The Huntress

Chapter 30

I just nodded. I knew there was no point in asking questions and no point in arguing. Not that there was really anything to argue about anyway.

Klarke directed me toward a limo and a few moments later Durin slid in beside me.

"Little Jaguar, so we meet again."

I rolled my eyes at him and tried not to smile.

"We have an entire plane ride to ourselves," he said with a smirk.

"Don't get any ideas, big guy."

"Me? Never." He held his hands up as if he were innocent.

"Right."

I pulled my legs up next to me on the seat and sat my duffle bag on the floor in front of me. Despite having nearly unlimited room in this huge thing, I was curling myself up into a tiny ball.

The better to isolate myself, I thought.

I don't know why I was trying to cut myself off from Durin. It wasn't like I was nervous about him, not like I was scared of him or intimidated.

It's just the opposite, I thought again. I'm too comfortable around him.

The limo pulled up next to the plane and we both got out.

"Ladies first," he said holding out his hand for me to go up the steps and into the plane. I rolled my eyes at him again and he smiled.

I went up the steps and through the door, onto the plane. It was spacious, that I noticed right away. It wasn't like flying with a hundred other people, with as many seats as you can manage stuffed into one space. There were a total of ten seats, each of them large and inviting. There was a group of four, two on each side that faced each other with a table in the middle. The others were paired in twos on the other side of the plane.

I sat my back down on one of the seats at the table and sat in the chair next to it. The seat was as comfortable as it looked. I could fall asleep on it if I wanted to.

Durin got on and took the seat across from me at the table. Of course, eight seats left and he chose the one across from me. For some reason that didn't surprise me.

We were both silent for a while, just staring at each other, out the windows, anywhere. I was looking around the plane, Trevor, not so much. I'd gathered that he'd been on it before. At least the woman on board that offered us drinks and food seemed to know him. It wouldn't surprise me with his last name.

When the attendant went back to her place, wherever that was, and we'd been in the air for a while Durin met my eyes.

I could tell he really wanted to say something. He looked around and leaned across the table.

"You need to promise me you're going to be careful."

I tilted my head to the side. That seemed like an odd thing to say. I gave him a confused look and he sighed. He didn't want to have to elaborate, I could tell. He was already nervous about having to start this conversation.

"People are going to be watching your every move. You did well in there, you were near the top, but all of that, plus your speaking up; you're going to have eyes on you. Whatever you do you need to be careful."

I felt my heart pick up and my breathing increase as panic tore through me. What did he mean people would be watching me? Just because I got better while I was there and because I said a few things they would have eyes on me? Weren't people supposed to get better there? Wasn't that the whole point of the place?