Then We Fly

by Rebecca Salas

  “Because, if people see that I have taken an interest in you, they will take an active interest in you, and as you no doubt remember from your experience with my brother, that isn’t always a good thing. I would hate for you to draw attention that might endanger you. Going before the king at all will doubtless draw some level of unwanted attention.”

  “I see.” I zipped up the neatly organized bag. “Thanks for your help and it sounds like you’re right. You should stay here. I’ve seen too many dangerous people here. I’d really like to avoid any more.”

  “I understand.” His golden blond hair swept down into his green eyes and I had to resist the urge to brush it aside. How many times would I imagine myself touching his hair? I stretched my fingers as if it could release the imagined sensation. His mouth turned up again into that cocky smile that used to be so frequent on his face. The confidence that used to be his constant companion seemed to have returned for the moment. “You know, Cora,” he took a step closer to me, “I can still help you, even from a distance. In my way, if you want.” He lifted a hand, taking the liberty I had denied myself and brushing my hair back, allowing his fingers to slide briefly through it before pulling away. “You have amazing abilities, Cora, if you ever need me, I would be more than happy to be pulled into one of your dreams. You’re a frequent part of mine.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I could feel myself blushing and was glad that the words had come out coherently. It had been so long since he had behaved with confidence around me. He took a step back, reaching down for my hand and drawing it up slowly to his lips, bowing slightly. He held his posture there, only his eyes turning up to mine as he spoke. His hair fell further into his face and I was left appreciating his beauty.

  “Travel safely. I look forward to your return, Cora.” My name was a sentence of its own on his lips. In a smooth motion he stood, turned, and gracefully left the room.

  Once I had reasonably regained my composure, I left the room myself. Duffel bag in hand, in search of Dylan. If I was going away for a few days, I should let him know before I go.

  Walking toward his room I anxiously hoped that I could find him quickly. I only had a few minutes until I was supposed to be meeting Fynn. When I arrived, Dylan wasn’t in his room and I was out of time to look for him any further. I would have to tell him over text. It was so impersonal, I worried how disappointed he would be. I headed briskly to the entrance where Fynn had told me to meet him. Turning the last corner, and just in sight of the entrance I found Zoya and Shea. I was glad to see her and hoped that she could relay my message to Dylan. Zoya walked arm in arm with Shea, beaming as she looked up at him.

  “Cora!” Her smile was infectious as she reached out to hug me. She pulled back, looking with curiosity at my bag. “Where are you off to?”

  “I…”

  “It’s a surprise!” Fynn interjected as he wrapped one arm around my waist. She won’t know until we get there, just she and I.” He looked down at me with mischief twinkling in his eyes. My train of thought was completely lost. He continued to hold me tight at his side as he winked at me. My stomach began to flutter. “We’ll see you guys when we get back.” Fynn began to lead me gently toward the exit as I tried to regain my train of thought.

  “Have fun!” Zoya began to wave to me. “Make good choices!”

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  Chapter Six

  As we walked out through the castle doors Fynn’s hold relaxed and my head cleared. His expression no longer looked mischievous, in fact, he looked upset.

  “What was that about?” I asked.

  “The less people who know where we’re headed, the better.”

  “I could have asked Zoya to keep it to herself. I was going to have her tell Dylan for me. And anyway, isn’t the king basically her stepfather or something like that?”

  “Give Dylan a call if you need to, but don’t give him any details. The less he knows the better for him. I’m doing my best to keep this out of the public eye, but you’re already being watched. Hopefully, once you’ve spoken with King Byron, I’ll be able to tell you more, but that’s up to him.” Fynn held my hand as we walked the pathways leading out to the dock. There at the end was a large and elegant looking yacht along with some other smaller boats.

  “Oran said I was going to Ellinghead Isle, but I don’t actually know where that is. How far are we going?”

  “Once we get to the airport it will be an eight-hour flight and then a few hours by boat. It will be night by the time we arrive. Ellinghead Isle is in the Arabian Sea.”

