Chapter 27 #3
“Second shelf, three cans over. You know what? That looks like a lot to carry, you should put it in that red bag in the Bvlgari store next to you. The one with the gold clasp in the center display.”
“She’s shopping.” I blinked. “You’re shopping? Woman, you are strapped to a bomb!”
“And you are literally right fucking there. Grab the bag, Osid!”
“Did you forget the position you are in?”
“There’re thirty minutes left on the clock. I was freaking out before, but now you’re already almost to my gate. We’re fine.”
Smoke billowed from my tail. I grabbed the bag and stuffed her ridiculous treats inside. “I can’t stand you right now.”
“You love me. You’re going to go to my gate, announce your undying adoration for me, and kiss my whole face. Bring me my new red leather bag, and I might just let you kiss a little more than that.”
And just like that, my rage dissipated. “You want anything else?”
“Mmm, nope, I’m good.”
When I got to Concourse D, gate 21, there was no one there. I looked around to the other gates, trying to see if I was simply reading it wrong, but all of them were empty. I spotted a human in one of their servant uniforms and flagged them down.
“You, why is my queen’s plane not here?”
The light-haired smiling servant held out a hand. “Ticket, please.”
I gave her the boarding pass. Tapping my foot impatiently as she read it over.
Wide blue eyes peered at me over the ticket. “I’m sorry, sir, but you’re in the wrong terminal.”
“What?” I snarled.
“What the fuck is she talking about?” Blair roared. “Concourse D is in the domestic terminal. I just flew out of ATL like two months ago for a show.”
The servant handed the ticket back to me and gave a polite shake of her head. “Not anymore, I’m afraid. We’ve moved Concourse D into the international terminal. You’ll need to take the shuttle if you want to get there.”
“Well, why the fuck would you do that?” Blair asked.
With a shrug, the servant replied, “He got here too quickly.”
Blair and I stared at her, stunned.
Then I set her on fire and ran for the shuttle.
This time I didn’t give myself an instant to so much as blink before jumping past the metal doors. I kept my eyes shut, refusing to risk seeing the Calamity a second time.
“Tell me when we arrive at the right stop.”
“Okay,” Blair said. Her voice breathless and panicked. “This will be fine. We got time. So much time.” She let out a breath. “Stupid fucking airport!”
“Be calm,” I said. “As soon as the gates open, I’ll run to you. I would never let something bad happen to you, Blair, you know this.”
“I do,” she said quickly. Then, much calmer, she repeated it. “I do.”
Warmth flooded through me. The sound of panting hit my ears, and I looked down to see the most horrifying bug-eyed creature to ever walk the face of the planet.
“WHAT IS THAT?” I jumped away from the wheezing beast, tripping over a suitcase and slamming into the ground.
The disgusting flat-faced creature let out a garbled, wet “Ruff!” and bounded toward me.
Blair’s laughter rang through the metal death tube.
“Don’t laugh! What is that thing?” I asked, jumping onto the back seat.
“It’s just a pug!” she cackled. “A pet, darlin’, she can’t hurt you.”
So she said, yet the diminutive creature, and the woman on the other end of its leash, radiated malice.
I lowered myself off the seat and lit a fireball in one hand. “I swear on my father’s grave, if either of you move before this train stops, I will incinerate you.”
The old woman and pug cackled together, which was so much worse than the pug’s mutilated barking. I kept my fire trained on them both until the metal doors finally opened again.
When I reached her concourse, I shoved past the ticketing line. How many ticketing lines did an airport need? I ran down the hall onto the airplane, where I found Blair strapped to a chair. There was a blinking timer next to her with numbers outlined in red that counted down from one hundred.
When she saw me, her face lit up in a glorious smile that I felt all the way down to my hooves. “Took you long enough.”
I was at her side in an instant. I retrieved the knife from my belt and sliced through her restraints. The overhead voice droned:
“Final boarding call.”
With a beep, the timer shaved off precious minutes until only ten seconds remained. Blair let out an indignant shout when she saw it.
I didn’t hesitate, hauling her against me as I kissed her, deep and desperate. When her hands weaved their way into my locks; I groaned, squeezing her tighter to me as if I could fuse our bodies together through sheer will.
For a heartbeat, we were merely lost in each other, tasting and petting exactly as I dreamed of doing since the moment I laid eyes on her.
“You infuriating little wretch,” I murmured against her lips.
She bit mine in response, tugging at my bottom lip before her tongue slid against my own, tasting me deep. My knees buckled, and I had to steady myself against the seat as I returned her passion in kind.
“I forgive you,” she said between kisses. “Start over with me—”
“Yes,” I interrupted her before she could even finish. “Yes, gods, please—”
BOOM.
I broke us apart and shielded her behind me.
Outside the windows of the plane, the sky erupted in great bursts of light.
The ground split open, and a stone wall rose from the ground.
The wall was broken up into segments; each one of them held a watchtower with a glowing beacon that lit up the night sky.
Horns blared, and bursts of fire shattered into multicolored displays along the sky.
Behind me, Blair laughed uncontrollably, clutching at her sides before she fell to the floor. I looked from her to the display outside. Wiping a tear from her eye, she sat up and peered out the window. “They did it, they actually built me my beacon!”
“Your what?”
The overhead voice spoke through the speakers. “Subject 12, have you reached your season for males?”
Blair screamed, howling in laughter before she fell to the floor again.