There’s a sharp intake of breath and he squeezes my hand.
“Sin.” His voice is hoarse and I snap my eyes open.
His lips part in shock. “That’s you?” he asks.
I nod, keeping my concentration on lowering the flow of magic to a trickle of comfort, a hand stroking his hair as he lays his head in someone’s lap.
“Holy fuck, that’s amazing,” he breathes.
I can’t help smiling, especially when he gifts me with a delighted smile, his expression clearing like all the pain has melted away.
“Thank you, Sin. Fuck. Seriously. I can’t tell you how good that feels. Like going from being one second from a meltdown to feeling... safe.”
My gut twists—but it’s pleasure, not unease—unfurling inside me. That feeling expands on itself when he gets to his feet, pulling me up and linking our fingers together.
A FEW HOURS LATER ANDI’m in the middle of The Smokeshow, a little underground club that seems to mostly cater to a non-human audience. The band hasn't come on yet, and I sip my drink and gaze around the room. There is a group of nymphs dancing together and a pair of vampires sit in one dark corner, staring stonilyout at the room. I sit perched at one corner of the stage where I’ve got a good view of both the band and the audience.
It’s kind of dingy in here, the floors are sticky and the air smells sweet, but the atmosphere is upbeat.
Then someone hops up on stage. She’s gorgeous, with flawless brown skin and she’s wearing an amazing blue jumpsuit that sparkles under the lighting.
I’m once again dressed in overalls. They’re my nicest pair, but still... they’re overalls.
“We’ve got a surprise treat for you all tonight.” She beams out at the audience. “Make some fucking noise for our friends here at the Smokeshow, Orpheus Underground.”
The crowd loses their minds. I grin, clapping and whooping along as they appear on stage. Cal appears first, climbing behind his drums with a salute at the crowd. He’s topless and my mouth goes kind of dry as I take him in. He starts up a heady beat that sounds almost like war drums. Then Iri and Dorian join him, both starting up a steady rhythm.
Then, finally, Micah steps onto the stage. The crowd surges closer, whooping and cat-calling, causing Micah’s grin to grow. He scans the audience, clocking me and shooting me a wink that has my stomach swooping.
Their sound is intense and I can feel it right down to my bones. Cal’s a beast on the drums, effortlessly pounding away at them, his arms flying across the kit with a ferocity that's both terrifying and mesmerizing. Sweat glistens on his brow and the sound is primal. Iri keeps up a heartbeat on bass, his body shifting with the beat as he keeps an eye on the other members. Then there’s Dorian, his fingers moving fast as lightning, and I see what Ally and Lila were talking about when they described his movements.
I fan myself with one hand, taking a long drink and sitting forward in my seat. The rest of the crowd is just as mesmerized.
And then Micah starts to sing.
He’s spellbinding to listen to. His voice is raw, raspy, and it hits me somewhere deep in my gut. It’s almost impossible to draw my eyes away. He then lets out a primal scream and the entire room stops still.
And then they launch into a song that’s both heavy enough to feel in my bones and sexy as hell.
Hol-y fuck, they are like nothing else. I lose myself in the sound, tapping my foot and swaying to the beat.
A mosh pit forms and my eyes pop out of my head as I watch a gargoyle head-banging and a bunch of hairy guys that look like they could be shifters plow right into each other.
Ideas start flooding through me as the adrenaline pumps through my body. The entire place is loving them, singing along, their arms reaching out as if to touch them.
If this is how people react to them on a Tuesday evening at some random club, I can’t imagine what their usual gigs are like. I’m mentally designing gadgets that’ll bring the entire thing to another level. Glitter bombs that’ll melt into the audience’s skin and hit them with a second of pure euphoria. Swirling lights that amplify the crowd’s reactions and bring them into harmony. Orbs that change color depending on the crowd’s mood.
My hands are too sweaty to make physical notes, so I have to focus and make mental ones instead.
Forty minutes later, and they’re wrapping up. All four of them are dripping with sweat, their clothes sticking to their bodies like a second skin.
They step off stage and I slide off my stool, slipping out of the door to wait for them around the back.
I don’t have long to wait before they’re joining me. Micah’s grinning widely and he pulls me into a disgustingly sweaty hug.
“What did you think?” Cal asks.
“Amazing,” I reply. “I have so many ideas.”