  “Do I need a passport for this?”

  “All taken care of.” He held my hand as we climbed the small set of stairs up from the dock onto the yacht. The back deck was covered from the sun by a shade with a set of gray couches wrapping around the space. The yacht was occupied by a small staff dressed in blue and white uniforms bustling around. A man came to take our bags and a petite blonde woman walked up to Fynn.

  “We’re ready to depart when you are Mr. Astley.” Her manner was professional and direct. And I wondered if I had ever heard his last name before.

  “We’re ready.” With a nod she turned and walked briskly away.

  In a moment the low hum of the boat’s engine began, and we pulled out to sea. The staff disappeared into different parts of the massive yacht and Fynn and I were left alone on the shade covered deck. Fynn walked a few steps and sat comfortably on a long stretch of couch. I followed his example and set beside him, admiring the sleek boat.

  “We won’t be on board for too long, merely a few hours until we reach the port at St. Martin. From there we’ll be flying.”

  The same blonde woman from before appeared at my side.

  “Can I get you anything to drink, Mr. Astley?”

  “I’ll be fine, thank you. Cora?” With his word she turned and waited on me with equal attention.

  “Anything for you Miss Reed?”

  “Water would be fine. Thank you.”

  It was a surreal moment, to be treated with such formality in such an elegant setting. As if I belonged there. I was sure that I didn’t. As we began to pick up speed, the island began to fade into the distance. I turned to watch it as it receded behind us. The sky was clear, and I could feel a breeze pick up, pushing us forward to our destination. From the corner of my eye I could see Fynn begin to smile.

  “What?”

  “Oran. He’s trying to speed us up. You know, I don’t think he’s entirely comfortable with us being alone for any length of time.” At that, he reached out a tanned hand and held mine, but with hesitation.

  “You are ok with all of this, right Cora? I’m trying to do what’s best for everyone, and I know you didn’t really have much of a choice. You’ve been so quiet all morning.”

  “I’m alright, Fynn. This is just another adventure, right? New places to go and people to see. Hopefully none of these people want to kill me or eat my memories.” With those words I realized that I was annoyed with him. I thought I was past whatever had happened in that cave, and I was honestly still pretty fuzzy about the details. But thinking about it now, I was annoyed at him. Of everything that happened, the main piece that stuck out in my mind was an image of Fynn kissing that creature.

  Fynn reached out to rub his thumbs across each of my eyebrows.

  “Why are you’re eyebrows so angry then?”

  My dumb over expressive face. I had never been good at hiding my thoughts, and here they were again painted plainly across my forehead.

  “They might be holding onto things I’ve told them to let go of.”

  “You’re eyebrows?”

  “Yes, they’re very stubborn like that.”

  “I see. And what are they holding on to?”

  “Unpleasant mental images.”

  “Any chance your eyebrows and your mouth want to work together to clear this up?”

  “My mouth has a mind of its own and will not cooperate.”
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br />   “Is that so?” His eyes lingered on my lips mischievously, but then his smirk was gone, and he was suddenly more serious. “Please, Cora. If there is something that’s upsetting you, I hope that you would tell me. I’m just trying to do the right thing here.”

  “Why’d you let her kiss you?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could pull them back, and Fynn’s concerned face became confused. “That woman, thing, in the cave. Why?”

  “Gloria. That was…” he paused, “A hazard of my profession.”

  “I didn’t know you were a prostitute.” Crap. What had I just said? I had meant it to be some sort of joke to lighten the moment, but my tone was off, and the words didn’t sound like a joke, but rather an accusation. I clenched my hands, trying to stop myself from covering my own foolish mouth. Where had my filter gone? I wondered at how to try and fix what I’d done. I looked into Fynn’s face afraid of what response he would have as I still desperately searched my mind for the right words to fix my mistake.

