Mina frowned. “Of course not. I understand how important advantageous trade agreements are for a small nation like ours.”
His smirk blossomed into a real smile, and Mina realized he’d deliberately worked a rise out of her. Her own lips stretched wide, unconsciously imitating his light expression, and as they did so his face changed, as if he were suddenly transfixed.
How long they would have stayed that way, staring at one another, Mina had no idea, but fortunately the car came to a stop, breaking the moment.
Seconds later the door opened and the chauffeur offered her a hand. Stepping out onto Tarmac, Mina deduced that they must be taking the small plane that waited about six meters away, its rounded door open, a stairway lowered.
Attendants ushered them quickly to the plane. On board, the King checked the safety equipment before showing Mina the amenities. About halfway through the mini-tour, Mina realized the plane was his private plane, and that he loved it.
“The flight is short—just forty-five minutes in the air—but it’s the safest way to get to the island at this time of year.”
His posture had lost some its characteristic rigidity since they’d boarded the plane, and his voice had taken on a note of youthful excitement that hinted at the kind of man he might have been before his father’s death.
The idea filled Mina with the strangest urge to have known him then—before he became King. She didn’t know where it came from, but she couldn’t shake the sensation that he must have been different—lighter, more joyful.
“I’ve never taken such a short flight,” she said, although the scientist in her was frowning somewhat at the impact this small flight might have on a delicate eco-system like Cantorini’s.
Reading her mind, the King said, “The benefit of a plane this size is that we’ve been able to retrofit it to run on completely renewable energy. In fact, the entire summer palace was updated six years ago, to achieve a net zero impact on the island. The technology isn’t scalable for all of Cyrano yet, but at this point it’s just a matter of time.”
She was impressed. While wealth like the royal family’s made such experimentation infinitely more possible, not many who had the capacity also had the will.
“That’s wonderful. Your parents must have had excellent forethought to do that. So when do we take off?” she asked.
But the King shook his head. “It was my idea. I pestered my father until he was willing to do anything to shut me up.”
His eyes lit with the memory, his smile turning into a downright grin, and Mina was enchanted. “It must’ve cost a fortune,” she said.
His grin stretched. “It did. Well worth it to know the future of the island is safer, though. I’ve always loved going there.”
“I can imagine. A place to run around like a normal child... That had to be precious to you.”
His face softened as he nodded. “It was. It can be a challenge to be a prince and a child at the same time.”
Her heart reached out to that boy with the pressure of a nation on his shoulders. Her own childhood had been bright and free, even though she now knew that her father had arranged for her to be a queen before it had even begun. Her dreams and his encouragement had pushed her to achieve, but for all the striving she’d still been a normal girl. Her parents had ensured that.
“I’m glad you had a place to escape.”
He turned to face her at her words, searching her face for something, and even though she didn’t know how she knew, she could sense it was genuineness. Her heart broke for him. He was adored and idolized by an entire nation, and yet starving for everyday acts of compassion.
She had the feeling he didn’t have many people he could talk to.
“Me too,” he said. “I was fortunate that Hel was a member of the royal family as well. Otherwise there would have been no other children to play with.”
“D’Tierrza? You two are close?”
He nodded. “We always have been. A cousin makes a convenient best friend.”
“It’s good you two had each other.”
He laughed. “I won’t argue with that. Without my steadying influence, who knows where the woman would have ended up?”
Mina snorted. As Helene d’Tierrza had flouted every aristocratic convention and continued to cause controversy by holding her position in the Royal Guard, she had to wonder indeed.
The King smiled. “And, in answer to your earlier question, we take off when I get in there.” He angled his head toward the cockpit.
She started. “You’re flying us?”
The grin that flashed across his face at her astonishment was pure and light and worth every iota of uncertainty resting in her gut about putting her fate in the hands of a hobby pilot.