Page 47 of Angel's Mask

If he told her this lie, there was no turning back. To reveal himself would shatter her faith and her soul completely. There would never be a chance to touch her, be part of her life as a real man.

“Angel?” she asked, apprehension in her voice as the silence stretched between them.

Erik took a deep breath. There had never been a chance.

“He’s proud, Christine, so proud,” Erik intoned carefully, and tears blossomed in Christine’s eyes. Erik looked away. He couldn’t look at her face as he lied; the light in her eyes was too beautiful and terrible to bear. “He cannot speak to you as I can, but he hears you. He has always heard you and he is always with you.” Perhaps it was not all a lie in some sense. “When you love someone, you carry them in your heart. They can never truly leave you.”

“Thank you,” Christine whispered. Erik dared to look at her again. She was as overcome as he had expected and so beautiful. He could not stop himself from smiling weakly. “I don’t know what to say.”

“When you cannot speak, you must sing,” he reminded her simply. “Sing for him tonight. And sing for me.”

Christine nodded in resolve, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. He could see the strength inside her rising. She stood from the floor and straightened her red cloak, face resolute. She opened her mouth to speak again just as a knock sounded at the door.

“Are you decent in there, Daaé?” Valerius called from the other side of the door.

“I – yes,” Christine said, glancing to the mirror as she unlocked the door. Valerius walked in without ceremony, wearing her blue doublet and hose for her part as Siébel.

“I always hated this room, glad you have the stomach for it,” the mezzo declared, giving the mirror where Erik hid the same suspicious look everyone but Christine did. “Everything going well so far?”

“Yes, it’s wonderful to be on stage, finally,” Christine replied, distracted. Erik understood why a second later, as Gerard Gabriel followed Valerius inside.

“Gerard had finally started putting together the program for the New Year’s gala,” Valerius declared. “And someone gave him the fantastic idea that you and I should perform a duet for the festivities.”

Erik smiled in the dark, glad his note to Gabriel had hit home. It was completely useless lately to bother with the managers.

“Yes, well, I wanted to be the one to share that news,” Gabriel said with a gentle glare at Valerius. “It was suggested that you two sing the letter duet fromFigaro.”

Christine’s face lit up in a grin. “I would love to!”

“It’s rather old-fashioned for my taste, but it will get you the right kind of attention as we expand your reach,” Valerius said. There was no hiding the warmth in her face when she looked at Christine. “As would coming to the reception tonight.”

Instantly, Erik’s respect for the mezzo evaporated. Gabriel as well looked green at the prospect, as Christine glanced between the mezzo, the director, and the mirror.

“As I told you, I don’t think that would suit me,” Christine said carefully. Valerius sighed and Erik let out his own breath in relief.

“Fine, be that way,” Valerius said. “Come on, Gerard. I haven’t harassed you about Bizet yet this week. Christine, I’ll see you...eventually.”

He loved the way Christine blushed as Valerius closed the door. He wondered what the elder singer thought of Christine. Since she’d taken the room with Valerius, she’d only spent a few nights there. Did Valerius think Christine already had a lover? Perhaps that was for the best.

“I hope you will stay here tonight,” Erik whispered through the glass when they were alone. “Your first performance deserves a great reward.” He loved the way he could make her shiver with such words.

“I could never refuse you,” his pupil replied, her eyes darkening as she placed a hand on the mirror.

“Good.”

Her voice and her soul belonged to the Angel of Music, and none but that angel would ever own her ecstasy or her heart. Erik clung to that. She was his and she loved a part of him in a way no one ever had or would again, and he loved her desperately in return. Yes, one day he would place her in the spotlight on his grand stage and all of Paris would bow before her. But he would know she was his, his alone. And no other would ever touch her.

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