  “I told you I have secrets, Cora. I told you there were things I couldn’t tell or explain to you. If you were unhappy with that you should have said something.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t explain myself to you. Whether I want to or not.”

  His face looked pained as he stood up and briskly walked through the cabin doors. My attempts to call him back were all stuck in my throat, building up like a ball of fire, burning and drying as tears pricked the edges of my eyes. What just happened? I fought with myself over whether or not I should get up and follow him, apologize and explain myself. But what did I have to explain? I wasn’t the one off making out with other people without explaining myself. I was the one caught in a spider’s web trying not to be eaten. But he had helped to save me from her. The look of pain on his face was burned in my mind, and my throat continued to tighten until I could hardly manage to croak out a response when the blonde woman brought me a glass of water.

  “Thank you. What was your name?”

  “I’m Tess. Was there anything else that I could get for you Miss Reed? We won’t even be an hour until we arrive, but I would be happy to direct the cook to prepare a meal, if you were interested.” Her manner was kind, and she carefully avoided looking into my reddened eyes.

  “I didn’t have breakfast this morning.”

  “We are fully stocked and can prepare almost any breakfast you would like.”

  “Oatmeal?” At the castle the breakfasts had always been fancy and delicious, but I missed a simple bowl of oatmeal. Tess smiled at my choice.

  “Very well, ma’am.” She turned and disappeared out of sight.

  I pulled out my cell phone. I had full service which seemed inexplicable out here at sea, but I took the moment to text Dylan.

  Off adventuring with Fynn for a few days. :) Probably won’t have cell service. Stay out of trouble.

  Dylan’s reply was quick.

  Me? Trouble? Says the girl who’s “off adventuring” for a few days. You stay out of trouble. :P

  At least that was taken care of. And it had been easier to text him than to try to explain things I didn’t fully understand in person. I sat for a moment, enjoying the breeze and the waves. Not far in the distance a pod of dolphins jumped playfully, nearly keeping pace with us. The tinted glass door to the cabin area slid open. Fynn walked through, carrying a tray with my bowl of oatmeal and a variety of toppings to add in. Even the oatmeal with these people was fancy. He gently placed the tray on the small table at my side.

  “I’m sorry, Cora. I shouldn’t have walked off. You shouldn’t be afraid the tell me your opinions. Even if they aren’t in my favor.”

  “No, Fynn.” I reached out and touched his fingertips. “It was a stupid thing to say. I didn’t mean it. I was feeling jealous.”

  Fynn scrunched up his eyebrows and sat next to me once more.

  “You have no need to be jealous. I know you’d like more explanation than that, and I’m hoping that very soon I will be in a position to give you more, but for now, I hope you can trust me.”

  “I do trust you. It’s the little sea whores I don’t trust.”

  Fynn snorted a laugh.

  “Eat your breakfast. It’s going to be a long day.”

  The oatmeal really was quite good and reminded me of home. Within a few minutes of finishing the boat was pulling into dock with a much larger island than where I had been living on for the past year. St. Martin’s, Fynn had said. It held the nearest airport for us.

  A dark car waited for us in the parking lot and in no time Fynn and I were seated in the back being driven to the small airport. The car didn’t pull up to the main terminal but went off around it to one side where it drove up to a private hangar. We pulled up to where a sleek looking jet was waiting with its stairway open for us. A small group of people bustled around, asking Fynn brief questions about readiness, offering refreshments and ushering us aboard the private jet.

  Inside there was enough room for maybe twelve people, but as far as I could tell we were the only passengers. Wide, brown leather seats sat angled in pairs along each side. I was in awe of the whole situation. I shouldn’t be surprised, I was dealing with a king, but where did a kingdom of mythical creatures get so much money?

  I sat excitedly in the large leather chair as I watched out the window as the plane taxied and then gained speed before taking off into the air. I had only been on an airplane a handful of times, but I was still in awe of the exhilaration as the plane sped up before taking to the sky.

