Page 54 of Awakened Light

My heart pounded in my chest as I sucked my lip between my teeth. Everything in this world was new to me, but the thought of flying scared me more than I could comprehend. It seemed so unnatural. So dangerous.

But also as exciting as the man staring at me with those mesmerizing eyes.

“Trust me,” he said, and the look in his eyes coaxed away some of my anxiety. “I will never let any harm come to you. I swear it.”

With a gentle tug on my hand, I let him pull me forward. One slow step at a time, I followed him to the plane. Two men in suits stood on either side of the stairs, and they gave him a sharp nod as we passed between them. Thorne led me up the steps and into the plane. Everything inside looked meticulous and clean. White leather covered all the chairs and the couch, and a red-haired lady greeted us with a smile.

“Welcome back, Mr. Mackay.” She stepped aside and gestured to the large chairs near the back.

Tentatively, I followed Thorne and sat down next to the window where he guided me. I couldn’t remember a time in my life I’d been as terrified as I was while I sat down and followed her instructions to strap myself in.

“If you think the dirt bike and the Bugatti are fun, you’re gonna love this,” Thorne whispered as he reached over and took my hand in his.

His confidence comforted me. Something in his eyes made me believe it when he said he’d never let harm come to me. Deep down, I knew he never would.

A few minutes passed, and the plane rumbled even louder than the car and the dirt bike. Thorne noticed me tense up, and his grip around my hand tightened.

“It will get loud and a little bumpy, but it’s all normal. Just look out the window. It’s amazing when we take off.”

The plane started moving, and for a moment, I thought about screaming for them to stop. For a moment, I wanted to jump off and run back to the safety of my island.

But one look at Thorne, and I knew I didn’t want to miss a second at his side... or miss out on the new world he was so excited to show me.

“Look!” He pointed out the window as the plane raced down the runway.

My eyes widened as I saw the ground drop out from beneath us, and with it, my stomach did too. Each second that passed lifted us higher and higher, and as terrifying as it was, it was equally exhilarating.

Flying.

I was flying.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would fly like a bird, and yet here I was soaring higher and higher over the moonlit landscape below.

I stared at the flickering lights of the city, getting smaller by the second. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered into my ear. “Thank you for trusting me. We’ve got a long flight and a couple stops before we get there. We’re going to get to see the world below in the daylight. It’s something I’ve never seen either, so we can explore it together.”

I loved knowing that even though everything was new to me, some of this was new to him. It was a world we could experience together.

With a sigh, I settled my head back onto his shoulder and stared out at the incredible sights below me.

***

THE PLANE MADE A SCREECHING noise as it touched down. This time it didn’t scare me like it had the first time we’d landed to refuel in New York. Thorne hadn’t been lying when he’d tried to explain the size of the city. He’d taken me for a quick tour while the plane refueled and switched pilots, and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut the entire time we drove around in the back of a cab.

The lights. The colors. The people. The buildings that stretched so tall into the sky I thought I’d break my neck trying to look up at them.

It had been incredible, and I couldn’t even imagine what Hawaii would be like after seeing something like New York. The world Thorne lived in amazed me with every turn.

“Welcome to Hawaii.” Thorne waved a hand toward the window as the plane slowed to a stop. “Beaches, clubs, luaus... it all awaits.”

I squinted against the bright sun when they opened the door to the outside. Thorne reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of sunglasses for me and slid them into place, then put on his own mirrored sunglasses. Hand-in-hand we walked out into the warm, salty air, and two beautiful women with sun-kissed skin and flowing black hair greeted us with wide smiles and necklaces made of the most colorful flowers I’d ever seen.

“It’s called a lei,” Thorne said as he ducked his head while they slid it over his neck. “It’s part of their traditions. Go ahead. Let them put one on you.”

I mimicked his bow and waited while they slid the lei over my head. When I stood up, I thanked them for the beautiful flowers. A long black car pulled up in front of us, and a dark-skinned man wearing a black suit stepped out. My eyes widened at the sight of him, and Thorne noticed my shock.

“Have you ever seen a person of color?”