“Yes. The one. You’re Prince Charming. You’re Todd.”
Her mouth flopped open. Probably wasn’t pretty, but holy freaking cow bat man, how had she done that? “I didn’t say that--”
“Out loud?” Pandora lifted a pencil thin brow. “You didn’t have to. I told you, I’m good at what I do.”
Heart thudding almost painfully in her chest, Paz’s left leg began to bounce up and down. So many different reasons why that was a cracked up idea floated through her mind.
Pandora pressed her lips into a thin line. “Stop over thinking this, Paz…”
“Wait?” She held up a hand. “How do you know my name? I didn’t tell you--”
She waved her hand. “You need to go. He needs you, he’s waiting. And he doesn’t have much time left.”
“Alaska?” Her voice sounded strained. Why was she even listening to this woman? This was so stupid. Totally dumb. And yet… “Where in Alaska?”
“Book a flight to Anchorage.” Pandora leaned forward, intense eyes never swerving from Paz’s face. “You have to leave tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she squeaked. “This is nuts. You’re crazy. I’m crazy.” She laughed, voice sounding totally unlike hers. So why was she suddenly sweating, suddenly desperate to believe this lie?
“He’s dying, Paz, and only you can save him. If you don’t leave tomorrow, it’ll be over. He’ll be over.”
Something close to pain hammered behind her closed lids. Paz squeezed her arm rests, nails digging in so hard she felt one break.
“You’re… lying?”
Pandora shook her head. “I never lie.”
How had she wound up here? Thirty thousand feet up in the air, flying to Alaska? Alaska of all places! Paz had gone to sleep last night, desperate to forget it all. But an ache, a gnawing need for truth, had begun to bloom in her chest.
What if it was true? So she’d be out a couple hundred bucks--which would make her royally pissed, since she’d been saving for a screen press--if it wasn’t true. But there’d been dreams last night. Lots of them.
A blue faced man, features distorted, but with hope shining in liquid black eyes. She’d woken up in tears and within seconds phoning the airport to confirm a roundtrip ticket to Anchorage.
Turbulence seized the plane and she yelped, biting down on her lower lip hard as her gut toppled to her knees. She hated flying.
Hated. It.
Why oh why, was she doing this? Time away from the carnival, the dream, made her think suddenly this was the stupidest idea she’d ever had. Richard and Todd had certainly been shocked, for a brief thirty minutes their wide eyes had made her feel brave, powerful. But now… the plane dipped, and she flopped in her seat, now she was just scared.
From the moment she’d stepped foot on the plane she’d gotten a strange sense of something being off kilter. Weird. But she’d ignored it, thinking she was just being the chicken Richard always accused her of being.
So she’d found her seat, not needing the compartment space, she’d packed light.
Literally she was flying to Anchorage with tickets back the very next day. Why had she done this?
She groaned when another round of turbulence tilted the plane.
She had no idea what she was looking for. Who she was looking for. She’d scanned the faces boarding her flight with an obsessive need to know if maybe one of them was Mr. Wonderful.
Then he’d sat next to her.
Heart pounding, trying to hold down the saltine crackers she’d gnoshed on earlier, she glanced at tall, dark, and decadent sitting next to her. He was gorgeous.
Bronze skin two shades darker than her own, dark unruly hair that curled against the nape of his neck, and liquid black eyes. The eyes had made her think of her dream. It hadn’t been a huge stretch for her to think maybe it’d been him.
So she’d waved, and smiled.
He’d sat next to her, his delicious scent of clover and moss, teasing her senses. Paz had waited for the friendly smile in return. Nothing.
Like he’d not even seen her.
When the attendants had taken drink orders, he’d ignored her too.
He didn’t read, didn’t move, didn’t do a single thing. Which totally creeped her out. Stepford wife, or husband in this case, total weirdo.
The plane jolted again, this time listing deep to the side.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the pilot’s voice came on over the loudspeakers, “please put your trays in the upright and locked positions, we seem to be experiencing a bit of turbulence--”
“Oh sh--” the co-pilot cried and then there was static.
But that wasn’t the worst part, because now the plane was dipping forward, faster and faster.
Suddenly Mr. Creepy latched onto her hand, squeezing tight.
“Look at me,” he said, and oh man, so embarrassing that as they’re crashing and getting ready to become nothing but a memory, all she could focus on was the flutter of her stomach at the sound of his whiskey deep voice.
Adrenaline spiked her veins, kids and women screamed. Oxygen masks dropped from the rough turbulence that shook her around like a rag doll.
“You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine,” he said and she nodded.
His eyes were so beautiful. Not black like she’d first thought, but a deep inky well full of stardust. His thumb caressed her knuckles, and she knew fire seeped through her skin, deep into bone.
A strange whistling rang loud in her ears. Paz lifted up on her toes, wishing she could run away. “It’s just like the movies,” she whispered.
He licked his lips and man they were nice. Thick and begging to be sucked on. “What?” he said.
Tears crept into the corners of her eyes as her stomach bottomed out. A baby was crying. “The sound of death.”
His touch was so nice. So real and warm.
“My Todd,” she whispered as her vision blurred. He was looking at her, with an ache, a soul deep connection.
She’d finally gotten it.
Paz screamed when the plane pitched on its side. His grip tightened.
“Close your eyes, Paz,” he whispered.
How did he know her name?
Glancing over her shoulder, he licked his lips, and she didn’t miss the dilation of his pupils.
“We’re close aren’t we?” She knew they were, gravity was pinning her against the seat. The ground had to be only seconds away. Her body shuddered, tightened with goose bumps. Death breathed down her neck.
“Close your eyes, head on your knees. I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.”
She dug her nails into his fist, but he didn’t flinch.
“What’s your name?” she breathed, back of her neck tightening.
They were close, within a second of crashing. The plane unnaturally quiet as people prayed, cried softly, or closed their eyes and waited for the inevitable.
His smile was so achingly real, alive. She sniffled, throat working back a hot tide of tears.
“Tristan Black.”
Nodding, she dropped her head to her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. Her fingers still threaded through the hard strength of his.
She’d finally found him. Prince Charming.
So not fair.
There was a deafening whistle and then nothing else.
Buy the next book in this series, Jinni’s Wish.
[Kingdom 01.0 - 03.0] Kingdom Series Collection Page 45
