House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(23)

Xander chose to sit in a single seat near the front. I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or not that he was putting some distance between us. It was certainly easier to ignore someone when you couldn’t see their stupidly handsome face.

“Seat belt.”

My head snapped up at that command, and I realized it was the man himself. He had leaned out so that he could level that stoic glare on me. “What?” I asked him, my eyebrows slamming together.

“Put your damn seat belt on. We’re about to take off.”

I flipped him off. My finger rose without me even taking a second to think about it. I waved it at him like it was a friendly greeting.

He pressed his lips together and it kind of looked like his right eye was twitching.

“Please put your seats upright and seat belts on. We are about to depart.” The pilot’s voice echoed around the cabin.

This time I clicked my belt into place and focused on the floor. The nerves in my belly were kicking in hardcore. The helicopter ride had been okay, because I could see clearly out the windows. But the plane felt different.

Please don’t let me get airsick. That was my one hope. Nothing worse than barfing in front of four hot princes.

The plane taxied, slowly moving into position. It stopped for a few moments. I wasn’t sure why that was, but it did nothing except increase my panic. This was not normal. No one should fly like this. I was meant to be on land … in the ocean. I was leaving my ocean.

Squeezing my eyes tightly closed, I started taking long, slow breaths, in through my nose, out through my mouth. It didn’t seem to be doing anything. A hand gripped mine and I squinted one eye open to find Emma next to me.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “I’m not a huge fan of flying. None of us are.”

I swallowed, my chest heaving. “It’s too enclosed,” I managed to choke out. The helicopter hadn’t been the same. “I can’t see the sky. I can’t feel the breezes. I can’t breathe.”

A choking feeling was creeping up my throat, and I was about live out my worst nightmare by vomiting everywhere. Emma’s eyes grew really wide. I heard her shout something, but in that moment the plane cranked into gear and we were all shot back in our chairs as it took off along the runway.

A low whimper escaped me. I slammed my lips and eyes closed again. I was holding Emma’s hand like my life depended on it, and while part of me worried I was literally crushing her hand, I couldn’t seem to loosen my grip. There were voices around me, everyone talking, but it all sounded like static to me. My brain was locked in the throes of panic.

I lost my grip on Emma, but her hand was soon replaced with another; larger, more callused, and with a heat that Emma’s didn’t have.

Xander. Somehow that fact registered in my brain even when nothing else did. I wanted to throw his hand away, to move away from him, but I couldn’t. This literally felt like life or death to me, and I was holding on with everything I had.

“It’s okay, Avalon,” I heard him whisper. “All Royales react badly to flying. Something to do with our dependency on the water. But you’re going to be fine. You will make it through this. I promise.”

For the first time since I met him, there was no tone in his voice. It was just soothing. Caring. For a second I pretended he did care, that he wasn’t just trying to prevent a situation where I freaked out at the start of a six-hour flight. More warmth wrapped around me and I sank into it, my head going fuzzy as the adrenaline started to wane and my body crashed. We were definitely in the air, the plane smoothly gliding skyward. My eyes were still tightly closed, but the static in my head was easing.

As my breathing evened out, I pressed my face closer to the softness of Xander’s shirt. He smelled of the ocean. That briny, fresh, perfect scent of home. Damn him for smelling like home.

The captain’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker again, advising everyone it was fine to remove seat belts and move about the cabin.

“Is she okay?” I heard Chase ask, his voice close by.

Xander shifted, pulling me closer to him. I was half sprawled across his body now, but I couldn’t seem to move away. I needed my ocean.

“She’s dealing,” Xander said bluntly. “She’s a lot more Royale than I expected. We’re prepared for this when we travel on aircraft for the first time, but I didn’t think Avalon would have the same issues.”

“Whatever you’re doing appears to be helping,” Callie said, sounding exhausted. “Thank you for helping her.”

I loved that there was so much concern in their voices. No judgement. Just worry for me. There went those warm fuzzy feelings again. Knowing I needed to stop relying on Xander, who was no doubt hating every second he had to “deal” with my situation, I wiggled my hands up to his hard chest, preparing to push myself away.

He didn’t let me go though, not even when I applied more pressure in an attempt to move back. I literally didn’t shift at all. “Give yourself a few more minutes.” His low voice sounded near my ear. “It’s a long flight, and I know you need my energy right now to deal. So … stop fighting me.”

Moisture pricked my eyes and I was glad that my face was still hidden in his chest. “You’ve been fighting me since I first saw you,” I murmured back. “I’m not going to be a burden for you.”