Page 19 of The Paranormal Investigation Bureau
I realized how fucked up it was that I was sitting there, in the bathtub, with my massive glass of wine giggling about Kaine killing my missing abusive ex! Derrick had taken so much from me though, including any hope of closure when he went missing.
“Maybe, but you still have to find him first.”
“And you need to get out of the bathtub before you pickle yourself. I would imagine you have class early in the morning, and shit is going to get real when rehearsals start.”
That much was fucking true. My fingers and toes were pruning, and the water was getting cold. I still didn’t know the whole story with this ballet and didn’t know how I was going to stop it from killing people.
Whatever Julian, Bellatrix, and Ivory were planning, it wasn’t going to be lethal, right?
Chapter17
Beyla
Iwas nervous. We had classes until one, a break for lunch, then rehearsals forThe Sugar Skull Girlofficially started. I felt like there were pins and needles in my hands and feet, and my stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. I almost skipped my morning coffee because my heart was racing, and my anxiety was through the roof.
I’d be dancing in a few hours. Fuck, I’d be dancing all day. I said I would be a federal agent instead of a professional dancer, but I still went straight to ballet when I needed to blow off steam. Some people at the bureau threw around weights at the gym, or ran for hours, but that wasn’t me. I passed all my physical assessments for sure, but bitches like Mina took it personally that I didn’t live in the gym like they did.
The only thing that was going to calm me down was the comforting smell of rosin and polished wood. I needed the feel of tights on my skin and to work up a sweat. I’d usually be in my home studio dancing by this time, though maybe the company studio would be unlocked and I could squeeze a few steps in. It was going to be a long fucking day.
Nyx was still asleep. I hardly knew her, but I knew she liked her rest unless it was an emergency. The light was filtering red through the window because the sun was barely up. I was as quiet as a mouse while I made my coffee, eggs, and bacon. I read while I ate. It was so different not having Kaine here to talk to while I ate.
I changed into my dance clothes, grabbed my dance bag, and walked to the studio. That was one thing I liked about this apartment, one of the few things I liked, it was within walking distance of the studio. The front door was unlocked, and the lights were on when I arrived.
I was a little surprised to see Nicolai there, already warming up. He didn’t hit on me as hard as Merlin did, but he seemed to be playing games at lunch. He was sitting on the floor, with his legs spread out in the butterfly position, stretching his hips out. He smiled when he saw me.
“Hey. Most people don’t come this early.”
I set my bag on the floor and started jogging in place.
“What are you doing here?”
Nicolai nodded at me in the mirror. I looked behind me, and Madame Lucinda walked in. Was this a private lesson? I didn’t want to encroach.
“I can leave.”
“No, stay,” she said. “It’s not every day I get another early bird. You two can work together. I admire your dedication. Warm up.”
I stretched my hamstrings out and warmed up my ankles. I grabbed my bands and started working my feet and ankles. I flipped myself on my back and opened up my hips. Looking up, I realized Madame Lucinda was standing above me and staring.
“You have good flexibility and turnout. I want to try something when you are warm.”
“Sure.”
I wasn’t really sure what was going on, but I was going with the flow. For some reason, I thought Bevan was the only one she gave private lessons to. Nicolai didn’t say anything about this at lunch, if he had I wouldn’t have been here now. As it was, I felt like I was intruding.
Once I was warmed up, I went to the barre and clicked my heels together in first position. I went throughpliésandrelevés,in all five positions, then progressed through mytendusand foot exercises all the way togrand battement.
Nicolai was mirroring me until we were both done. We both wandered to the middle of the floor. I had my ballet slippers on. I still didn’t know what Madame Lucinda had planned. We had an hour before class started. She did that weird thing then, like on my first day where she circled us and didn’t speak, which made me just as uncomfortable as it did the first time.
“Leave your pointe shoes off. Do you both know theHades and Persephonevariation?”
Nicolai’s eyes, so dark they were practically black, were glittering dangerously as he looked at me hungrily. I knew that variation, but I hadn’t performed it in a very long time. Unlike the variation I’d done with Bevan, which was like a battle, this one was sexy.
The supernatural ballet version ofHades and Persephonewas a love story. There was also a human show about Persephone, and I’d performed that variation once. The human version was all about abduction, whereas in the supernatural version, Persephone seduces Hades into making her his queen of the Underworld.
I knew precisely what variation Madame Lucinda wanted us to do. It wasn’t as tricky asSekhmet and Ratechnique-wise with the lifts, turns, and jumps, but it was just as hard to pull it off convincingly to an audience. You still had to have solid technique, but this variation was all about chemistry and acting. Persephone didn’t just have to seduce Hades, she had to seduce the audience too.
After dancing with Bevan, I had a feeling we could pull it off. I barely knew him, but we had this innate chemistry whenever we danced together. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off with Nicolai… I didn’t even know if I wanted to. I didn’t like how he was looking at me right now. If Kaine saw that, the dragon would come out, and Nicolai would be too scared to even look in my direction again.
