Page 222 of Bliss & Her Idols

“We have the top singers in America here.” Jin’s dark eyes are lit with a beautiful passion and an even more beautifulhope. “An entire camp of them. Let’s put on a surprise show tomorrow evening, the most spectacular of my life. It’ll be a global sensation. My Set Us Free concert for one night only!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Performance Hall, Idol Estate

My heart soars, as much as my stomach churns.

I’m trembling with nerves.

Tonight’s performance is going to be incredible, special,life changing.

All day, Jin, Immortal, and fifty handpicked Idols have been practicing in secret in the estate’s performance hall to pull this off, while I’ve leaked news of the one-off concert to trusted music journalists.

Cricket showed off his talent by causing enough chaos in the fake messages (he’s the only troll that I approve of), which he sent between the supervisors and security to keep them confused, at each other’s throats, and away from the hall.

At the same time, Rory came through for me with the paper trail of evidence. On top of that, Piper sent me everything that I’d been gathering in this investigation from back in Haven.

I’d settled into a navy, velvet seat in the auditorium with a thermos full of coffee and my laptop balanced on my knee and wrote with focused attention the most personal and intense article of my life.

When you have a deadline, it definitely makes you work hard.

When I finished, I stared at the screen.

I knew deep inside that this was a turning point.

My life would never be the same after this. Nor would my pack’s or the Idols’.

Except, this wasn’t about me or even the Idols.

This was bigger than any of us.

Once I passed this article to Cricket, nothing would be the same within the global music industry again. A shift would occur that people couldn’t ignore.

I was the pen behind it, but it had never been about me.

My voice was the one that amplified a thousand,millionothers.

One voice could speak up for those who’d been silenced.

None of us were ever alone if we remembered that power.

I can sense a mix of nerves and anticipation from the rest of my pack through the bond.

Standing in the wings of the performance hall, I scrunch up my nose at the smell: dust burning in the footlights, the musty scent of the seats, and greasepaint.

The boards of the stage have been polished by Cricket until they gleam.

The hall is large and luxurious because Mena and the twins use it as a setting to invite music executives and VIPs to privately visit and debut new Idols.

Glowing stars hang from the ceiling.

The background is backlit by streaming silver lights like hanging chains. A vast birdcage shaped screen hangs in the middle.

The lights are blindingly bright.

I stare out at the Idols who are gathered in a circle around Jin. Their ages range from elementary to college, but their dedication and hard work is equal to any adult’s.

Throughout the day, when Jin didn’t yell at or punish them like the twins did, they relaxed and began to have fun. Jin kept their attention with magic tricks.

---