Page 60 of The Paranormal Investigation Bureau
“How exactly is that different? You’re both idiots if you think consent isn’t needed with men either.”
Nyx slung her leg over mine.
“It’s different because it’s Bevan.Everyoneloves Bevan. You’d have to be deranged to want to hurt him. I’m talking the kind of person who murders puppies for fun. When the company found out, everyone was plotting against Julian. Julian was missing from several classes after that, and Bevan asked everyone to drop it. Most people assumed Bevan got his revenge, but I saw your knuckles and knew it was you. I also knew Bevan likes to play the long game, and it would have happened, eventually.”
“I wish you could have been there and seen him, Nyx,” Merlin said. “It was beautiful.”
“I would have paid to see that, and Arden nearly eating Bellatrix,” Nyx said.
“It was pretty amazing,” Nicolai said. “She looked like she was about to wet herself. Then, he turned around and did Marsden. We were all thinking it, but Arden’s supernatural form was scary enough to drive the point home. Mad respect by the way, for defending Bevan and adding Beyla to it like that. Bellatrix is going to need a new archenemy now that Bevan is off the table, and we all know it’s going to be Beyla next.”
“It’s going to be me,” Beyla said. “Marsden is making damn sure of that. Come eat. Dinner is ready.”
“Hot damn!” Nyx yelled, jumping to her feet. “I think my stomach is eating itself. The choreography for the corps is hard, and exhausting, but Imuchprefer it to waving a wreath in the air and pretending to be a fucking fairy. So, what did you make?”
“I had two mentors that were attending The Academy of the Profane back when Old Scratch had to do community service there for hurting some food critics with his food. They said he was a complete asshole who insulted them constantly. He taught them several magical recipes that they passed on to me. I made one of his healing soups. Anything that got hurt during rehearsal and class will be gone, and it’ll replenish the energy you lost.”
“You had me at soup,” Nyx said.
The idea of magical soup that meant I didn’t have to pickle myself in heat balm tonight seemed nice, but I was more excited about the fact that my mate cooked this dinner with her own two hands, and I got to eat it. I’d prefer us to be alone, but she needed help. I was an excellent cook. Sure, I didn’t know any magic recipes from a kitchen warlock, but I knew plenty of legendary gryphon recipes that had been passed down through my family for generations.
I hadn’t even paid attention to what she said about Marsden, but Merlin sure had. He was kind of a goofball who somehow managed to produce popcorn in rehearsal every time shit went down. I didn’t take him for someone that was super perceptive.
“What did you mean when you said Marsden was going to make sure Bellatrix came for you next? He’s always looked the other way when it came to her, but she’s gotten even worse lately.”
“Before I start all this, I need to be honest about something. I’m not a ballet dancer. I’m—”
“The fuck you aren’t!” Nicolai growled. “I’ve been through every ballerina in this company trying to find a partner I had perfect chemistry with. I didn’t find her until you. We’ve all danced with you and think it should be you dancing Damita.”
“I’ve seen you in class, child,” Nyx said. “You wouldn’t be anywhere near this company if you weren’t a ballet dancer.”
What the fuck was she talking about? She was already one of Madame Lucinda’s favorites. Beyla had the complete package when it came to ballerinas.
“Stop!” she said. “I told you about how I missed out on coming to the academy here because my human boyfriend broke my feet, and then my parents died in a car accident. That was all totally true. My parents’ best friend—an agent with the Paranormal Investigation Bureau—adopted me. The night I found out about my parents, I took a whole bottle of Vicodin and accidentally awakened my powers early. Derrick, my human boyfriend, also went missing that night.
“He’s never been found, and his parents made all these accusations that I had something to do with it… even though both of my feet were in a cast, and I was in the hospital the night he went missing.
“It’s always bothered me that I never had the chance to tell him to his face what he cost me. It also seemed like fate had pretty strong opinions about me pursuing a dance career. I kept up with my training, and Kaine turned his garage into a dance studio, but instead of auditioning for companies, I went to the academy for the Paranormal Investigation Bureau. I aced all my exams, but apparently the only reason they hired me was because they needed someone who knew ballet to come here undercover. This is my first assignment.”
What.the.fuck? I had all these ideas of romancing her, claiming her, and dancing together on stage until our bodies wouldn’t let us dance anymore. Once her assignment was over, she was going to leave me. Why was there an undercover agent here, anyway?
“That’s some shit, Beyla,” Nyx said. “Why are you still here if Julian got busted? Were you just going to leave all of us?”
“Kaine and Madame Lucinda made me promise that when I completed my assignment I would do some deep introspection about where I wanted to be. I think fate is messing with me. I wasn’t meant to be here until right at this minute. Julian wasn’t my assignment. If I pull it off, I’m thinking about asking Marsden to hire me for real. If I fail, even if I decide to pursue a career in ballet, he’ll probably have me blackballed in this industry… that is, if I don’t end up dead.”
“Maybe you’d better explain what that means, Beyla,” Bevan said. “Marsden asking for an agent with ballet training isn’t the weirdest thing he’s ever done, but his behavior lately has been off, even for him.”
“Remember the conspiracy theory you told me about with Santiago, Selena, and Tabitha? There are files at the bureau about it. I had them pulled. There’s a lot I’m still missing, but I’ve pieced together a good bit of what happened, and why all of you are in danger.”
“I don’t get it. What does a super old, canceled ballet have to do with any of this?” Nyx asked.
“Selena was a witch who practiced dark magic. Santiago had her arrested by the bureau after Tabitha and the rest of the leads in the ballet were murdered. She laid down a wicked curse because Santiago replaced her as the lead with her understudy.
“It wasn’t some one-and-done curse, or one that was easily broken. This ballet has been attempted a few times since then, and every time they’ve canceled it because the cast was murdered. Of course, everything was neatly covered up so that the podcast didn’t hear about it, and there’s not a ton of information at the bureau.
“I think Selena felt so betrayed by Santiago that she wanted him to suffer for all eternity. I think the curse was on him. He can’t die, and his curse won’t break and let him until this ballet sees an audience. I don’t think Santiago Suarez ever fled to Canada. I think he went underground, in New York, and tried to fix his mistakes and end this curse.
“I’m reasonably sure he’s been whispering to Marsden, trying to manipulate this situation. I don’t think Marsden would hurt his dancers unless another Unseelie were in the picture. Everything is looking too similar to the original scenario. The prima and her understudy were a witch and a succubus back then, and now it’s the same again, but they switched us.
