as horrid any longer. "I feel a little better."
"Good."
When we made it to the garage, Kassie was holding the door open for us.
Mason placed me gently on the ground, and I climbed in to sit in my usual spot behind the driver. Within seconds, we were pulling out of the garage.
"Have you heard any updates?" There was no telling what I might've missed while napping.
"No, not really." Tommy glanced in the rearview mirror at me. "Which is a good thing. They aren't making waves yet."
"We should've already visited more places." I hated that I'd let them down so much.
"Between the vampire attacks? Or when you had to heal from a near-death injury? Or the holidays? Or wait, when we had to plan a coronation for Mason?" Ella piped up from the back seat in her usual spot in the middle. "I mean, we had so much free time that I could see where we might beat ourselves up over it."
"Don't be an ass." Mason turned around and glared at his sister.
"No, she's right." There had been a lot going on. It's not like I was being Darren and purposely neglecting them. I couldn’t think of any reasons why they'd be willing to follow Richard after the way his father had reigned.
"Still could be nicer about it," he grumbled as he faced forward again.
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Ella snorted in the back seat.
"Ella." Even Louis's low tone held a warning.
"Right now, we need to focus on getting there and then figuring everything out." We had to work through things one at a time.
It wasn't long before we were pulling up to the airport. Tommy stopped in front of the entrance.
Kassie jumped out and scanned the area. She paused before coming over and opening our door. "Let's get out."
The six of us exited the vehicle while some people were unloading our bags. When Tommy drove off to find a parking space, we walked inside.
As usual, Kassie was in front, scanning everything, and Mona was guarding the back. When we entered the building, everyone seemed to get even more tense.
It was more crowded than usual, and Kassie stayed close to us as we swerved through the crowd and headed to our gate.
A chill ran down my back. I glanced around and couldn't find anything or anyone unusual standing out.
Are you okay? Mason's concerned voice filled my head.
I don't know. Something feels off. A few people had looked our way, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Do you feel it?
No, but that means something is definitely wrong. He stepped closer to me and took my hand. Whoever it is likes only you being aware.
That sounded about right. Let's just get on the plane. I was hoping it was due to me not feeling the best and surrounded by all of these people. Maybe I was being paranoid.
As we entered the plane, some of the edginess had worn off. The feeling has gone away.
Thank God. Mason took my hand and led me toward the bedroom at the very back of the plane.
I stopped, making Mason pause. ”Do one of you mind getting me an outfit before we leave?" I wanted to make sure I at least looked somewhat put together when we landed.
"Yeah, I'll grab something." Mona headed off the plane, passing Tommy as he climbed on board.
Tommy made his way to the cockpit. "How much longer until we take off?" His voice was tense and direct.
"Once the guard gets back on the plane." The pilot sounded almost terrified of Tommy.
"Perfect." He nodded at the captain and headed toward us. "Do I need to check anything?"
"Nope, I already checked the cabin." Kassie glanced at Mason. "Go back there with her. We aren't leaving her alone."
"I planned to."
"Let her sleep though." Ella sat on one of the couches that had a drawer next to it, and she was facing a television. "I don't want to hear anything, and she still appears as if she’s at death's door."
"Sometimes, you can be quiet." Louis smiled at her adoringly but shook his head.
"Nah, it's part of my charm." Ella winked at him as she pulled some beef jerky out of the drawer.
"What charm?" Mason reached over and snatched the bag she had just pulled out.
"Hey, that's mine." Ella pouted and held her hand open, waiting for him to give it back.
"It's for Elena." He took my hand, and together we began heading to the back.
"Then it's fine, but you better not have one morsel," Ella