a little more annoying what with armed soldiers now rummaging around the precinct, but she could handle that sort of stuff. She’d done so her whole life. So even with him in charge she made a point to keep going on her PIB missions. To keep patrolling the city, gaining more rep with the other mages in the process. To the point that even Dad had noticed, though he still gave her the cold shoulder every time they saw each other.

The last time they spoke was when he agreed to loosen the hold on her powers. Not so much that she could throw out spells like she used to, but that she could at least feel some of her holy magic again. Enough to form sparkles on her fingertips. To light up a room a few seconds. According to Uncle Brown, it was something they’d been negotiating for a while.

He may not say it directly, but the Senator’s always keeping an eye on you. For better or worse.

That’s what he’d said. And she still wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but right now she was happy enough to brush that all aside. She could get bogged down in the daddy-daughter drama some other night. Today, it was her first night on the town as a semi-free mage. And she was gonna spend it right! She’d even busted out her old party dress, though it turned out Eric was a much better dancer than she was. The friggin’ traitor.

She slammed another glass down.

“Y’know, only one of us has to drive tonight,” Alice says, nudging her onlookers. “C’mon. Let’s go shot for shot. I’ll submit to sobriety again after.”

She looked around at them. Though convincing them to go bar dancing was one thing, having an impromptu drinking contest was a herculean challenge. Especially considering most of them were here for chaperoning purposes.

Fortunately, there was one guard who rose to the challenge. And to her surprise, he was joined by Eric, who tried to play it off in his usual way.

“If it’ll get you to calm down, I suppose I’ll indulge you,” he said, loosing his tie.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

She grinned, immediately looking to Uncle Brown to referee. He sighed, but he did oblige, keeping score while the serving guy brought out six shots for each of them. Oh, the poor unfortunate fools. Alice leaning forward, making sure to look both her opponents in the eye while she went to work on her drinks.

It took only four shots before Eric was down for the count. Alice burst into laughter, but Uncle Brown put a damper on things at that point.

“Alright alright,” he said. “Let’s call it quits for now, Ally. You may have an immortal liver, but you’re still on probation.”

She deflated, her and the guard both on their sixth shot. They hadn’t even killed her brain cells yet. And she could still walk fine enough, her motor skills only slightly off than usual. But one look at Eric told her it was probably better to listen to reason. The man would be nesting a headache in the morning so someone had to warn his wife.

“Fine fine,” she said. “C’mon, you.”

She slung one of Eric’s arm’s over her shoulder, helping him back up.

“Let’s get the baby back to bed before he keels over.”

That earned her a grumble from her partner.

***

Eric’s house was a bit of a drive, but she’d been to it enough times to know the route by heart. And her guards by extension. She needed only send Sarah a quick text and she was already at the door waiting, the blonde pinching her forehead at the sight of them carrying her husband.

“How many?” she asked.

“Only four,” Alice said, stepping inside. “Next time, you’re coming so I get a real challenge.”

“I do that and he’d probably be puking by the end of the night.”

Alice snickered. Though she’d only ever heard the stories from Eric, she’d always been a little curious. Who wouldn’t wanna drink a school teach under the table? It was probably somewhere on her bucket list.

Sarah took Eric’s other arm, both leading him upstairs while the guards trailed behind. They’d offered to help, but she declined seeing as this was partially her fault and all. Moving past Beth’s room, she let Sarah take over to tuck the man into bed. Despite being passed out and more than likely on his way to a massive hangover, the man at least looked somewhat peaceful. Content even. Alice couldn’t help but smile at the drunkard.

“When he wakes up, tell him he’s an idiot for stepping to me,” she said. “Dumbass was pretty fun to party with, though.”

“Did you get him dance?”

Alice opened her phone, showing off the video she’d taken of the whole event. And of Eric clearing a stage so he could freestyle. Sarah smirked.

“Send it to me. I wanna show it to him when he wakes up.”

“Done and done.”

Alice grinned evilly. What better way to end the night than with a bit of posterity for the wife?

With her duty completed, she offered one last farewell to the two before returning to her guards waiting outside the door. Sarah always made it a point that the 'sentries' had to stay outside the bedrooms. Of which they were fine with obliging so long as they had direct sight to Alice.

“C’mon,” she said. “Let’s head back.”

They collectively agreed, the concession finally making their way back to the car. All things considered, it was the best party she’d had in a while.