Page 19 of Terror at the Gates

“No,” I said. “I asked for a job.”

One I hoped was still on the table.

“I don’t think Zahariev is ever going to let you on one of his stages, babes.”

“Actually,” I hedged. “He told me to meet him at Praise at two today.”

Coco’s eyes widened, just as surprised as I was when Zahariev had said it. Then she gave an excited scream and threw her arms around me. I hugged her tight around the waist.

“Wait,” she said, holding me at arm’s length. “What else did he say?”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to tell her I would have to dance for him. I was pretty sure that wasn’t usual. Mostof the women I knew, including Coco, had to audition for Hassenaah, the manager and choreographer. If Zahariev actually let me onstage, Hassenaah wouldn’t be happy.

“He just said not to be late,” I said.

Coco’s eyes narrowed the tiniest bit. I wasn’t any better at lying than Zahariev. She knew me too well, but she also didn’t press.

“I need your help,” I said, taking the conversation in a different direction. “I don’t know what to expect or what to wear.”

“You know what to expect,” she said. “You already know all the routines.”

I knew them because Coco had taught me. That was back when I thought I could audition without Zahariev noticing, except that after I’d spent hours in front of stone-cold Hassenaah, she’d told me I’d never make it to her stage. Zahariev was partly responsible, but I also knew that Hassenaah didn’t like me. She saw me as a spoiled brat, a rich girl who didn’t appreciate the life I’d been given, which wasn’t unfair.

I was a spoiled brat.

I was a rich girl.

I didn’t appreciate that life.

But people down here in Nineveh only saw a fraction of the truth.

They saw the beauty, the glamor, the money, but they didn’t know the cost.

Hassenaah was like many who lived in the City of Sin. They didn’t believe people in the other districts had problems; they only knew their own suffering. Which was fine. I wouldn’t try to convince her of mine. I knew why I’d left my family, and so did Zahariev.

I thought that was one reason he let me stay, even facing the disapproval of the commission.

“What if I’m not good enough?”

I wasn’t even talking about my ability to dance.

“Babes, you’re good enough,” Coco said. “Trust me.”

I moved to the couch, sinking onto the cushion.

“I trust you,” I said. “But you’re forgetting that Hassenaah doesn’t like me.”

“It doesn’t matter what Hassenaah thinks so long as Zahariev wants you onstage,” said Coco.

“I don’t think Zahariev wants me onstage,” I said. “After last night, I think he believes he has no other choice.”

“What happened last night?”

I took a breath as everything that had transpired came rushing back, including that awful nightmare. My skin pebbled, and for a moment, I was back in the desert at the center of a cyclone of sand and wind. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.

It had all felt so real.

“I…still don’t know,” I said.