Page 18

Reign

“ A ngelique, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you yet. My name is Terry Baker and I’m the choreographer for this season's Swan Lake production.”

Terry takes Angelique’s hand and kisses the back of it.

He’s a world-renowned choreographer, originally from Australia, and he costs Imperium an exceptional amount of money to keep around.

But he’s worth every penny, because there hasn’t been a single production that he’s worked on that hasn’t taken my breath away.

He’s also my closest friend.

Angelique stiffens the minute he touches her, but she forces a polite smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Terry,” she says.

“Likewise.” He grins, holding her gaze. “I’ve enjoyed watching your performances over the years.”

Angelique’s face turns crimson. “You’ve been to my performances?”

“Oh yes.” Terry’s eyes slide to mine, a sly smile playing on his lips. “I’ve practically been to all of them. ”

Angelique tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and I feel the beginnings of furious jealousy bubbling inside of me, itching to claw its way out and wrap itself around Terry's neck like a noose.

“Why did you want us to meet with you, exactly?”

I can’t hide the bite from my tone as I stare at their still-joined hands. Terry looks amused but releases Angelique, winking at me when I lift my gaze to his.

The bastard is playing mind games with me, and he knows I know it.

“I heard through the grapevine that you two have a bit of a chemistry problem?” He gestures between me and Angelique. “Some type of ‘underlying trauma with touching’ , as Volkov put it.”

I grind my teeth as I hold his gaze. “It sounds like Volkov just doesn’t know how to do his job properly, and he’s having a hard time accepting that.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Terry sneers. “But I have to admit, the choreography for this production is boring me.”

“Aren’t you the one that put it together?” I ask, confused, as I sit down in one of the front row seats.

He pulls himself up onto the edge of the auditorium stage. “I know. Not my best work, but I think the problem is that I tried to stick to the original storyline of Swan Lake a bit too much and now the choreography doesn’t feel unique.”

I lift a brow, finding that Angelique is mirroring my expression as she stares at him. “What are you proposing, then?”

He grins. “Well, I found your chemistry dilemma inspiring, and it got me thinking…why don’t we rewrite Swan Lake? Make it ours.”

“What do you mean?” Angelique asks as she takes a seat next to me, her shoulder brushing against mine and causing a spark of energy to ignite through my entire arm.

I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep myself from reaching over and dragging her onto my lap just to have her closer, to bask in the tension between us, and to prove a point to Terry.

She’s mine .

“In the original storyline, Odile is the villain, and she causes the famous tragic ending where both Siegfried and Odette choose eternal love in death,” Terry explains, tapping his clipboard with his pen.

“Right,” I affirm.

“Well, what if instead we explore Odile not as a villain, but as a wounded woman reaching for light?”

“You want to turn Swan Lake into a redemptive Odile arc?” I raise a brow.

Terry is known for being an imaginative choreographer, truly one of a kind. But this , this is on another plane of existence. And it might just be exactly what my father wants for Imperium.

“It would be a unique approach, one of a kind, especially with us having only one dancer to play both roles,” he says, gesturing to Angelique.

“I don’t think I understand,” she frowns, leaning forward.

“Okay, imagine Odette and Odile as one fractured soul. The curse is not evil magic, but trauma, and the love between Odette and the prince is not just romantic but also healing.”

Angelique shifts uncomfortably in her seat but nods in understanding.

“How would that look in terms of the performance?” I ask, my interest piqued now .

“We’d split it up into three acts,” Terry says as he draws imaginary lines on his palm that only make sense to him.

“Act One will be The Split, where we start with Odette. She’s the graceful, delicate, and emotionally raw half. We’ll show the audience that she becomes cursed by her trauma, along with everything that she can’t process,” he continues.

Angelique’s brow furrows slightly. “What’s the trauma she experiences?”

Terry studies her. “I haven’t decided yet. Any ideas?”

She falls silent, picking at a loose thread on her shirt. “What about some sort of assault or betrayal?” She suggests, her voice a little too steady for how loaded the words are.

And instantly, Alec’s name flares in my mind like a lit match to gasoline.

Is that what he did to her? Assault her?

My jaw tightens and I can feel my pulse in my teeth now.

Every version of what might’ve happened between them claws through my mind, each darker than the last. I want to be wrong.

God, I want to be so fucking wrong. But the way she begged him to stop in her dream, how she won't talk about New York, and how she still flinches when I get too close… it all fits with what I’m thinking.

She’s not just running from New York. She’s running from him .

I study her, this girl who used to burn so brightly, now looking like she’s trying to shrink herself out of existence. And all I can think about are the many ways I can make sure Alec never dances again.

No. I’ll make sure he never walks again.

Terry taps his chin, staring off into space. “Yes, that’s good. I’ll see if I can weave something like that into the choreography.”

He pauses and writes a quick note before continuing.

“ We’ll see Odile as the part of Odette that survived by shutting everything down.

She channels all the pain and rage that she feels into seduction like it’s her armour.

She’s not trying to deceive the prince, she’s just trying to protect what’s left of her. ”

“She’s Odette’s shadow,” Angelique murmurs.

Terry beams. “Exactly. They both want the prince to love them, but he doesn’t realize they’re the same person. He rejects Odette and her vulnerability, and chooses Odile, thinking she’s strong, but that moment fractures her even more.”

I sit forward. “So, the tragedy is internal. She’s not just heartbroken, she’s fragmented?”

“Right,” Terry nods. “Then comes Act Two , The Confrontation. Odile realizes she isn’t her complete self, and she finally sees what she’s done by splitting from Odette. It’s not power, it’s desperation smeared with guilt. She questions herself, and her regret sets in.”

Angelique’s gaze drops to her lap. I can tell this new version of Swan Lake is affecting her, and my curiosity grows tenfold. I want to know what thoughts are swirling around in her mind right now and what memories are plaguing her.

“She tries to undo it,” Terry continues, more softly now, also noticing the change in Angelique and glancing my way for a quick moment, his eyes questioning.

“She searches for Odette to try to reconcile. We can throw in a pas de deux here where the two halves meet, and Odile pleads for forgiveness while Odette reaches for her.”

“And then Act Three?” I ask.

Terry straightens. “ The Reunion. The prince returns, and he’s changed too. He sees the truth and realizes that he can’t love only one version of her. He needs to embrace the whole woman. Odette and Odile.”

He pauses, then adds, “They dance a pas de trois, and the audience will see the surrender and healing. No death and no tragedy, just redemption. And in the ultimate moment, she rises. Whole. Seen. Loved. Yada yada yada.”

The silence between us stretches as Angelique blinks rapidly, her eyes glossy. Her voice is hushed when she finally speaks. “It’s not just a ballet.”

“No,” Terry says, meeting her gaze. “It’s a reckoning.”

“I like it,” I say, sitting up straighter. “But how do we do the pas de deux between Odette and Odile and a pas de trois if Angelique is the one dancing both female roles?”

Terry waves me off. “We have options. We can use projection mapping to show Odile as a shadowed phantom behind Odette for the pas de deux, and if you’re up for it, Angelique, we can reimagine the pas de trois as a solo within a duet.”

“Meaning?” she asks.

“You’d switch between Odette and Odile live, using detachable costume elements and lighting changes,” Terry explains.

“That sounds challenging,” I say, glancing at Angelique, but instead of the fear I was expecting to see there, I see determination.

“Let’s do it,” she says with a finality that sparks excitement in me.

I turn to Terry, giving him my nod of approval, and he grins. “Alright, I’ll get to work, and I should have the updated choreography for you by the end of the week.”