Page 121 of A Taste of Bliss

“Do you have any in that pouch of yours?” Pisces asks.

Shaun raises his brows at Simon. “You cheated on your registration test?”

Simon smirks at him. “It wasn’t my idea. Blame Evan. I didn’t even know it was an option until he brought it up.”

Shaun considers his friend for a minute. “That explains why you got such a good score.”

Simon just shrugs, a full grin touching his lips.

“I’ve got all the necessary ingredients. I just need a bowl and something to mix it up with,” Liz says, rocking back on her heels in front of the coffee table.

A few minutes later three different glasses containing the learning potion sit on the coffee table.

“How does this work?” Reese asks, lifting up one of the glasses and giving it a sniff, instantly making a face at it. “How badly do you need a bassist, because I donotwant to drink this.”

Liz rolls her eyes at her. “Here’s a chaser,” she says, handing Dericia a juice bottle. “You’ll drink the potion and place your hand on Evan’s temple. Set your intention to learn the songs on the set list and then it’ll be done.”

“We’ll have to wake them up. It works better with consent, correct?” Pisces asks, looking at Liz for confirmation. “And it doesn’t last more than a few hours,” he reminds us.

Liz nods and claps her hands together. “Alright. Reese, Amelia, Shaun, get your potions ready and stand next to your buddy.”

“Hold on,” Amelia says. “I can’t do this.”

“Really, Amelia, the taste isn’t that ba?—”

“No, I mean I can’t do this.” Amelia motions to her throat. “I can’t sing two shows.” She looks at Pisces for backup. “It would be hell on my voice. Do you really need a backup singer?”

“Niamh really elevates the sound, and we don’t have her vocals pre-recorded,” Gwen says.

Amelia nods. “Then use Bliss. She’s got an amazing voice too.”

“Amelia!” I squeak out. I shake my head. “I can’t do that. On stage? In front of people? No, absolutely not.”

“You’ll be masked,” Pisces says softly from behind me, finally handing back my phone. I continue to shake my head.

“I—”

“Bliss, just do it,” Amelia says, rolling her eyes. “It’ll be fun and, I dunno, Liz can make you some sort of confidence potion or something, right?”

Liz laughs a bit. “Bliss, you don’t need one. You’ve got a beautiful voice.”

I fidget with my phone in my hands, wishing I had on one of Pisces’ hoodies with the frayed drawstrings to play with.

“It’s okay,” Pisces says, nudging my arm to draw my gaze to him. “We’ll just go without a backup vocalist. It’s not a big deal.” He looks to Gwen, who nods but frowns, as if she doesn’t agree.

I open my mouth to thank him but close it. I’ll be wearing a mask. No one will know who I am. No one will see how pink my cheeks will no doubt turn.

“Fine,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “I’ll do it.”

Pisces studies me, a soft smile on his face, but it’s not him that I look at. I look at Amelia as she hands me the potion. “You’ll do amazing, Bliss.” She smiles at me. “Okay, team,” she says after I take the potion from her, clapping her hands together like a cheerleader. “Let’s fucking go!”

Liz and Amelia rouse the three hexed fae just enough for them to consent to letting us learn from them. Dericia, Shaun, and I down our potions. I shudder as the sludge goes down my throat. It tastes like mud and ash, or at least what I assume those would taste like since I don’t make a habit of eating those things. I place my hand on Niamh’s temple, thinking of the songs on Voracious Maw’s set list. Ones I already know fairly well, since I listen to them on repeat so often. The intricacies of how Pisces wants the backup vocals to sound comes flowing to me. I canhearthe notes Niamh hits, feel the emotion Pisces wants each song to evoke.

All of a sudden the connection is broken. I know the movements Niamh makes while she’s doing her sultry dances up on the platform. I know what to do between segments of the show. I know how often Niamh usually drinks water to keep her vocal cords lubricated, but not too much so that she has to pee before the show is over. I know her vocal warm-up routine.

I look over to Dericia and Shaun and can see a similar look of awe on their faces.

“This is so fucking dope,” Dericia says, grinning widely. She high-fives Shaun and looks around at the other guys, pointing to Benny. “Am I expected to make out with Benny? Evan showed me the usual shenanigans they do during ‘You Want Me.’” She arches a brow at Benny and Pisces.