Page 39 of Encore
The hostess working this time knew Nyx. Arden, Nicolai, and Merlin might be used to their level of fame opening doors for them, but this was all Nyx, and I was so happy for her. The hostess rushed forward to pull Nyx into a hug and just ignored the rest of us.
“Mysobowill be so happy you’re here tonight. We’re debuting a new dish tonight, but you know she prefers cooking for people she likes over strangers. The table is free. I’ll bring you.”
Holy shit. The waitlist for a reservation for tonight must be insane if there was a new dish. This restaurant didn’t do nightly specials. The menu was what it was, and everyone had a favorite. If they were going to introduce something new, one of the grandkids announced it on social media well ahead of time for people to make reservations.
Fucking Nyx. She got us a table here when it should have been impossible, just by being Nyx. I knew she was a banshee and not a witch, but that was just fucking magical.
Hana came out of the kitchen with a big smile as soon as she found out Nyx was there. Arden and I had eaten here with her before, and if Nyx were giving her ballet tickets, she would have seen Arden dancing lead roles, but all her focus was on Nyx. Nyx stood, and the two hugged.
“Child, you don’t come to see me enough. You’re too skinny. I know you have to be for ballet, but I just want to feed you. All the men you bring with you look well-fed, but why don’t they let the ballerinas eat, too? Your friends tonight look like they need my new dish.”
Arden leaned in to whisper where they couldn’t hear.
“Did she just call me fat? I see why they get along.”
“Nyx only tells you that when you ask because you get stupid about it, and she thinks it’s funny. And you keep asking her, knowing damned well what she’s going to say.”
“We came here to celebrate, but I also wanted to tell you I have tickets for you for our final show of the year. We’re all in it,andI have a solo this time.”
“It’s about damned time. I’ve seen most everyone here dance, and you deserve to be up there with them.”
“You don’t even have to tell me about the new dish. I already know it’s amazing, and I want it.”
“What about the rest of you?”
Honestly, there wasn’t a single bad dish on this menu. Hana and her family were magic when it came to cooking. We didn’t need to hear about it either. There was nothing wrong with pleasant surprises, and you couldn’t really go wrong here. There was this fantastic jasmine tea that was my favorite. Beyla ordered it when she realized it was a favorite of the table.
Madame Lucinda was just sitting there in shock. She was staring at Nyx with her mouth open.
“This restaurant was all the rage even when I was an apprentice. When I made my mark as prima ballerina of this company, I dated my way through almost every rich and powerful man in New York. Like, very powerful men. It was a different time back then. Even with my fame and their power, we weren’t eating here without a reservation and never at this table.”
“Hana and I became friends by accident, but you should always be kind to employees who are just doing their jobs. They can’t say anything when someone is flipping out on them about something that is probably the stupid customer’s fault anyway, or they’ll get fired. Some people choose to film it. I decide to tell them they are being a garbage human that should stay home and cook for themselves or run a farm and grow their own fucking food.
“I know rudeness isn’t tolerated here, but I wasn’t even thinking about getting banned. I just reacted. Some Southern vampires ripped this server a new asshole for not bringing them sweet, iced tea when they don’t even serve that here. Someone reported to Hana someone was berating her family, and she came out to me yelling at them. We’ve been friends since.”
Madame Lucinda threw back her head and laughed.
“I supposed that mouth of yours should be good for something. She’s right, though. It’s time Marsden gave you a solo. He’s being selfish, keeping you in the corps. You’re a leader, Nyx. When you’re in the corps, everyone follows you. It makes for a better corps de ballet, but it’s not fair to you.”
“I always thought it was because I didn’t sleep with him.”
“It’s not. That’s never been his thing. Every time I saw him again, he never got involved with the dancers. I think he was still heartbroken over Selena. Bellatrix and Ivory were the first. I never really got those relationships. Selena was a diva, but she was never like Bellatrix.”
“This curse says otherwise,” Arden said.
“The difference between Selena and Bellatrix was that Selena knew she was the best, and she intended on teaching when she retired. So, no one threatened Selena. She used to take a mentoring role in the company because she really wasn’t worried about anyone replacing her.
“That all changed with Tabitha. Selena took her under her wing and thought they were friends. Selena was a better dancer than Tabitha was. Of course, everyone knew that except Tabitha. Selena was married to Santiago, but she got her roles because she was an amazing, versatile dancer. They were the ultimate power couple back then.
“Tabitha had a bigger ego than she had dance talent. She thought she was better than Selena and that being married to Santiago was the key to getting lead roles. He’s not showing this now, but Santiago is a multi-talented creative genius. He used to do everything when he was artistic director. He wrote the ballets, choreographed, designed sets and costumes, and wrote the music a good bit of the time. Selena and Santiago were a partnership. Tabitha wanted to steal him for what he could do for her career.”
I still wasn’t a fan of Selena. A lot of dancers died because of her. We were all in danger if Marsden wasn’t right about needing her descendent in this role.
“Santiago never would have left Selena for Tabitha. He was hopelessly in love with her. Selena knew that, but when she found out that’s what Tabitha’s intentions were, their rivalry started. Honestly, I’m not sure why he didn’t just fire Tabitha. It would have saved a lot of lives.
“Santiago ignored her and was nothing but professional around her. Selena and Santiago were usually inseparable, but they split up when they needed to be in two places at once. Tabitha made sure he was alone, and the paparazzi would be there. The photo of them together was staged and completely inaccurate. He had her escorted out after that.
“I can’t talk about anything that happened after that because it involves that ballet and the curse, but we could have avoided this all if Santiago had just fired Tabitha on the multiple occasions she gave him a reason to do so. Selena was the one who laid the curse, but Tabitha was the one who reminded me of Bellatrix and Ivory.”
