Page 116 of Till Death

We slipped out of the secret space, and I hurried through the mass of performers, most dressed in little more than lace and strategically placed feathers. Tentative eyes landed on me as we rushed. Each one of them held their breath as if I’d pluck them from their spot in line and kill them without a thought.

I turned my face to stone, cool calm pouring over me. I used to think the shadows protected me from other’s fear of my presence, but the reality was, they only kept me from seeing it. There would be no hiding today, not as I was put on display, ready to perform whatever dance or fight or song the Maestro demanded. He couldn’t ask me to do anything more than the other performers, and in this moment, when all eyes would be on me, I was grateful for the forethought of that contingency.

“Quickly now,” Hollis said, pulling the black leather outfit he’d given me for my birthday from a rack of sequined gowns and elaborate masks and jewels.

“How did this get here?” I asked, heart thundering as all the pieces fell into place.

His eyes were as sad as my own as I slipped into the outfit I’d loved so thoroughly.

“He doesn’t want me hiding who I am. He wants to parade me before everyone like a puppeteer.”

“I’ve been his puppet for many years, Little Dove. I promise you’ll still open your eyes tomorrow, and sometimes that’s the only silver lining of a day conducted by Drexel Vanhoff.”

I took a steadying breath, gripping his hand as Quill’s magic filled the arena, and the music from the orchestra pit sprung to life. Hollis handed me each of my blades, and after I’d strapped them on, he held a small leather box with a golden skull embedded into the top toward me.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

I flipped open the lid and gasped. Lifting the necklace from within, I studied the intricate little flower, embedded with a ruby stone that matched the ones in Chaos and Serenity’s hilts.

“The flower was Orin’s idea. The stone was Paesha’s. The chain was from Thea, and I stitched the box. Whatever happens tonight, Deyanira, we are with you. Bargaining for our freedom in place of your own will probably be the greatest feat of your life. But regardless of the crowd’s final moment, you are ours now as much as we are yours.” The old man cleared the lump in his throat, his voice turning hoarse. “I never had a daughter, but if I did, I can’t imagine anyone I’d rather have her be more like.”

My eyes shifted between the cerulean blue of his, taking in every wrinkle, every age mark, every sign of kindness on his weathered face. I could hardly manage a breath. “I’m scared.”

He took the necklace from my hands and circled me to clasp it before spinning me around. “You are brave, and you are strong. There’s a light in you. Being scared only makes you human, Deyanira. Not flawed.”

“Maiden?” Genevieve held the final scroll out to me.

The crowd roared to life, filling the air backstage with so much applause and screaming, I nearly dropped the rolled parchment.

“They’re in a mood tonight,” she warned tentatively before hustling away.

“Of course they are. He’s promised them the show of a lifetime.” Orin’s voice was like a balm. An anchor in a tumultuous sea of trepidation.

“I didn’t think I’d see you,” I admitted, taking a second to admire the pressed coattails and top hat as he shifted firmly to my side.

Each time I’d encountered Orin, up until this moment, kindness was a chore. A battle to wage before there was light. But, as if something had twisted, as if our kiss had changed the game, he’d come without a storm. Without fury and madness. Only him. A semblance of the man I’d married on that rooftop with dreams of a peaceful world and a wife that’d chosen him, even when he hadn’t truly had the same choice.

“He would have had to cut my arms and legs off to keep me away,” he purred into my ear. “What’s the performance?”

Hollis moved to my other side as I gripped the silk ribbon bow and tugged. The theater fell silent beyond the rush of my thudding heartbeat.

Maiden,

Good Luck.

DV

“What is that supposed to mean?” Orin asked, ripping the scroll away to read over the words before flipping the page back and forth. “Didn’t the other ones have more information?”

“Yes,” I said numbly as the lights flickered on and off.

He squeezed my hand before placing it into Hollis’s. “I’m up. You’ll figure it out. Okay? Just be careful. There are guards in the crowd, and I think the king is in the box with the boss.”

“He’s here?”

The lights flickered again.