Jayden's POV
The steady drone of the jet engines should have been comforting, but my nerves wouldn't settle.
Naia had her head tucked against my shoulder, her breathing slow and even. Jeffrey was curled up on my other side, one small hand still clutching the sleeve of my shirt even in sleep. They'd both dozed off within minutes of takeoff, exhausted from everything that had happened in the human world.
I'd expected them to bombard me with questions during the flight. Maybe cry or panic like most children would when taken somewhere completely unfamiliar. Instead, they'd simply trusted me enough to fall asleep in my arms.
That trust hit me harder than I wanted to admit.
My eyes drifted shut more times than I could count as we flew through the night. The familiar sensation of crossing realms jolted me awake as we approached the portal. That weightless moment when reality shifted, like being submerged in ice water for a heartbeat before emerging into something entirely different.
