Page 175 of Aviatrix

“I…” I start, but freeze when I look up at him. His green eyes are so bright I can’t get the words out.

Just say it. I love you.

The corner of his mouth quirks up. “I do, too, Quay.”

Tears prick at my eyes, but I will them away. “You do?”

He cups my cheek in his hand. “I always have.”

It hurts. It hurts that this is what we’re left with. A quiet moment before we risk our lives.

“When this is all over,” I say, swallowing hard, “I want a simple life. With you.”

He smiles, and it steals every breath from my lungs. “I don’t know if we’re built for simple.”

“Maybe not,” I admit, trying to smile, “but a little white farmhouse in the middle of nowhere? That’s what I want.”

Eli nods. “If we make it out of this alive, we’ll buy that farmhouse.”

“Right next to Aunt Lise and Uncle Rod?” I ask.

“Right next to Aunt Lise and Uncle Rod,” he repeats.

I reach for him, rising on my toes. He kisses me, and it’s nothing like what happened in that office, on that desk.

The kiss is a soft promise and over too soon.

“You’ll be flying Stealth Mode alone today,” Eli tells me. “If we’re attacked, you divert. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Quay.” His brow lifts.

“I’ll divert if I can’t save lives,” I rephrase. “I promise.”

Eli lets out a long exhale, like he knows arguing is pointless.

He kisses me again, and I can feel it in every part of him. His body doesn’t want to leave. Doesn’t want to risk me.

He lets me go. Because Eli and I are more alike than different. We’ll both break every rule to save lives.

And that’s why I love him. Because he’s never caged me in. He’s always known how to push me toward my power, even when I’m afraid to reach for it.

VAL takes off so fast the G-force shoves me back in the seat. I hold on tight, trying not to let the tears in my eyes fall.

But it’s no use. I’m allowed one human moment in the middle of this alien chaos.

One moment to grieve the life I thought I’d be living. The father I lost. The mother who changed after he was gone. The relationship that broke me. The one that’s rebuilding me.

Then, I wipe the tears away and take a sobering breath. 26,000 lives are on the line. I know we won’t save them all, but we’ll try.

“Phantom,” Gary’s beckons through the radio. “You ready to show us how you got that record?”

“Fastest transatlantic flight?” Eli replies, smug. “Challenge accepted.”

I shake my head. We’re flying straight into another alien attack and they’re talking about records?

Actually... maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe we should talk about our accolades. About why we love flying. How it shaped us into the people we are.