Page 5 of Butterfly

I clear my throat and offer her a tissue. “Is there a friend of yours among the dead?”

Nodding, she accepts the tissue. “I didn’t know him well, actually. I met Dave five days ago when I arrived here, and we spoke only a few times. But you see, he was twenty-two.”

“Hell. I’m sorry.” I reach out to take her hand, but someone approaches us, and I pause.

A young man with cropped brown hair and red-rimmed grey eyes smiles at Sienna. “Hey, Si.”

She doesn’t return the smile. “Jack.”

Jack’s beam widens when he turns to me. He bows his head but focuses on Sienna again. “I’ve got something that will make you happy. Your new ticket.” He flourishes the piece of paper with a wave in the air. “For you. Still hot from the printer.”

“Great.” A deep frown knits her eyebrows together as she checks the ticket. “Seat one A? My original seat was way back on the plane.”

He clicks his tongue. “New ticket, not a replacement.” Jack’s chest swells. “You’re going to fly in business class, girl.”

“What?” She slams the ticket down.

“It’s first class, actually,” I say, pointing a useless finger at me. “The seat next to mine.” Two pairs of eyes, one hard—Sienna’s—and the other filled with awe—Jack’s—set on me.

“How is it that I have a first-class ticket?” she asks, angling towards Jack. “Are you and Tyler going to fly first class too?”

“Nope.” Jack scrubs the back of his neck. “It’s a little present for you. Tyler and I upgraded your economy ticket from boring to awesome. You can thank me any time.”

She shakes her head. “No. Unless both of you fly with me.”

I pretend not to listen and to read my script, but their tone is hardening.

“You need to stretch out your leg,” Jack points out. “You can’t fly in the cramped space of the economy class for ten-plus hours.”

“You’re injured too. Even Tyler is injured.”

“Not our legs though. We’ve got scratches compared to your wounds.” Jack leans closer and cuts off her new protest. He lowers his voice a notch. “And maybe it’s escaped your notice, but you’re going to fly next to James Bond.”

I grin, proud of that film. But I’m glad the young 007 reboot experience is over. Too much pressure.

Sienna casts a quick glance at me before returning her attention to Jack. “I’ve noticed that. But I still want to fly with you guys.”

The vain part of me feels a tiny sting at her quiet rejection.

Jack narrows his gaze. “What if I tell you that you aren’t simply going to sit next to James Bond, but to Lynx Orion?”

Ah, my upcoming new series. I stop pretending not to be interested and crane my neck towards her, curious to hear her reply.

She tilts her head. “I’m still—What did you say?” She bends forward, her hands on her knees.

“Mr Knightly is going to be Lynx in a new Netflix series. Am I right, sir?” His boyish smile is contagious, at least for me, because Sienna isn’t smiling.

I grin back. “We’ve just finished shooting the first season. Are you a fan?”

“I played the video games.” Jack runs a hand over his thin stubble. “But Sienna here read all the books, like four times.” He winks at her.

For the first time, she stares at me with…admiration? Surprise? I can’t say. But her lips part, and her chest lifts.

“The first trailer hasn’t been released yet, not officially. But I have it here.” I wave my phone. “Do you want to see it?” Vance would kill me if he knew.

“Hell yes, sir,” Jack says at the same time that Sienna says, “Love to.”

I flip through the icons on my screen before showing it to them. When I press ‘play,’ the epic music ofPaladins of Shadowsstarts. Love that track. A forest fills the screen with fairy lights in a dark background. Sienna lets out a soft gasp as I appear on screen with my hair twisted in a complicated braid, yellow eyes, and a tight dark uniform. Jack mutters something I don’t catch. Sienna is holding her breath, and her profile captures me again. There’s a softness in the gentle curve of her cheek and in the slender column of her neck that relaxes me. My grin drops when I spot a long silvery scar on her left wrist. It’s a few inches long, barely visible, and slashes her skin from her wrist to her inner arm. An old cut along a vein.

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