Her Heroes

Chapter Forty-Seven

Clouds moved past like a slow tide as the plane began its descent back into France. So much had happened in this past week; I wasn't sure if I could ever face them again...

Taking a breath, I looked at my lap and took in my tapping fingers. I didn't even realize it half the time when my tic started, it seemed like I had it more often than I didn't. It took more focus than I realized it would, but I felt a sense of ease once my fingers stopped moving. Nobody would come for me now; I was free of all the demons that had haunted me.

I looked back out the window and contemplated everything that had happened. From getting the notes to having the dreams, and finally taking my freedom back, I had changed in many ways. As Rhys had said, the fog represented what the mind blocked out. That's what I had done for most of my life—blocked everything out—and now that I was free from the weight of not knowing, I was a new person.

"Nadia?" I turned, startled when I saw Carlos standing next to me. "Sorry, I thought you heard me..." He gave me a sheepish smile and ran a tired hand through his hair.

"It's fine... I guess I was too lost in thought... Need something?" I gave him a shy smile, gripping my hands tightly to keep them from tapping.

"Right! I just came to tell you that we're about to begin the descent." Nodding, I watched him walk away before turning back to the window. We had been on the plane for almost ten hours now and I couldn't wait to get off it. Yet, it was a haven at the same time. Here, I knew where I stood and who I was with, but things could be different once I was back with my brothers. They hadn't seen me in a week, and I was vastly changed from before.

Without thinking, I smoothed the wrinkles from my dress. I hadn't wanted to change after everything only because of my need to leave. Cake or no cake, I couldn't stand seeing their forms lying on the ground any longer... It felt like his eyes were still watching me, burrowing into my soul with a vengeance that most would falter at the sight of.

***

The wheels hit the tarmac with a soft thud before we slowly came to a halt.

Carlos and Aria emerged from the other room and smiled, their similar gazes making me do a double take. It seemed odd that not one, but two people who worked for my brother happened to be spying in Rhys's home. At first, I had brushed it off because the events had jostled my soul, but now I realized that there was more to the pair. Lovers? Definitely not... but maybe some sort of kin? A sibling? Cousin? Shaking my head, I decided not to worry about it until later.

"You ready for this?"

A laugh broke through my barriers, and I smiled at Aria, "definitely not..." She chuckled and shook her head before looping her arm through Carlos's, her black bob swaying from the motion. In the short time of knowing her, she had turned into the older sister I never had but always wanted.

They exited the plane together, content to give me one last second of peace as they greeted my family—my whole family. Everyone was there: Mama, my brothers, Philippe, Gabriel, and a girl I'd never seen hanging off Hercule's arm.

Narrowing my eyes, I took in her laugh and her practiced ease, her natural beauty, and grace that reminded me of a model. "Miss?" My head turned quickly, and the pilot seemed sorry that he had interrupted me, "I'm afraid that I have to ask you to exit the plane... I need to pull it back into I the hanger..."

"Oh! Of course!" Getting up, I smoothed the front of my dress once more before making my way to the small entryway.

Taking one last, fleeting breath, I began walking down the steps.

Immediately, I felt all eyes on me, watching as I struggled to keep my footing. The stairs weren't slippery by any means, I was just too nervous for my own good, which ended up in limbs of putty.