The aircraft began its slow deliberate movement along the runway, the motion so smooth it almost felt like drifting rather than traveling. Through the wide oval window beside her, Willow watched the private terminal slide past in quiet succession. The glass walls, the waiting vehicles, the figures growing smaller with distance. Somewhere beyond that polished calm Lorrlyne would already be settling Zana into the rhythm of an afternoon nap, the familiar routines of home resuming as if Willow and Zane had not stepped briefly outside of them.
The engines deepened into a steady powerful hum, and the aircraft gathered speed with quiet confidence before lifting cleanly into the air.
