Chapter 29

For the most part, we’d had a quiet trip, both of us lost in our own thoughts and enjoying the passing scenery. Forty-five minutes this lasted, until he glanced over at me with narrowed eyes. His gaze was assessing as it fixed on my face and I raised a brow in question; wanting to know what was on his mind but refusing to ask.

“Perhaps you should not get too invested in the thought of a life with Lord Riener.” He commented at his own pace, and I rested my head back against the headrest and watched him.

“Is that so?”

“I can see that you believe this intervention to be an act of jealousy…and in some ways I suppose am quite covetous, however I say this only to save you from your own heart.”

“And this is an intervention?” I questioned in a bored tone and he crossed his legs.

“It is.”

 I shook my head. “Protecting me from my own heart...wow snowflake, never knew you cared.” I drawled sarcastically and he continued to watch me, unfazed.

“I do not believe I know you well enough to care, I am simply offering useful advice. Despite the postponement of the mating ceremony, when the time is right it will be continued and Lord Riener will be forced to take a mate. The fact that he fancies you does not mean he has any real choice in the matter.”

He said the words a matter-of-factly. There was no malice, no scorn and no amusement. He said it as though he were simply talking about the weather. “Any other words of wisdom you want to lay on me?”

He actually seemed to think about it and my annoyance grew. “No, I believe that is as much as I am willing to offer at this moment.”

I shook my head and turned away; my mood soured.  Maybe taking him along hadn’t been the best idea after all.

I ignored him for the rest of the ride, which wasn’t really hard since he didn’t exactly seek out conversation. His eyes were mostly glued to the window when we finally reached human civilization, and I took the time to let my mind drift while I had the chance.

Not surprisingly, I thought about Rien and how life with him had been ever since I’d decided to somehow make this work, and even the possibilities scared me shitless. He hadn’t really changed much in the years we’d been apart, except that , if it were even possible, he was more attentive, far more willing to compromise and clearly desperate for me to forgive him.

He was the same Rien, it was only me who had changed. I didn’t need his constant protection like I used to. I was now a realist rather than an optimist…the time for dreaming had already passed, and now I had an independent mind, rather than needing to defer to him on everything.

Rien didn’t get that though. He saw me as the same kid who used to trail behind him and treat his every word like the gospel and I think that in some ways, he wanted that kid back.  I propped my chin in my palm and watched the buildings disappear.

It was crazy how the mind worked, for years I’d managed without him. I’d bitched and I’d moaned, but in the end I had managed to suck it up and move on and just a little over a month he was back in my life and all that time we’d spent apart just went through window.

After years of thinking I was better off, here I was missing him after having left his side for a measly forty-five minutes.  I glanced down at the screen of my phone then shoved it into my pocket so I wouldn’t be tempted to look yet again.

 My mind and my body fought against logic and it seemed logic was forever losing. Some nights I woke up shaking, my mind never refuting the possibility of a repeat of the last five years, and every time I thought about it, my fear grew.

A man shouldn’t have to live this way. I spent five years of my life learning to be tough and one look, one touch and one thought had me terrified. I swallowed against the dryness of my throat and ran a hand over my face.

When I glanced up again, I noticed we’d finally arrived at the makeshift tarmac. Just a short distance away the jet was stationary; a black carpet having been rolled out from the foot of the stairway onto the asphalt. I shook my head. Leave it to Rien to add a little flare to a simple plane ride.

I shook my head and straightened in my seat. When the car finally came to a stop, I hopped out, while snowflake sat waiting like the entitled ass he was, for his own door to be opened. Immediately I went to the trunk to retrieve my bag, after which I struggled with the drudge on site, who practically ripped it from my hands so that he could deposit it onto the plane himself.

All that strength, all that potential, wasted on servitude.

“Shall we go?” Christophe asked when he came to a stop by my side and with a quick look around and a shrug, I climbed the stairs of the aircraft and lowered myself into the first available leather seat I spotted.

Christophe, who chose to sit some distance away from me, lowered himself more gracefully into his own seat. I watched with some detachment as he gathered his stark-white robes carefully in his hands, then let it fan out around him as he sat, the rich fabric spilling over onto the seats on either side of him.

When he was settled, he crossed his legs, raised a hand and snapped his fingers. A drudge immediately came rushing to his side and with a shake of my head, I pulled down the window shade and closed my eyes, blocking them out, if only for a while.

 It was only when I woke much later that I realized I’d fallen asleep. I sat up and ran a hand over my face, then opened the window shade and squinted against the almost blinding sunlight. When I glanced away, I was surprised to see Christophe sitting in the seat beside me, a table before him with a glass of what I was certain wasn’t actually red wine and a thermos sitting next to it.

“You brought a thermos of blood?” I asked with raised brows and it was the first time I noticed just how hard he gripped the arms of his own chair. The frames where his fingers clutched were crushed out of shape and his breathing was too deep and raspy to be unconscious.

“You all right?”

He raised a chin as if in defiance.

“I brought a few actually. Father had the drudges prepare me a number of my favorite blood formulas to take on this trip. When he learned that I had been given the esteemed task of ensuring your safety by none other than Lord Rien, he was quiet proud.” He said with a smile and I nodded slowly.

“I’m sure he was.”

I looked down once again at the open thermos and the untouched glass of blood, then back at him.

“You planning on damaging all the chairs beyond repair or just this one?” I asked, gesturing to the ground-up armrest.

He released it slowly, lifting the fingers on each hand one by one until it was free from his grasp.

“I do not understand why we had to travel in this metal contraption. Why could we not have continued on our journey in the car?” he complained.

“It would take us days to get there in the car…this gets us there in a few hours.”

Who would have thought, the big, strong bloodsucker was afraid of flying.

“If it makes you feel any better, if we go down, you have a better chance of surviving than I do.”

He cut me a look that I couldn’t hope to understand and folded his arms before him.

“It is not death that I fear, but the lack of control.” He explained. “I am accustomed to feeling the earth beneath my feet. Now all I feel is metal and wind. It is…disconcerting.”

“Uhuh.”

“If this thing were to shatter, I would simply float away, unable to right myself until I made impact with the dirt. I hate to even imagine such a dreadful feeling.” He continued.

“Good day, Lord Christophe, Master Tony.” The pilot’s voice sounded over the intercom. “ I fear we’ll be experiencing some turbulence up ahead. I ask that you remain in your seats and keep your belts fastened until I give you the go-ahead to do otherwise. We should be arriving within the hour, where I expect fair skies and a smooth landing. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your flight.” The pilot concluded and Christophe gripped the seat once more; his body tense.

“Why must he constantly choose to strike up conversation with us? Should he not be focused on steering this stinking metal beast?” he cursed.

“You need to calm down.” I told him and he gritted his teeth.

“And you need to cease your speaking so that I may concentrate!” He hissed.

“Concentrate on what?”

“On. Calming. Down” he responded through clenched teeth.

I opened my mouth to offer a retort and thought better of it.

Why, oh why did I take him with me?

                                    AUTHOR'S NOTES

EXTEMELY SHORT CHAPTER..I KNOW, DON'T BITE MY HEAD OFF...MY ASS IS BUSY..BUT I'M TRYING..I PROMISE <3