揑saac said he抎 be around, too. Do you think they抣l tell her anything??
揑 don抰 know. Circe抯 concerned about Karter and whoever he抯 been in communication with. If they抮e trying to get to the last piece, too, we have to try and stay a step ahead, and that means not letting anyone know where we are or what we抮e doing.?
I nodded. Marie leaned in to kiss me, then reared back, her nose scrunching up.
揥hat??
Marie grimaced. 揑 care about you. A lot. But you抮e gonna have to brush your teeth.?
My face flushed hot. 揧ou right.?
She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the car where Persephone and Nyx were sobbing into each other抯 shoulders. Marie traced my knuckles with the ball of her thumb. Nyx suddenly broke free from Persephone抯 grasp and marched up to Marie.
揑 need you to do me a favor,?Nyx said.
Marie抯 jaw was set hard. It took me a moment to realize she wasn抰 angry. She was trying desperately to hold back tears.
揑 don抰 want you to be careful,?said Nyx, her voice tight, the whites of her eyes bloodshot. 揑 want you to use everything that cursed plant has given you to do whatever you need to do to bring your rude, disrespectful, spoiled-rotten ass right back here. I won抰 accept anything less than that. Do you understand??
Marie didn抰 speak. She only gave Nyx a stiff nod.
揟ell me you will do it,?Nyx said. She put her hand on Marie抯 shoulder, and Marie couldn抰 hold back anymore. Tears rolled down her cheeks. 揑 need you to say it out loud because I know you to be a person of your word.?
揑 don抰 know why you抮e talking to me like this is goodbye. It抯 not.?Marie roughly wiped away her tears. 揃ut just so you know, I never would抳e gotten through all these years without you.?She cleared her throat and squeezed my hand. I hadn抰 ever seen her this upset. Marie could be abrasive, she had an attitude as big as the sky, but what she had with Nyx was special. They were family. Marie looked Nyx in the face. 揟ell me you抣l see me soon and walk away.?
Nyx choked back a sob. 揑抣l see you soon.?She turned on her heel, walked to the car, and drove off.
I turned to Marie. 揥e抣l make this work.?I didn抰 know if I was trying to convince her or myself. I抎 let myself believe we could attempt this impossible task, but promising we抎 make it back safe and sound still felt like too much of a lie for me to say it out loud.
We walked to the plane and climbed the short set of stairs. Inside were two rows of plush reclining seats, grouped in twos and facing each other with tables in between. There was enough room for twelve passengers, but it was only the four of us. Circe moved the cages inside and set them under a blanket near the back.
Marie fished around inside a narrow cabinet and pulled out a toothbrush wrapped in plastic and a travel-sized tube of toothpaste. She handed them to me and steered me to the rear of the cabin where I found a bathroom.
揟hanks,?I said.
Marie squeezed my hand and went to help Circe and Persephone load the last of our things.
I stepped inside the bathroom, slung my backpack onto the small counter, and brushed my teeth. I glanced in the little lighted mirror. I had to smile. My wrap was still clinging to my head, but it had been pushed back by the wind during my ride on the griffin and my edges were sticking out. But my hair wasn抰 the issue. What was embarrassing was the little dried trails of tears that streaked from the corners of my eyes and the one trail of dried snot from my left nostril. I took a deep breath and got to work setting myself straight.
After I cleaned up I fished my phone out of my bag. There were fifty missed calls from Mo. Thirty text messages. I couldn抰 bear to read any of them. I hit send on the note I抎 written to her and switched my phone off completely. I met Marie back in the main cabin and sat in the beige recliner across from her.
揧ou look ?refreshed,?she said, biting back a smile.
揧ou were just gonna let me walk around like that, huh??
She reached over and put her hand on my knee. 揑 think you look beautiful. Snotty nose and all.?
揟hat抯 messed up,?I said, laughing.
揑 pointed you to the bathroom, didn抰 I??
I smiled at her, and she sat back in her seat as Circe and Persephone climbed aboard and the outer door clanged shut. They sat down in the two seats immediately across the narrow aisle.
揟he pilot says we抣l be in the air in a few minutes,?Circe said. She shrugged out of her sweater and reclined her seat until it was flat enough to lie down. 揗ight as well get comfortable. We抣l stop once to go through customs and refuel, but then it抯 right back in the air for the second leg of the trip. Total flying time should be about twelve hours.?
揟welve hours??I asked. I抎 never been on a plane for that long, and the cabin suddenly seemed smaller and much more cramped.