Page 170 of Damsel in Disguise

When he pivots, I match him.

When he pulls, I go willingly.

The lyrics weave through the air around us.

“Sing once again with me, our strange duet,

My power over you grows stronger yet.”

A shiver races down my spine. That’s exactly what this feels like. A beautifully strange duet.

We move around each other in widening circles, sometimes facing one another and sometimes standing back to back. Yet our hands remain linked throughout, a silent tether neither of us seems willing to break.

“And though you turn from me to glance behind,

The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside your mind.”

Suddenly, he’s pulling me toward him.

The world spins as I twirl directly back into his arms. A startled gasp escapes me.

The sound barely leaves my lips before the floor vanishes beneath my feet. He’s lifted me effortlessly into the air.

The crowd erupts. Cheers explode around us as he holds me aloft as though I weigh nothing at all.

The movement is seamlessly confident. Every inch of him seems to know exactly what he’s doing.

Then I’m descending. Our eyes never leave each other’s as he swiftly places me back on my feet—blue and hazel, ice against fire.

“Those who’ve seen your face draw back in fear,

I am the mask you wear, it’s me they hear.”

His arm supports my back while he lowers me into a deep dip that my hair nearly brushes the floor.

His face hovers close above mine as I feel his lips faintly brushing against mine. I can taste traces of red wine on his breath without ever kissing his lips.

Instinctively, I part mine, wanting to sink my teeth into those luscious lips. The intimacy of it sends my heart tumbling into pure chaos.

“Your spirit and my voice (my spirit and your voice),

In one combined.

The Phantom of the Opera is there,

Inside my mind (inside your mind).”

For a suspended moment, everything beyond him blurs into streaks of light and sound.

Alistair pulls me upright again.

“He’s there, the Phantom of the Opera,

Beware the Phantom of the Opera.”

The orchestra swells toward its crescendo.

I circle him along with it.