We had packed the plane with fifteen shifters, our two sorcerers, Isaac, and four skyborn, Logan, Isabella, Marco, and myself. That’s all the private jet would hold or we would have brought more. Time was of the essence, and waiting hours for a bigger plane was out of the question. We were only an hour from landing in Ireland and running through all the possible scenarios, different ways in which we could take out Ardan. Logan looked at me. “You really think you can find Ardan’s castleagain?”
I nodded. “I … I’m pretty sure,yeah.”
We’d flown through those trees, then there was that water, and I’d driven the Jeep through the small town. I was pretty sure I could find it again by reverse engineering myroute.
Isaac leaned forward in his seat. “Minka will be meeting us to help find it again. Sheremembers.”
Minka!That fairy who ate mytooth!
I froze. “And exactly what type of payment will Minka be requiring? ’cause I’m not giving any moreteeth.”
Isaac smiled. “She’s happy with her new body, so she is doing it as a thank yougift.”
I shivered. I was going to meet my body double doppelganger. Again my tongue went to the place in my mouth where my tooth was growing back. It had nearly formed all the way, which was incredible and freaky. That went down in history as the weirdest thing I’d ever done. I’d done some weird stuff over the past few months, but giving my molar to a fairy so she could grow a body like mine topped the bizarrecharts.
Keegan stood from his place at the front of the plane with Danny and Eva, hanging up a satellite phone, and walked back to where Logan and Isat.
“I’ve just gotten word from Rufus that the pack has settled in safely at his house, and all is quiet there,” Keegan said. “Apparently, he’s obsessed with the skyborn baby. Has already given her a goldnecklace.”
I grinned. Rufus was kind of cool once you looked past his semi-hatred of Isaac. And he was generous with his wealth, which was nice, as that was how we’d gotten Eva’s friend to fly us on his private Learjet lastminute.
“Good,” Logan said distractedly. Nadine was like a little sister to him and I knew this was eating himup.
I looked across the aisle to see Gear sunken in his seat, staring out the window in a complete depression. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. He’d only just declared his love for Nadine and now shewas…
I tried not to think of what Ardan was doing to her in that metalcage.
My eyes were drawn to Isabella. She was talking in a low voice with her brother. They’d turned out to be invaluable in helping us take out the remaining sorcerers. They were good fliers and good with weapons. I was glad when they’d volunteered to come help bring back Nadine and finish offArdan.
Logan’s hand found mine and I squeezed it. We were going to get her back and end all of this once and for all. I just hoped I didn’t have to sacrifice myself in order to do it, because I really wanted more time with the man next tome.
Before I knew it, we were landing. I hadn’t slept at all. I was too jacked up on adrenaline and worried about Nadine. When the stewardess opened the door we all rushed out, taking our bags of weapons that we’d snuck on under an illusion spell withus.
The tarmac looked familiar. It was the same area, and side gate, we’d pulled into when they’d rescuedme.
“I wonder if they have their eye on the airports,” Keeganexclaimed.
Danny and Eva were walking ahead of us, yellow magic trailing from their fingertips. “Won’t matter. All they will see is what I want them to,” Eva called over hershoulder.
She must have had an illusion up. For all I knew we looked like a group of Japanese businessmen walking to a waitinglimo.
Instead we were walking toher.Minka.
She sat on the hood of the same Jeep as before, a tall lanky man beside her. A man I assumed was her boyfriend. Her large gossamer wings floated out behind her back. She wore tiny cut-off shorts and a short shirt that exposed herbelly.
“She just does that out in the open?” I whispered to Logan. If the pilot or anyone saw her wings, they would tripout.
Logan looked confused for a minute, then realization dawned on him. “Oh, the wings? Only we can see them because of our magic nature. She looks human to anyoneelse.”
Right.
“Sloane!” She waved and hopped off of the jeep’shood.
Oh God.She didn’t think we were friends now, right? Eat your tooth and become instantbesties?
Danny looked back at me and was white as a sheet. I was reminded of his description of her gobbling my tooth, and growing five feet. I shivered. Nightmarecity.
I waved at her and found myself checking out her body. I recognized her belly.Mybelly. That wasmybellybutton! I looked over to Logan, who knew my body pretty well by now, and he looked disturbedalso.
