Chapter 2
Amélie
Iwatched from the edge of the ring as Wren ran through her warm-up routine.
My heart rate increased as I took her in.
Her sheaf of silky dark hair. Her wide, deep brown eyes, fringed by long, delicate lashes.
Her pretty, pretty face dusted with faint freckles.
Her soft mouth that curved into the sweetest smiles, especially when she didn’t think anyone was watching.
She was practicing her floor routine now, her body moving with a gracefulness that made my breath catch.
Her plush lips were parted, her breaths coming faster as she pushed herself to complete the sequence of moves.
She wore a black leotard and ballet shoes, her usual uniform when she practiced with the troupe.
I tried not to stare at the long lines of her legs, at the way the leotard hugged her athletic frame, but I was only human.
I’d grown up in the cirque, surrounded by beautiful, intriguing people, and yet no one had ever caught my attention like she had. She’d caught it from the second I’d first seen her, almost two years ago, and held it effortlessly ever since.
Joining the other circus members in the circle marked out in the dirt, all of us masked and ready, I ran my gaze over the bound, gagged woman in the centre.
With her mid-length brown hair and a sallow, lined face, anywhere between fifty and sixty in age, there was nothing remarkable about her. But there was a reason she was here.
Judge and Vivienne recounted the list of the woman’s crimes, ignoring her muffled cries and struggles.
This woman was our Chosen tonight, and she was here to face up to everything she’d done.
Lying, embezzling, falsifying reports. Neglecting and starving her charges.
And worst of all, sustained abuse of the children she’d been entrusted to care for, to the point where a little boy we’d heard about on the grapevine had been teetering on the brink of death.
We got there too late to save him.
Nothing could shock me anymore. We’d seen some of the most depraved parts of humanity and meted out justice.
The macabre tradition of Choosing had begun with the cirque’s inception in the 1100s.
The ritual had a long, bloody history, but those who were earmarked for death had all committed horrific atrocities, without consequence.
When they came to the attention of the cirque…
well. Was it morally right to enact our own justice?
In the eyes of the world…no, but we were a voice for the voiceless.
A reckoning where legal avenues had failed, time and time again.
Judge, jury and executioner for the damned, to make sure they paid for their crimes.
But this time, it was different. Peeking out from behind Vivienne was a girl. Dirty, pale, all stringy brown hair and the hugest eyes I’d ever seen, she clung to Vivienne like she was the only thing tethering her to earth.
As the knife sliced into the woman’s throat, silencing her cries for good, her blood showering the earth in a deep, crimson arc, the girl gave a deep, shuddering sigh of utter relief and closed her eyes.
A single tear trembled on her lashes, before it fell to the ground.
My breath caught in my throat, and I clenched my fists, ripping my gaze away in an attempt to avoid the sudden, shocking need to cross the circle and wrap her in my arms.
I found out later that the girl’s name was Wren, and the woman had been her guardian.
At the time, she’d been seventeen, three days shy of turning eighteen, and the fact that she was only a few months younger than me cut me to the core.
Our lives couldn’t have been more different.
Why were some people dealt such an awful hand in life? Why did these sick monsters exist?
Wren joined our troupe of trapeze artists, and we gradually got to know each other.
That downtrodden, fragile girl blossomed into a woman who bore no resemblance to her past self on the surface, although there was still a fragility lurking beneath.
But she was strong. She never let her fragility overwhelm her.
I was so proud of her—we all were. She was a part of the cirque family, and we’d all do anything for each other.
But there was something more. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Couldn’t stop noticing her. Wherever she was, I wanted to be. Something about her drew me like a moth to a flame.
It was an obsession I didn’t understand.
She was on my mind. Always.
Never before had someone captured my attention so fucking effortlessly, and she didn’t even know the effect she had on me.
Or did she? Did she see me only as a friend? Did she feel the same ache I did, deep within her soul?
“You’re staring again.”
I’d been so caught up in watching Wren that I jumped at the amused voice coming from my side.
My head shot around, and I found Florin grinning at me, his golden curls catching the afternoon light.
He looked like a sweet little angel—all innocent blue eyes and cherubic features.
It was a lie, of course. Florin was many things, but innocent wasn’t one of them.
My cheeks flushed. “I’m not staring.”
He tilted his head, his long lashes fluttering as he blinked up at me, the innocent little demon. “Oh? You’ve been ‘not staring’ at her for months now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Florin laughed, a bright, tinkling sound. “You can’t fool me. I know you’re head over heels for our little bird. She watches you too, you know. When you’re not looking.”
My heart did a little flip. “She does?”
“Yep! Even Darius noticed.” He clapped his hands together. “Oh! I just remembered! Last week when you were all practicing, she nearly fell off her trapeze because she was too busy watching you on the silks. Vivienne had to call her name three times!”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “Really?”
“Really.” He bounced on his toes, all bright enthusiasm. “So, what’s the plan? A grand romantic gesture? Ooh, you could write her name in blood! I could help with that!”
“Florin, no. No grand gestures, and definitely no blood.”
He sighed dramatically, his lips curving into a pout. “You’re no fun. Fine. But you should tell her how you feel.”
Tell her how I feel.
My gaze slid back to Wren, and she looked up, catching my eye. She smiled—that beautiful, unguarded smile that made my stomach flip—and gave me a shy wave.
My heart skipped a beat.
“Wave back!” Florin hissed, lifting my hand for me and waving it in the air.
“Florin!” I snatched my hand away, my cheeks flushing even more as Wren’s smile widened, amusement dancing in her beautiful eyes.
“I’m going to help you,” he announced, completely ignoring my warning look. “Teeth’s mirror maze would make such a lovely, romantic location for a love confession. What do you say?”
“Love confession— What?”
“Yay! I’m glad you agree. It’s going to be so much fun! I’ll go and find Teeth now, and we’ll make sure the maze is free for you tonight after the show.” Flashing me a bright smile, he skipped away before I had a chance to respond.
When he’d gone, I lowered myself to the bench with a sigh. Maybe he was right. Wasn’t it better to know, rather than live with this uncertainty?
I’d been suppressing my feelings for so long, but now I was struggling to hide them, to act as if Wren was only a friend to me. But according to Florin—who seemed to know everything that happened in the cirque—Wren watched me, too.
I had to know if she felt even a fraction of what I felt for her. And tonight, I’d know one way or another.
“Amélie! Warm up, then aerial silks!”
My head rose, and I lifted my hand to acknowledge Vivienne’s call from across the ring. Rising to my feet, I pushed everything else from my mind, thinking only of the routine.
It was time to do what I did best. Fly high, and free.