Sato
Princess, please! Wait until I arrive. I should at least inspect the aircraft and verify the pilot’s credentials.
Kaori
Too late, we’re already airborne. I’ll share my location though. That way you can still track me.
The Princess Sorahinohas shared her location with you.
I add a moment later:
Kaori
I won’t say anything to the IHA about the “lapse in security” if you don’t.
Sato
As you wish, ma’am.
The cabin humswith a steady vibration as the helicopter lifts off. Through the curved glass, London unfurls beneath us. Its streets glow in threads of gold. The Thames carves a silver path straight through its heart.I’ve seen the city in photographs, in paintings, in films, but from up here, it feelsmagical.
Theo sits beside me. His shoulder brushes against mine every time the aircraft banks slightly, sending a small jolt zipping up my arm. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before we have enough electricity to power the helicopter.
He leans forward, pointing out the landmarks below. “That’s the London Eye just there, and Tower Bridge beyond it,” he says, his voice crackling through the headset.
I follow his finger. “It’s even more beautiful than I remember,” I murmur.
He glances over, and even through the dim blue glow of the cabin, I can see his faint smile. “That’s the thing about London. She’s always beautiful, but you don’t always see it right away.”
“She, huh?” I tease, tilting my head toward him. “Should I be jealous?”
He chuckles, the sound vibrating in my ears through the comms. “There’s no competition, Kaori. You’re safe.”
We fly farther east, and he gestures again. “We’re approaching Greenwich now. That’s the Royal Observatory up there.”
I press closer to the window, eyes wide. “So that’s where time starts,” I whisper. “The Prime Meridian.”
“That’s the one,” he says.
“It’s kind of poetic, isn’t it?” I say, turning back to him with a lopsided grin. “Us flying over the line where time begins. It’s like we’re time travelers. Or at least, we’re currently in the most expensive way possible to avoid being late for dinner.”
He laughs in agreement.
Outside, the golden web of London has dissolved into the deep, velvet shadows of the countryside.Rolling fields and dense patches of woodland blur together beneath us. I narrow my eyes, trying to make out any sign of civilization through the dark. “Just what do you have planned for us, Theo?”
This is looking less like a dinner date and more like the beginning of a thriller movie. Darn it, Leon. Why did I let him get inside my head? At least I doubt we’ll see any twins.
“You’ll see,” Theo says, that infuriatingly soft smile audible in his voice. “Only a few more minutes. We’re nearly there.”
On cue, the helicopter tilts forward and begins its descent, gliding lower over a vast stretch of open grass. A double row of small amber ground lights glow to life, marking a landing path that leads toward a grand silhouette in the distance.
The skids touch down with a gentle bump, and the roar of the rotors begins to wind down, the blades slicing slower and slower through the air until they finally cut off.
“Welcome to Ravensbridge Place,” Theo says.
Cool night air rushes in as the cabin door opens, carrying the scent of damp grass and river water. We step out and remove our headsets. A Georgian manor house sits a short walk away.
Light glows through the tall windows, casting warm rectangles across the lawn. Ivy climbs the pale stone walls. The silhouettes of ancient oaks frame the property on both sides.
