Page 21 of Encore
“So, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. My future being the main thing. Ishouldhave been here when I was sixteen. I thought I was human and went to a human ballet school. As soon as I saw my first performance ofThe P,I knew it was the only place I wanted to dance, even though I had no idea all the dancers were supernaturals.
“I thought I was the luckiest person in the world when I got into the residential school here. My parents were going to let me go, even if I would have found out the truth about what I was. They were fully supportive of my love of ballet. Derek wasn’t and nearly took that from me.
“I thought that was a cosmic sign I wasn’t meant to be a ballet dancer. I still loved it and did it every day, but I followed Kaine into the bureau. Literally, my first assignment is here.You’rehere, and I’m your mate. My mentors told me my coven would form when I least expected it, and I didn’t think it would because my parents raised me without one. But here all of you are. Nyx is amazing, too. Anyway, what I’m saying is that I think you should claim me now. I’m ready.”
My mouth instantly went dry. I wanted this. Now that I’d met her, she was utterly perfect for me. I wanted this more than anything, but I thought it would take her time before she asked for this. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure if she was going to up and leave after this ballet.
Now that she told me she accepted me as her mate, I couldn’t just do it. It needed to be memorable. We were so wrapped up in curses and Marsden’s hair that none of us had taken her on a proper date. If I was going to share her with these assholes, they had better romance her and treat her right.
“If you want this, then it has to be perfect. I’ll need time to plan. How do you feel about motorcycles?”
“I think they are sexy. Especially with you on it.”
I squeezed her. I had no idea what I was going to do, but this was the most important night of my entire life, and I couldn’t mess this up.
Chapter18
Bevan
Nicolai’s relative took photos of literally everyone. He seemed to be invited to every party in New York. We’d been spending all our free time poring through these photos and hadn’t even put a dent in all the boxes Nicolai had. And Marsden’s hair? I couldn’t even figure out why he gave me one of the leads in his ballet after only giving me drag roles since I became a member of this company.
We threw out theories, dug through photos all night, and still had nothing. Arden was a hot mess now that Beyla asked him to claim her. It was kind of adorable. I’d never seen him this nervous about a girl before. We stayed up as late as possible, trying to figure this mystery out, but classes and rehearsals started back in the morning.
I showed up at the studio with Arden, Nyx, and Merlin. Beyla and Nicolai had gotten there early to do their thing. Honestly, I wasdyingto know how Marsden would spin this. Everything online just said Bellatrix’s death was an unfortunate accident. It didn’t say a damned thing about Beyla killing Bellatrix in self-defense.
He hadn’t addressed the company at all. Instead, he sent us notices about the gala and tried to hijack the video we made for Beyla as publicity for the company. I don’t think anyone in the company actually liked Bellatrix, but she’d been here longer than most of us. We all wanted her fired or to just retire already, not go flying out of a high-rise.
Except most of us were already here warming up, and Marsden was nowhere to be found. He had to say something, right? I think he was the only person in this company aside from Ivory and Julian, who actually wanted to spend time with her outside of class.
Madame Lucinda was up by the mirrors sitting on a stool and looking quite pissed off. Only a few people could put that look on her face, and Marsden was one of them. He finally came breezing into the studio right when class was supposed to start. That was just so disrespectful to Madame Lucinda. Everyone knew she expected her class to begin at a specific time.
“So, everyone has heard the news about Bellatrix. It was unfortunate, but we must move forward with the show. Ivory is also no longer with this company. I’ve recast Nyx in her role effective immediately.”
I’d process everything else he just said later. Nyx finally got the solo she deserved. She didn’t say a damned thing for once. Nyx just sat there with her mouth open. Beyla and I both shrieked and pulled her into a massive hug. Marsden cleared his throat to shut us up.
“I need this company to move forward. There are going to be some changes now. The gala this company is throwing to announce the new ballet will be the biggest we’ve thrown in decades. I’ll expect all of you there hitting up people for donations. I’m commissioning artists to bring the original set and costume designs to life. That’s going to require a lot of money.
“I won’t take up any more of your class because I need you all in prime condition for this ballet. You’ve had two days of rest. It’s time to get back to work. I expect you all at your best for this ballet.”
Marsden just waltzed out of the studio. What the actual fuck was that? Bellatrix was his girlfriend. He unleashed her on all of us until she tried to murder one of the company members and ended up dead. He didn’t say anything nice about Bellatrix that we might not have seen. He didn’t even apologize for letting her do the things she did to us.
What happened to Ivory? I knew she didn’t quit. Ivory mostly let Bellatrix run her mouth and speak for her, but I got a read on her when she spoke. Ivory was much nastier than Bellatrix was. She just wasn’t as direct about it. She hid behind Bellatrix’s rhinestone-encrusted tutu while she terrorized people, but she fully intended to take her place when Bellatrix retired.
I don’t think Ivory even liked her. People like that didn’t have souls. Bellatrix tolerated her and Julian, even though she hated gay people because she wanted minions to have her back in case one of her targets fought back. Ivory didn’t want to end up her prey, so she was just using her to ride her way to company star. Julian was just a confused, little, gay boy who hadn’t matured past high school and the Queen Bee mentality.
Ivory wouldn’t have quit. She would have demanded Bellatrix’s role in this ballet. Ivory was an excellent dancer, and plenty of people came to see her in the lead. And Marsden wasn’t stupid either. Beyla had the talent to be the next prima ballerina here, and she had fantastic chemistry with four of his male dancers. The possibilities there were endless.
Beyla wouldn’t have asked Arden to claim her and let this coven form if she hadn’t made her mind up about staying. Marsden would be an idiot to let her go back to the bureau without at least asking, but he hadn’t.
Nothing made a damned bit of sense. Marsden had just lost both of his stars. Beyla was born to play Damita, and she deserved the part, but Marsden was a shrewd businessman. Beyla was nailing it in rehearsal, but he’d never seen her on a professional stage before. We all knew she’d be just as perfect in front of an audience, but it was a hell of a risk for an artistic director.
Especially one that just informed the company he was throwing the biggest gala this company had done in decades to announce a secret ballet. That was way too many unfamiliars for the general public. The ballet crowd loved new works, especially if they pushed boundaries like this one. They wanted to see their favorites performing them, though.
Arden, Nicolai, and Merlin had a massive following. So did I, but not from fans of this ballet company. My social media accounts were all videos and photos of me dancing. While it was an honor to be accepted intoThe P,I didn’t intend to spend my prime dancing years only seeing a stage when there was an ugly woman in the cast that required a man in drag.
I had offers from other companies based on the videos I posted and plenty of people worldwide who loved it when I posted them. The only reason I hadn’t left was because of Madame Lucinda. I wouldn’t get that level of personalized mentorship from a fantastic teacher anywhere else. I hadn’t quit because I felt like she still had more to teach me.
What was Marsden up to? He was, technically, sleeping with Ivory, too. She got just as much of a free pass as Bellatrix. If she had given him an ultimatum to let her dance Damita, or she would quit, he would have worked something out. When he gave that shitty, little speech, he didn’t assign Beyla an understudy.
