with no flair for my personal tastes. I like it better when I can wing it and let the gods tell me when to stop adding garlic.”
A snort of laughter escaped me. “Can you ever have too much garlic?”
Jacob’s smile was natural, more relaxed than he’d been in a long time. “Not in my experience.”
“Maybe I can learn to bake, something other than cookies, anyway,” I said, thinking about it. “I’m much better with a formula. Winging it is not my strong suit.”
“It’s hard to be calm about baking with Jessa around. If you fuck up her cake, she will destroy you. Best to leave it to the experts."
I laughed, a real laugh, and I could feel the president's eyes on me, from where he sat a few rows away. That shut me up, and thankfully he went back to his paperwork quickly enough.
"So, if you don't bake, what's your favorite food to cook?" I asked, enjoying learning these unexpected details about him. “Outside of garlic, of course.”
His eyes were extra light as he thought it over. "My favorite is pasta and stir-fry, with lots of fresh herbs and vegetables. It’s fun to throw ingredients together and experiment with flavors."
"What's the best thing you cook?"
No hesitation. "I make this incredible garlic and chili chicken dish with rice." He closed his eyes like he was savoring the memory of it and I found myself drinking in his fucking face like I was dying of thirst.
Jacob Compass was a thirst trap and I almost got stuck.
"What else?" I choked out, needing him to stop doing whatever he was doing to my sanity and hormones.
Green-as-fuck eyes assaulted me and I suddenly wondered if that was worse.
"Well, there's my stroganoff and beef subs. I promise you’ll want to marry me after you taste those."
My heart did this weird rapid beat. He's just flirting with you. He does that as easily as breathing.
I tried to remind myself of that, all the while ignoring his little smirk. This side of Jacob completely disarmed me; I was in no way ready to deal with a flirty fey.
The pilot's voice came over the loudspeaker: "We will be landing in approximately thirty minutes. The weather is a little rough today, so return to your seats and make sure your seatbelts are fastened tight and low."
I clicked mine back into place; Jacob did the same and I was surprised. Usually he'd be too arrogant to think a little turbulence could hurt him. Probably he was just humoring the humans; it was something a lot of supernaturals did. They didn't respect the human race, but in all fairness, the humans didn't really have much respect for anything beneath them either, including animals, plants, or the very land they needed to survive.
Supernaturals were much more evolved in that way.
"Were any of the supernaturals ever human?"
I jumped, only just noticing that the president had taken a seat much closer to us. Right across the aisle to be exact. He was watching me with an inquisitive expression, and for the first time he seemed just like a regular guy trying to make small talk.
"Are you evolved from us?" he continued. "I've been doing as much research as I can, but very little knowledge of your existence is anywhere. It's … peculiar."
Jacob's expression was neutral as he returned the probing gaze of the president.
"Supernaturals were never human," he said simply. "We’re not evolved from you. X-Men did not get it right, but Superman came a little closer."
"So, you're from another planet?" he pushed, jumping on the Superman thing immediately.
The jeweled lands flashed across my mind, especially the ruby lands where I'd been born. For some reason Faerie never felt like another planet to me, more like an extension of Earth. Earth 2.
"Yes, but not one in your solar system," Jacob said. "Supernaturals originated in a world we call Faerie. At one point we were all much closer in abilities, but over time we evolved, creating the four races you’ve learned about. Our energy required different things to flourish, and in turn this divided us."
"You suffer from race wars too…?" the president asked contemplatively.
We both nodded. "Absolutely," Jacob said. "But we've formed communities where all races live together in a bid to prevent any further fighting. For many years it has worked to keep the peace."
The president leaned back in his chair, and I felt my ears adjust as the plane continued to descend. "You're the equivalent of the president for your people in America, right?"