Hyacinth, doing a little shimmy, turned around so her back was to the audience, and she could sing seductively over her shoulder. It was a sex-kitten maneuver I’d seen her pull many times, something that usually elicited lots ofappreciative catcalls and loud hoots. She wanted to wrap this up quickly. Giving a sexy pout, she lifted her bedazzled microphone to her lips and opened her mouth.
I did a spin around her and punched her in the stomach.
Hyacinth gasped, winded, and mouthed like a goldfish, suddenly unable to sing her verse.
I walked to the front of the stage, belting my verse out. And since I had no self-respect left, anyway, I ripped open my blouse, displaying my lacy black bra, and shimmied my boobs vigorously right at the edge of the stage.
Timothy and Jackie both leapt to their feet and screamed in tandem. “Yesssss! Oh mygoddddd! Wooohooooo!”
The needle on my side jumped straight to Superstar.
I turned to Hyacinth. Her face had turned red. “Game over, fishgirl.” I dropped the microphone.
Chapter
Ten
“Youbitch,” Hyacinth gasped, one hand on her chest, as we both climbed off the stage. “You cheated!”
“Maybe I did,” I grinned at her, walking to the back corner of the bar, trying to salvage the buttons on my blouse. One had popped off completely, leaving me with quite a plunging neckline, but it was nothing indecent. As long as I didn’t make any sudden moves, I’d be okay. “But if I cheated, then you did, too. We were both using more than our voices. You were using your siren magic to win. I just used my boobs.”
“You punched me in the gut!”
“You elbowed me in the ribs when you went on stage. I was just getting my payback.”
She huffed, her face turning even redder. “The deal is null and void, then.”
“The deal stands.” Donovan loomed out of the dark like a specter. “She beat you fair and square, siren.”
Hyacinth hissed at him, baring her teeth. They were suddenly very white, triangular shaped, and very very sharp.
Uh oh. There goes the last fragment of my sanity.
Just go with it,my dad’s voice whispered in my head.
Cress stepped in front of me. “She beat you fair and square, mer-bitch. You have to show us to the portal.”
Hyacinth pouted. “Why do you want to go to my realm anyway?” she rubbed her stomach sulkily. “What are you doing here? Have you gotten sick of bullying the creatures in the Upper World already? You high fae are all the same; you think you should be running everything.”
Donovan grew very still. “I would caution you to hold your tongue, sea hag. If you want to keep it,” he added quietly.
Hyacinth bristled, but she didn’t respond.
“Come on, Hyacinth.” I said. “We had a deal.”
She glared at me for a few more moments. “Fine,” she finally huffed out. “I’ll show you the portal.” She stomped across the floor, heading towards the tiny corridor at the back of the bar, walked in, and kicked open the door to the ladies. “If either of you tell anyone about this, I’ll?—”
“You won’t do anything,” Cress said. “You’re too embarrassed about losing your bet.”
Hyacinth scowled and kicked open a cubicle door. “At least tell me what you’re going to do in my realm. I won’t put my people in danger.”
Cress and Donovan stared at her stonily. In the long silence that followed, I checked my watch. Damn it, my lunch break was almost up already. I had to wrap up this little breakdown in a few minutes and get back to the office.
“We need to see the sea witch,” I piped up.
There was a long pause. All three of them stared at me.
Hyacinth’s mouth dropped open. “You… you need to see the sea witch?”
