Page 18

Callum

K ael and I get to the plane and start going through preflight checks to make sure we are ready to take off as soon as Daemon and the girls are here. I never thought we’d have a need for the airstrip, but I’m glad it’s here. We don’t have to worry about dragon, bear, or panther shifters causing issues while we are gone. They have been loyal and have faith in us. The others… there’s no telling what we will come home to. Right now, my only concern is to get Lilith to Mazvyn and Leli back home. As long as they are safe, nothing else matters. Maybe I should care more about the state of the country, but I’ll always put Lilith first.

Kael is fueling the plane while I start the pre-flight checklist in the cockpit. I take my time and go through everything. I want to hurry up and leave, but I’d also like to not crash into the ocean. It’s way too far for Daemon to fly us without having to stop to rest.

I know the direction that I’m flying; I’m just going to assume they’ll contact us somehow to tell us where to land. Mazvyn said he would know when we are close, but he’s also not looking for us to come for another week. I’m hoping Leli can reach out again so they can expect us to be coming.

When I get done in the cockpit, I go outside and do a walk-around to make sure everything is secure. Kael gets done fueling right as I get done with the pre-flight.

“Ready?” Kael asks.

“Yeah. Everything should be good to go. I’ll switch out with you if you need me to,” I tell him.

“It’ll keep my mind off things,” Kael says.

“I think we all need something to keep our minds off things,” I grumble.