  “Try to rest if you can, Cora. This is going to be a long flight and it will be the middle of the night when we arrive.”

  “Where are we landing?”

  “Abu Dhabi. It’s about an 8-hour flight provided there are good winds, and I suspect the winds will be unusually favorable.”

  “Abu Dhabi? I’ve never been to the middle east. Have you? What’s it like?”

  “It’s like standing in an oven. Or at least that’s what I imagine an oven would feel like blowing in your face.”

  While the jet was comfortable and I could walk around as I pleased, I couldn’t seem to settle down. I paced for a while. I sat, drumming my fingers. Thoughts of the mystery that lay ahead were swimming through my mind. Should I worry? Oran seemed concerned. Bad and worse scenarios played around in my mind until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Fynn, would you do me a favor?”

  “What do you need?” He looked up at me from a laptop that laid on the table across from where he sat calmly, as he had been this whole time.

  “Would you knock me out?”

  “Come again?” Fynn’s mouth turned up in a smile in his confusion. And I realized that I didn’t know if the people running this jet were aware of Fynn’s abilities. I sat down next to Fynn and leaned in, speaking more softly as I watched the stewardess to see if she had reacted to my unusual request.

  “Would you sing me to sleep. I’m stressing out.”

  “Oh! Of course. The only thing is the crew aren’t mer. If they were to hear me, even with me directing my efforts to just you, they might get a bit sleepy as well.”

  “Oh.” I hadn’t thought about that.

  “It’s alright, lean your head here on my shoulder and I will hum quietly. Will that work for you? Once your asleep I can shift you into a more comfortable position.”

  “Yea, that’s- that’s fine.” Fynn leaned toward me in his chair and opened his arm inviting me to lean in. My anxiety was replaced with butterflies. There was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep like this. Still, I wasn’t going to turn down the pleasant distraction.

  Once I was comfortably curled up on the chair next to Fynn, my head resting on his shoulder, he began to hum. It was almost inaudible at first, and as it picked up volume, I instinctively looked forward to the stewardess. She had been busying herself with some glasses at the back but seemed to feel a sudden need to sit while she worked.

  “Too loud.” I cautioned Fynn. Looking up I saw his face bre
ak open into a smile, but he hummed somewhat more softly. I closed my eyes and willed myself to be swayed by the tune and in a moment, I was gone. Riding the waves of my dreams.

  Dylan

  I hoped that no one would notice the sheet that I had snatched out of what appeared to be an empty room. Flicking a switch, the screen I had rigged out of the sheet glowed with the light of the projector. Behind me, Fayre gasped and I smiled. She clapped her hands excitedly as I pressed play and the movie she had liked from her one trip to the theater in the castle forever ago began to play.

  We sat in the same lagoon that we had visited earlier in the week, now at dusk, and rigged up with my makeshift screen on the cliff wall and projector carefully propped on a boulder. Fayre had spoken fondly of her one and only trip to the castle and the time we spent watching movies, and if I was honest, I was in the mood for a good movie night too.

  Initially I had considered trying to bring her, fin and all, into the castle theater to watch form there. The more I had tried to plan, the more complicated it had become, until I gave up that plan entirely and settled on this instead. This was working out much better than my first plan ever could have.

  I reached up to the bowls of snacks that were perched on the boulder behind us and handed one over to Fayre.

  “Ooh! The little jellyfish eggs!” She popped a candy into her mouth.

  “Jellybeans.” I corrected.

  “Right. I love these!” She said as she ate another.

  “I figured since I couldn’t bring you into the theater, I would bring the theater to you.” She smiled enthusiastically and turned to watch the movie playing on the screen. I enjoyed my time with her, and her joy in things that I took for granted.

  I thought about home and all the things I had taken for granted there. I couldn’t stay here forever, I wanted to go back to my life and continue with the plans I had made before we had come here, but I was waiting for Cora to be ready, even if she was so wrapped up in her own drama that she had been paying little attention to me.