A Slice of Shadow

Soar through the air.
Sing like a bird.
Do not get found out.

I hate performing at the Shadow Court – at any fae court, for that matter – but this one is especially dangerous for someone like me. The shadowfae are a slippery bunch, and I would know.
I’m a hybrid-fae, even though I look completely human. No one can ever discover that I have magical abilities, that I use my power to enhance my act. If they do, I’ll be locked up, or worse. I have to be good in my performance, or I’ll lose my place in the troupe. But not so good that I get found out. It’s a balancing act, on a knife’s edge.
Then he shows up on opening night.
A blind clerk in the crowd. A nobody, right up until my magic rips something awake inside him. His eyes change color. His ears turn pointy, and the mark of a king appears on his chest. Turns out that the unassuming man in the audience is the Shadowfae King.
My secret is out.
My magical abilities exposed.
Now there’s a bounty on my head, with guards hunting me down. And the infuriating once-king who ruined my life? He wants nothing to do with me.
But he’s not getting rid of me that easily.