Page 57 of Cosmic God

“Did you just quotePretty Womanat me, rock star?“ she asked, laughing loudly.

“Maybe. Is it wrong to admit that I love that film?”

“Full of surprises, Tanner.” She shook her head before leaning her body against mine as I folded my arms around her and we both stared out of the window, taking in the stunning scenery flying by below us.

Before long, I noticed we were following the bend of a river. As the helicopter turned, I gasped as I saw the view.

A huge waterfall appeared in front of us. The cascade was enormous, filling the whole river. Its spray bouncing high, the sun creating rainbows in it. I looked over at a beaming Emmy.

“It’s stunning, Em.”

“Isn’t it? I have to admit, this was a selfish choice. I love waterfalls. And this one is so old and one of the biggest. I couldn’t not bring you here.”

Kevin’s voice broke through our conversation. “Here we are at our first stop, although we’re not actually stopping. This is Rhine Falls, and it’s the biggest waterfall in Europe. It’s over 17,000 years old and brings visitors from all over the world.” He hovered as close to the falls as he could safely get, and we all stared in awe. Even Matt removed his sunglasses for a better view. Emmy pulled her phone from her bag, snapping pictures before she handed it to Matt so he could take a picture of us with the falls behind us in the background.

“It’s incredible, angel. Thank you.”

“It’s not over yet, Tan.” She smiled, squeezing my hand.

“Okay, we can’t stay long as I don’t want to run out of fuel mid-flight. Shall we head to our next destination?” Kevin asked in our ears.

“Please, Kevin. Thank you,” Emmy responded into her headset, pulling my arms back around her as we flew away from the falls.

It took about forty minutes to get to wherever we were going next and we were both fixated on the world passing below us. Every now and again, she turned her head, kissing me on the cheek to check I was okay, and I pulled her tighter to me, unable to believe that she’d done all this for me.

Suddenly, Kevin’s voice broke through again. “Okay, we’re going to set down in about five minutes. You have a couple of activities planned, so I will see you back here in three hours, which gives us plenty of time to get back before it’s dark, as I know you have evening activities booked in too.”

I raised my eyebrows at Emmy, but she just smiled sweetly and shrugged. “What?” she mouthed.

The helicopter landed in a field, and we removed our headphones. Rob opened the door, stepping down and helping Emmy out before I jumped down after her.

“Can you grab the bag, Matt? We’re going to explore, but you know where to put it?”

Matt nodded. “I’ll sort it, Emmy. Rob is going with you, but he’ll stay out of the way. The place should be empty, but we can’t be too sure.”

She pulled me by the hand, taking me to a quaint wooden bridge that led to a castle. An actual castle.

“Welcome to Chillion Castle. I saw it when I wasGooglingwhat was around. It was built in the 12th century. It has loads of history, probably a few ghosts, and what better thing to give a Cosmic God for his birthday than a castle? Although you can’t keep it, we’re only borrowing it for a few hours.”

“Aren’t there visitors we need to avoid?” I asked warily.

“Nope.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“Addi had them close the place for the day. I mean, it’s out of season and they said they probably wouldn’t have had many people here, but she didn’t want to risk it, so we’ve hired it.”

“Can we go explore?” I asked excitedly.

“Of course.” She held out her hand, and when I took it, she pulled me so we were both running toward the castle, like excited kids.

And explore, we did. We stared at the high vaulted ceilings with the centuries-old paintings covering them. We found hidden passages and secret cellars. We read about the wars it had survived and the battles it fought. We learned about the rebellions it was part of and how it became a prison. We sank into its history and the beauty of it all, and I loved every second.

“Do you think they do burgers here? I’m starving?”

“Not burgers, but I think they’ll have something,” she replied, twisting her hand into mine, pulling me to follow her, obviously knowing exactly where she wanted to go.

We walked back through the silence of the castle, feeling the history of the place following us. Turning a corner, we stepped through a door and the heat hit me. Looking around, I noticed the large roaring fire in what must be the grand hall. A huge dining table filled the room and on one end of it was a picnic blanket spread over the ancient wood, covered in food. Fresh bread, cured meats, cheese, olives, pate, salad, and steaming mugs of coffee, leaving me shocked that she’d managed to arrange all this for me in the middle of the night, while I’d been sleeping.

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