Gypsy Moon (All The Pretty Monsters #4)(49)

Really fast.

There’s a reason it’s called flying when a person drives too fast.

Damien lifts the hand I’m using to squeeze his, and he gently brushes a kiss over my knuckles.

My eyes lift to find his, as my heartbeat steadies.

“As much as it pains me to compliment him, Vance happens to be a flawless pilot,” Damien assures me, and considering how he rarely ever pays Vance a compliment, I believe him. “I keep up with the accomplishments, even when I’m ignoring the fuck out of the assholes,” he adds.

The seatbelt light goes off quickly, but I don’t undo my seatbelt. Obviously.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your future captain speaking,” Arion’s voice says smoothly over the intercom, causing Emit to roll his eyes and Damien to release a small groan. “It’s apparently a lot quicker to cross the Atlantic in this era, so the trip time will be considerably shorter than it was the last time I personally made it.”

“Get off the fucking coms,” I hear Vance say in the background.

“Just drive the plane and—”

The speaker cuts off, and I shake my head.

“Men to boys,” I mutter under my breath.





CHAPTER 14





EMIT


Violet’s head is on Damien’s shoulder, and he smirks like he’s winning at life. I hate him more than usual in this moment.

Those creepy triplets have popped up on the plane twice, and even Violet ignored them. They never spoke—just lingered and watched Violet.

“So your ghosts are haunting you more since the…whatever it was…quit killing them, right?” I decide to ask, since I’ve been left out of the conversation for hours now.

Violet lazily meets my gaze, as Damien continues tracing soothing lines over her hand.

“They’re involving themselves in monster politics,” Damien says with an amused expression. “They want her to hurry up and fuck Arion so it’ll break the bond between him and Idun.”

I’m the one to groan, and Violet nods like she agrees with my sentiment.

“How did you know?” Violet asks as she looks up.

“I got bored and watched Arion’s surveillance of Vance’s house when we couldn’t reach Emit right away,” Damien says like it’s no big deal he continues to be a complete creep. “There really is an app for everything these days.”

“This is your future captain speaking,” Arion says over the speaker once more. “I think the ghosts might be worth listening to after all. Let’s discuss that some more.”

Violet’s eyes widen marginally.

“He can hear us?” she hisses.

“Of course I can, love,” the speaker says again.

“Unbelievable,” Violet mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose, as a peculiar blush rises up her neck and spreads to her cheeks. “How much farther?”

“We’re not too far out,” Vance answers, a smile in his voice. “Want to visit your captain before descent?”

I hate Vance as well when Violet grins and slowly undoes her seatbelt for the first time, trusting him far more than she does any of us.

Even Damien narrows his eyes as she makes her way toward the front, sliding her hand across any surface close enough, just in case she needs to catch her balance.

I lean out to the side, watching as she opens the door, and Vance reaches back a hand for her.

“I really should have stayed more current. I could have been a pilot,” Damien grumbles.

I glimpse Violet sliding down to Vance’s lap, stars in her bloody eyes, as she loops her arms around his neck.

“He’s not even flying right now. It’s on autopilot or some shit,” I point out.

Vance ‘scratches’ the back of his head with his bird finger, and that’s the last I see before the cockpit door slips shut.

“When you walk into a room where I’m sitting, I’d like to be straddled like that,” I can hear Arion saying. “How do I get from here to there?”

“Why are you posing shirtless and chopping wood?” Damien asks me, as I crack my knuckles.

Fortunately, his register is below that of a whisper.

“Because this girl makes us all act like fucking idiots on break from the clown rings,” I state absently, hearing a small, subtle giggle over the rumble of distant thunder. “The man presses his trousers to be pristine, before hanging them up in a color coordinated pattern. How is he more masculine than I am?” I ask, trying my damnedest to ignore the sounds from up front, as I tune out the small bit of praise Violet is singing for our fearless, stupid pilot.

Damien snorts, as a closer rumble of thunder hits.

“Your masculinity has been called into question? That’s the newest blockade?” he asks like he’s hoping he’s figured this out and found this hellish answer.

Mercifully, he keeps his tone as low as mine so the other two assholes don’t overhear this conversation.

“I’ve been handling her too gently, apparently, and there’s been a miscommunication of intentions, it seems,” I correct, glaring at him.

He chokes back a laugh…barely.

Before he can say something I can punch him for, the cockpit door swings open, and Violet runs out, sprinting to her seat with a slightly panicked look on her face.