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blur. If I could have
moved a single muscle, I might have made the sign of the cross. Now
I begged the Lord for a painless end.
    All of a sudden, a feather brushed the back
of my clenched fist. No, not a plume. Julian’s fingers were as soft
as a whisper. I sneaked a glance to my right and fell into gorgeous
sapphire eyes.
    Slowly he unclenched my fingers and laced
his through mine. “Everything’s all right.”
    His light tone tempted me to believe him.
His touch filled me with trust and comfort and left no doubt I’d be
safe as long as he held me. He squeezed my hand. A beautiful,
crooked smile appeared on his face.
    Gee, here was my happy thought.
    Then I went deaf. Something got stuck in my
ear. But my breaths became calmer, and inside my boots, my toes
uncurled.
    The plane climbed the sky with an ease I
would have never thought possible. I dragged in a deep breath and
my ears unplugged. Julian’s gentle hold kept me grounded. And when
I could tear my gaze from our joined hands, I dared a look out of
the oval window.
    London from above was a marvelous sight. But
seeing the metropolis shrinking underneath the plane’s belly also
confirmed the end of the life as I had known it for years. Ripped
from my island, I was exported to slavery for an endless six
weeks.
    Julian’s hand was still covering mine.
Slowly, my fingers withdrew from his. This was the second time he
touched me today, and similar to the first, my entire body had
calmed and warmed from the inside. Unlikely he even realized how I
reacted to him. How much I appreciated his caress and the soothing
effect it had on me. All the better. I’d die of shame if he
found out.
    Avoiding his stare, I focused on the
attention-consuming task of wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.
    “I guess you’re feeling better.” He leaned
forward to retrieve a book from his backpack underneath the seat in
front of him and stuck his nose in the pages.
    I cleared my throat, turning my gaze
anywhere but to him.
    In front of me, a man stood and rummaged in
the overhead compartment. He lowered to his seat with a white
pillow in his hand and stuffed it behind his neck. My eyes squeezed
shut for a second. But this only made me all the more aware of the
unfamiliar, pleasant sensation still surging through me. My heart
felt warm, like someone pointed the heated stream of a hairdryer
straight at it.
    I hugged my arms around my waist and pulled
my legs to my chest, my feet resting on the seat. Positioned like
this, I felt a little more protected…from the eerie effect Julian
had on me without his knowing.
    Like the captain had foreseen, the crossing
of the border between land and sea didn’t go so smooth. A series of
rattles shook the aircraft and threatened to shatter it at any
moment. Panic grabbed hold of me anew, but this time I took care to
keep my trembling hands in my lap and out of Julian’s reach. The
book still held up to his eyes as if he was deeply emerged in the
story, he glanced at me every so often.
    For as long as the rattle went on, I doubled
my effort to even my breathing. “No need to touch me again,” I
muttered, frowning at him sideways.
    Julian closed his eyes, his lips compressed,
and a dimple appeared in his cheek. “As you wish.”
    I wish to hell you’d stop laughing at me,
you oaf ! Agh, why did I even bother about what he
thought of me?
    I shot a glare at the dozing bundle in the
window seat. “And the dragon sleeps like a stone while the world is
falling apart around us. That fits. Always oblivious to the rest of
the world.”
    Just then, I caught Julian’s free hand
gently stroking her forearm. What the bloody hell—? So he
was her lover after all. A balloon of jealousy exploded in my
chest. Unthinkable what his tender caress would do to her when I
was so deeply affected by his slightest touch.
    The stroking stopped.
    A frown creased my brow. His lips thinned to
a line as his hand slid away from my mother’s arm and clasped the
book instead. Long