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Unease settled in her stomach as York took the seat beside her, his smile too practiced and cold. She wondered if she had just made a terrible mistake. But before she could further assess the situation, the plane's engines roared to life, drowning out her thoughts momentarily as they taxied down the runway.

"So," she began, twisting her fingers in the soft fabric of her dress, "how exactly did Abby figure out I was missing so quickly? We're close, but she doesn't typically check up on me throughout the day."

York's fingers tapped an impatient rhythm on his armrest. "Miss Jenkins was quite concerned when you missed your lunch date."

Seraphina frowned. "Lunch date? We didn't have plans."

"Perhaps you forgot in all the excitement," York replied, his thin smile not reaching his blue eyes.

The plane lifted into the air, and Seraphina watched Orion's island shrink beneath them. Her mind drifted back to his intensegray eyes, and the protective posture of his broad shoulders as he'd stood watching her board. Those final words echoed in her head:I'll handle Iverson myself. Perhaps she should have listened.

"And how exactly did anyone know to look for me on Orion's island?" she pressed. "It's not like he advertises his location."

York's jaw tightened imperceptibly. "Senator Iverson has extensive resources."

"Does he make a habit of tracking down random astronomers?"

"You're hardly random, Miss Lucero." York's gaze flicked to her face, then away. "The senator has been following your work."

"My work on stellar cartography?" Seraphina asked incredulously. "I didn't realize celestial mapping was a political priority."

York cleared his throat. "Perhaps you should rest. You must be exhausted after your ordeal."

After thirty minutes, Seraphina turned and looked out the window, watching clouds drift by. Something wasn't adding up. She realized they should be approaching Miami's coastline, but there was nothing but endless ocean below.

We're going the wrong way.

Her heart rate accelerated, but she kept her face neutral. Orion had been right. This felt wrong—dangerously wrong. She wished she had trusted his instincts, his protective nature that she'd initially mistaken for possessiveness.

"Seems like we're taking the scenic route," she remarked casually, though her palms had begun to sweat.

"Just weather patterns," York replied mechanically. "Nothing to worry about."

The plane banked left, and Seraphina caught sight of a small landmass in the distance—definitely not Florida's distinctive peninsula.

"That doesn't look like Miami," she said, unable to keep the edge from her voice.

York's expression shifted, the practiced pleasantness fading into something harder. "Just relax, Miss Lucero. We'll be landing very soon, and you can see your friend Abby and speak with Senator Iverson. Everything will be just fine."

The predatory way his eyes tracked her movements made her skin crawl. It wasn't the appreciative gaze Orion gave her that made her feel beautiful and desired. This was calculating, measuring her worth like livestock at auction.

"I think I'd like to speak to the pilot," she said, unfastening her seat belt.

York's hand shot out, gripping her wrist. "That won't be necessary. We're beginning our descent."

The plane dipped, and through the window, Seraphina could see they were approaching an island with a small airstrip cut into dense jungle. A gleaming white mansion sat on a cliff overlooking the sea. This wasn't Miami—this was someone's private retreat.

Her throat tightened as she realized just how far she was from Orion, from his safety. Her fingers unconsciously reached for the sapphire necklace she'd returned to him, wishing she had that token of protection.

Orion was right. I should have stayed with him.

The plane soon touched down with a jarring thud, rattling Seraphina's teeth as it skidded along the small jungle airstrip. Through the window, emerald foliage blurred past.

"Welcome to Senator Iverson's private retreat," York announced, his voice too smooth and too rehearsed.

Seraphina's stomach knotted as the aircraft slowed to a halt. This was definitely not the bustling Miami airport she had been promised—this was isolation packaged in luxury. The sapphirenecklace's absence felt like a phantom limb. She kept reaching for it only to find bare skin where Orion's gift should have rested.

"I don't understand," she said, infusing her voice with confusion rather than the fear clawing at her throat. "Why are we here instead of Miami?"