“They will.” He paused, then lowered his voice. “And they won’t know, okay?”
“Right.” Dmitri drew in a deep breath. “I’ll know, though.”
He and Andre hadn’t really talked about the song since Andre had first heard it, but Dmitri was sure Andre knew it was about them.
On the stage, Sultana finished up their set, took their bows to a storm of applause, and then headed into the wings. Dmitri smiled at Blake, Josh, and Pete, then found himself picked up and hugged.
“Damnit, Jett, put me down!” he groused at Sultana’s bassist, who just happened to be the F-Holes’ original bass player, before Kit and Jett swapped bands so that Luka and Kit could play together.
“Right, Dmitri, wouldn’t want to damage F-Holes’s newest songwriter.”
Dmitri pulled back as Jett placed him back on his feet and scowled. “Very funny.”
Jett shook his head, his expression turning serious. “Look, I know how it feels, okay? The first time we did One Breath in concert, I was terrified.”
“So how did you get past it?” Dmitri asked, genuinely curious.
“I pretended it was someone else’s song. Just listen to it critically as if Kris or I or Luka wrote the whole thing. Don’t hear yourself in it. Hear everyone else.”
“Hmmm… I guess I could try that,” Dmitri said slowly. He wasn’t sure if he could, but he could see if it made a difference. Anything had to be better than the huge butterflies currently staging WWIII in his guts.
Then it was time to hit the stage, and he was suddenly too busy to worry about it.
The set seemed to fly by, starting with their opening track, “Du Hast,” moving through the hits from their first album, and then the top songs from their current album, which was climbing steadily up the charts. Then it was time. Dmitri’s electric cellowas replaced with his acoustic, and he saw Luka accepting his Hillaire from a roadie. A swift glance back showed Kit was also equipped with his double bass. Then, finally, he met Andre’s eyes. Andre smiled and gave him a thumbs up, and suddenly the butterflies seemed to settle down.
“Tonight we’re presenting the first song from what will be our next album. Lyrics by Luka Davies and, for the time, music by none other than our own Dmitri Martin!” Kris announced, and she was greeted with applause and whistles. “Now join us, everyone, and… ‘Never Break’!”
There was no choice now but to play, so Dmitri did. The music that had poured out of him weeks ago as a way to heal his pain now wrapped itself around not only him, but the entire band, and it pulled the audience in as well. Kris began to sing, her unique, smoky voice sultry as she gave Luka’s poignant words her all. It was part metal ballad, part classical riff, and pure emotion.
In the uncaringdarkness where shadows dwell,
I walk my path like an empty shell.
Your memory a ghost, always haunting me,
Mourning a love that could never be.
I spend my nights in the depths of despair,
While whispers of you linger in the air.
My heartbeats slow, the silence screams,
With fading echoes of shattered dreams.
Won’tyou come back and save the pieces of my heart?
Drag me from the endless void where our love fell apart.
In this lonely nightmare, I beg, and I plead,
Lost in this black abyss from which I’ll never be freed.
Come back from the darkness where you roam,
In this graveyard of souls, please come lead me home,
I need your guidance. I need you to feel,
