This was helped enormously by the fact that she was huddled in the corner, as far away from him as she could possibly get.
That was good. He didn’twantto be close to her. He didn’t want to feel her warmth radiating against his thigh, or hear the soft sounds of her breathing under the normal plane noises.
Kaz flexed his claws on the armrest between them and tried not to think about what the fuck he was going to do.
Had there ever been any true doubt about who she was, it was gone. If the burning skin of his hands wasn’t enough of a sign, then the retracted claws, the sharpened vision, the surge ofpowerin his veins would have been it.
Orcstook the kohlwhen they met their mates. The pigment in their hands and feet changed to an iridescent black and crept up their limbs slowly over time. One could tell how long an orc had been mated by how high their kohl reached. His grandparents had been mated for three hundred years, and so their kohl reached all the way to the cords of their necks.
Elves, on the other hand, only had the one outward sign of what they calledthe pull:the retraction of their razor-sharp claws.
Kaz, being the lucky bastard he was, now knew he’d getboth.
Don’t think about that now.
He couldn’t afford to be distracted by what-ifs, nor by the myriad of other consequences his choice would have — the permanent, life-changing kind of consequences he’d gone out of his way to avoid.
One problem at a time.
Using a neck stretch as cover to peer over his shoulder, he eyed the three hulking gargoyles sitting toward the back of the plane.
He had just over an hour to figure out how to get Atria off the plane safely. He had no plan beyond that first essential step, which was made all the more difficult by the fact that she didn’t fucking recognize him.
Usually he found the attention his looks brought to be more of an annoyance than anything else, but just then he found himself galled by the fact that he’d made no impression on her at all.
Sure, it was a huge wedding with hundreds of people, but he’d been part of the damn ceremony! She had to have seen him there by Theodore’s side, passing their offering to Margot’s family.
They’d madeeye contact,for pity’s sake.
Obviously, since she looked at him like she worried he was going to sharpen his claws on her soft human bones, he hadn’t made the impression he’d subconsciously hoped.
That meant that he had no legitimacy in her eyes. If he started to explain the situation to hernow,she had no reason to believe him and wouldn’t be able to call Margot to confirm he was telling the truth about his identity. And why should she believe him? If he looked even half as crazy as he felt, there was no way he would listen to him either.
Telling her when they were still in the air was a terrible idea. If she panicked, his cover would be blown — and in a confined space where plenty of innocent bystanders could be dragged into the ensuing violence.
So time passed at a crawl as he sat beside her, taking in more of her pheromones with every breath. Sweat began to dew on his palms beneath the gloves he usually never wore. His paranoia that the gargoyles would snatch her when he wasn’t looking kept his eyes roaming over the entire cabin, his instincts screaming about how close she was to danger. He needed to get her somewhere safe and dark and soft andaway.
And all the while, he couldn’t say one damn word to her.
It was the most uncomfortable plane ride of his life — and not just because he’d never traveled in coach before.
When the plane finally began its descent into Denver, one of the largest cities in the Orclind, he thought,Finally.
The wheels of the airplane bumped the tarmac, jolting all the passengers. Kaz tensed, but not because he was startled. He was ready togo.
His eyes strayed back to Atria, who had pulled away from the corner at the first sign that they were approaching the airport. The relief on her face was overwhelming. Though she didn’t seem as worried about landing as she did about take-off, he still leaned a little bit closer, looking for any sign that she might begin to hyperventilate again.
He narrowed his eyes, watching intently. Waiting. It would be that much harder to convince her to trust him and get her out safely if she was caught up in a panic attack.
When she gave no sign of imminent panic, he let out a huff of relief.
Now he just had to convince her that he wasn’t some maniac trying to abduct her.
The plane hummed as it gradually slowed. All around them, people began to chatter, and the sound of seat belts being unclipped filled the cabin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw great leathery wings twitch. The gargoyles were getting restless.
Now or never.
Kaz used the thumb claw-cap embedded in his glove to flick the tab on his seat belt. Free of the minor restriction, he twisted his torso to face the witch who was busy with her own belt. The latch gave way with aclinkand her eyes darted up. They went comically wide when she registered how close he’d come.
