Destined for Doon Read Online Free

with my seatbelt, he folded himself into the aisle seat with his usual elegance. I watched him fasten his belt as if he’d flown a thousand times and marveled yet again at his ease in my world.
    “How do you know to fly first class?”
    He offered me a small smile, the first spontaneous one since our unexpected reunion, and said, “Veronica.”
    Of course. She’d want nothing but the best for Duncan while traveling abroad. Before I had a chance to ask him to elaborate, he pulled out a small brown leather diary from his back pocket. “She made me a journal for the journey. It covers everything . . . garments, transportation, lodging, colloquialisms, even music.”
    I settled into the luxurious cabin for our nine hour flight appreciating Vee’s style. I’d never gone anywhere in first class. Which led to my next question. “What about money?”
    “The treasuries of Doon are well stocked with gold and jewels. Your aunt Gracie referenced in her writing a firm of great discretion that she and your uncle Cameron engagedto keep their affairs. While they don’t know all the details of Doon, they knew enough to accept me as a distant relative of the Lockharts. They extended to me a line of credit, half the amount of what they expect my treasures will fetch at auction.”
    “Which is . . .”
    “Thirty million dollars.”
    “Shut up! So you have fifteen million dollars?”
    “Not on me.” His devilish grin indicated he understood and enjoyed his Daddy Warbucks status. “I do have a couple thousand for incidentals. They also gave me a plastic card that debits the account when used. Quite an ingenious concept, really.”
    “And you know what to do with it?” He nodded earnestly, but I didn’t need him to elaborate. Obviously Vee would have included a section on credit cards, modern currency, and shopping. She was meticulous that way.
    But even her freaky knack for details couldn’t account for some obstacles, like international travel. Passports took like thirty days and a boatload of documentation to issue. And I was pretty sure neither Aunt Grace nor my bestie had the first notion of how to get a fake I.D. “What about a passport?”
    “Ah. That was most fortuitous. One of the Destined — ” He paused. His eyes widening and then dropping to his lap as he awkwardly cleared his throat. The Destined were those called to Doon when it appeared once every hundred years. Like me, they had a choice to accept their destiny or leave. Unlike me, almost all of them chose to stay. Regret balled in my chest as I motioned for him to get on with the story.
    “One of the Destined, a lass named Analisa, is quite skilled in making paper copies. Although Doon didn’t have everything she required, she was able to make a mock-up that her associates in London used to produce the real thing.” He pulled his passport from his pocket and waved it at me.

    For the love of Lerner and Loewe! He might as well have been shouting his illegal status through a megaphone. I batted his hand down, and that same electric zing of energy crackled through me. “Put that away! You let some girl who makes forgeries into Doon.”
    Duncan shook his head. “It is not for us to decide who enters our kingdom. Our Protector leads those who are meant to be.”
    “So you’re saying the Protector of Doon called a criminal to your land?”
    “We had need of her skills, didn’t we?”
    Whatever I’d been about to reply died on my tongue as the bubbly flight attendant appeared. Duncan smoothly slipped his fake document back into his pocket as he returned the attendant’s smile in greater measure. The middle-aged woman blinked like she was on the verge of sunstroke before continuing down the aisle. Not that I could blame her; Duncan looked the part of privileged, modern-day royalty, from his dark, tousled hair, to his moss green designer button-down and khakis, to his — Be still my showtune-lovin’ heart ! He was sporting black-and-white high-tops.
    Was