Flutter (My Blood Approves #3)(8)

Ezra sat next to me, a leg crossed over his knee, with a magazine open on his lap and telling me all about Martha Stewart’s recommendations for making Halloween treats. He was trying to keep me calm and focused, but hearing about making Rice Krispies treats orange made me want to vomit.

Going through security was very hard, but Ezra told me to keep saying the alphabet backwards in my head. It didn’t really soften the burning thirst inside of me, and I kept my eyes locked on the throbbing pulse in the security guard’s neck, but I didn’t bite him. So I counted that as a success.

Ezra gave me the window seat and belted me in, which made both of us feel better. I closed my eyes and tried not to think of Jack. He lurked painfully in my thoughts and only made my bloodlust increase. The whole situation felt very precarious, and I started to think that I wasn’t ready for this trip.

When the engines of the plane revved, Ezra leaned over and whispered, “If the plane crashes, it’ll be in the ocean. The ocean’s full of sharks, and they can kill us. You actually have something to be afraid of this time.”

“Is that supposed to comfort me?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“No, not at all. I wanted to scare the hell of out you so you’d stop thinking about… things.” He squeezed my hand back, and that felt reassuring somehow. “But it’s still true. Sharks are brutal.”

The instant we were free to move about, Ezra grabbed the cans of blood from the overhead bin and led me back to the restrooms. We got a lot of weird looks from the other passengers and the flight crew, but nobody stopped us. I doubted that any humans ever stopped Ezra. He was too beautiful and confident.

There was hardly enough room in the bathroom for one person, let alone two, so he swiftly lifted me up and set me on the sink. He set the cans on my lap, and I imagined that I could smell it and trembled with hunger.

“You are so pale,” Ezra murmured to himself. He pushed a strand of hair out off my face and looked at me fully in the eyes, inspecting them for their level of hunger. “I’m going to give you two cans, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever, fine,” I nodded quickly. I didn’t care at all what he said as long as I got the blood.

“This is gonna hit you hard, but I need you to walk back out to your seat, okay?” Ezra said. “And you can pass out as soon as you sit down.”

“Okay!” I snapped.

He pursed his lips but unscrewed the can. The small room instantly filled with the scent, and I ripped it from his hands and guzzled it down. As soon as it slid down my throat, ease grew in my muscles. Even though the blood was very cold, it spread hot through my body.

Before I even finished the first can, Ezra opened another one. He wanted me to get them down me as fast as possible, so we had a chance of me making it back to my seat before I blitzed out.

After I drank them both, he shoved the empty cans in the garbage. I licked my lips clean, but he inspected me for any blood on my face. The world already had that hazy glow to it, and a wonderful tranquil feeling wanted to take over.

With Ezra so close to me, I had the strangest urge to kiss him. That was just the blood talking, so I lowered my head before I could act on it.

We walked back to our seats, him with his arm on me to steady me. It took all my strength to keep from stumbling or doing anything ridiculous. All the colors seemed to shine brighter. My green sweater looked like grass, and I wanted to pet it, but Ezra was sliding me into the seat.

“How are you feeling?” he whispered as he buckled me back in.

“Dreamy,” I murmured with a dazed smile on my lips.

Before he could put the bag back in the overhead compartment, I passed out. Even with his new threats about sharks and the gnawing ache for Jack, I slept soundlessly the entire way to Finland.

Ezra shook me awake, and while I’d been sleeping, he’d gotten me a pillow and blanket. He had a blanket folded on his lap, and I wondered if he’d slept at all.

“We’re about to touch down in Helsinki,” Ezra informed me.

“Really?” I yawned and stretched, then looked out my window. It was dark out, but the city was aglow with twinkley lights. “What time is it?”

“It’s ten o’clock, Wednesday,” he said.

“Oh.” My brain scrambled to figure when we left, but it didn’t seem right. “Wait. Didn’t we leave at ten on Tuesday?”

“There’s a time difference. You might suffer a bit of jet lag,” he said.

“I hope not.” I didn’t even really know what jet lag was, but it didn’t sound like something I’d want to suffer from.

A flight attendant came to collect our blankets, and the captain came on, saying things about making the descent into Helsinki. He repeated the same message in Finnish, or at least I assumed he did since I didn’t understand a word of it.

As we got closer, the city looked much more stunning than I expected. In my mind, it had been more of a cold, desolate place, but in reality, it was glamorous and historical, the way I imagined Paris or London might be. Not that I had ever seen either of them to have any real comparison.

“This is where Peter went to live off the grid?” I asked as I admired the architecture.

“No, he’s not here.” Ezra shook his head. “We have one more flight to make.”

“Really?” I wrinkled my nose. Even though I had slept through this flight, my body felt stiff.