Chapter Seventeen
ARINA
“Are you sure I’m not supposed to be down there rehearsing?” I whispered. Bobbitt was leading me to a front-row seat in the stands that wrapped around the arena. “How can I perform tomorrow if I don’t practice?”
She’d recurled her blonde hair, and her ringlets bounced with every step. The performance space below was illuminated only by faint red and purple lights, while the seating area was lit well enough for us to see where we were going.
Thank God.
The last thing I wanted to do was fall down the stairs or trip over the banister and break a leg before I even had the chance to go on stage.
“Hallow wants ya to see the show,” she piped, stopping so suddenly I nearly ran her over.
She pointed to the middle seat of the center section and gestured for me to sit.
It had to be the best seat in the house.
“Every new performer gets to watch it at least once. Besides, ya practiced with Zero earlier.”
My heart fluttered at the mention of my scent match, and thinking back to our adrenaline-fueled performance had it beating double time. I still wasn’t sure how I’d managed to stay so calm while being used as a live target, but I’d been determined to prove a point.
He couldn’t scare me.
And if he did, I wouldn’t show it.
Scent match or not, I wasn’t letting some alpha’s opinion sway me from what I wanted. And what I wanted was to join the circus.
“As long as you’re sure…” I muttered.
Figuring it was pointless to argue, I swallowed my nerves and sat. She sank into the seat next to me, flopping a pink messenger bag full of empty balloons onto her lap. I’d watched her pack it before we left the bus.
“And you’re not supposed to be down there either?” I cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “There ain’t much for me to do this weekend, so I told Hallow I’d watch with ya.”
I wasn’t sure if she was lying or not—maybe Hallow told her to babysit me—but I was thankful. At least I wasn’t alone.
“You’re gonna love it!” she squeaked, settling into her seat. “It’s the best show on Earth.”
From the little I’d seen, I had no doubt that the Knotty Sideshow was good, but ‘the best on Earth’ was probably a stretch.
Hearing it still fueled my excitement, though, and I found it difficult to sit still as my eyes trailed down to the darkened arena floor.
Props were visible in the faint, multi-colored lights, but it was still dark enough that most of the details were lost.
A suspenseful silence filled the air, growing thicker as the seconds ticked by. Any moment now, the performers would take the stage. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth and searched for movement in the darkness.
Directly in front of us, in the center of the arena, was a carousel. It looked to be made entirely of mirrors, aside from the animal sculptures around the edge, and it wasn’t moving. Above it hung a giant net that I assumed was a precautionary measure for the aerialists.
Daze.
My heart thudded extra hard at the thought of seeing him soar through the arena, and I fought the smile working its way across my face. I was just excited for the performance, I reminded myself. The giddy feeling worming its way through me definitely had nothing to do with seeing him again.
Even if he has the most perfect abs and dazzling smile…
There were a few more props on either end of the arena, positioned just outside of the faint lights, so they blended in with the darkness. Everything was impossibly silent, any noise swallowed by the empty event hall.
After several minutes, I finally saw shadows shift along the edges of the performance area. Circus members were moving around the walls, waiting to take the stage.
Anticipation bubbled in my veins, and my foot bounced restlessly. I was anxious, ready to vibrate apart with excitement.
Then the music started.
A slow, eerie violin seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, starting soft before a crescendo that left my hair standing on end. The carousel began to spin, its mirrors creating a kaleidoscope of colors as the lights above started to dance.
Overhead, a halo screen flickered to life, showing several camera angles of the carousel. It was creepy and beautiful, like something plucked straight from a nightmare. No matter where you sat in the hall, you could easily see what was happening on the giant screens.
In a blink, a figure appeared on the carousel as it continued its slow revolution. It took only a second for me to realize it was Hallow, dressed in their black suit and matching top hat.
The spinning attraction came to a halt, with the ringleader facing exactly where Bobbitt and I sat. Something told me she’d picked these seats on purpose.
“Distinguished guests, both esteemed and iniquitous.” Hallow’s voice bellowed through the space.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Knotty Sideshow. Tonight, while our collective performs the most delectable, harrowing acts you’ve ever seen, I invite you to embrace the darkness, lose yourself to the fantasy, and most of all… ”
Hallow lifted their arms out to the sides, palms facing the sky.
“...enjoy the show.”
Bobbitt sighed next to me, and I looked over to find her staring at Hallow with more adoration and awe than any one person should be able to muster.
“Aren’t they incredible?” She batted her eyelashes.
Oh yeah, she had it fucking bad.
I opened my mouth to say something—probably to agree with her—but, all at once, the arena exploded into a whirlwind of lights and color and music. From that moment on, I was glued to my chair, my eyes chasing the performers.
The opening number consisted of aerialists in scarlet-colored silks dropping from the ceiling, and a group of dirt bike stuntmen racing around the arena.
The dirtbikes were hardly audible over the creepy circus music playing through the event hall, and my eyes immediately jumped to the leader as the group sped past. White braids whipped along behind him.
Revel.
My heart lurched when he shot up a wooden ramp and did a backflip before landing with ease and speeding off to the other side of the arena. The other stuntmen followed in his wake.
A group of contortionists took to the carousel, which had started spinning again at some point.
Their glittered body suits reflected in the many mirrors and made the whole thing shine like a thousand gems. I couldn’t watch them for too long because it was a beautiful mindfuck that made my head swim, but it was impressive all the same.
There were so many flashing lights, bursts of color, and bustling bodies that it was impossible to keep up with everything happening below, especially with the screens overhead showing vibrant bits and pieces of the performance.
Troupe members swarmed the area, moving in a fast-paced synchronized dance around the props, while the aerialists continued to flip and twirl overhead.
My eyes locked on Daze’s rainbow hair as he swung on a trapeze between the silk aerialists. He wore a pair of sparkling navy pants and rainbow suspenders, every muscle in his tanned torso flexing with his movements.
“Dazey is a dream up there, ain’t he?” I barely heard Bobbitt ask, but I managed to nod in agreement.
He let go of the bar suddenly, and my heart dropped as I watched him tumble and fall. A second later, another bar appeared out of nowhere, and he grabbed it before swinging off in the opposite direction.
My chest unclenched as he disappeared, and I quietly scolded myself.
Of course he was fine. This is his fucking job, Ari.
Besides, there was a giant net below him if he missed the trapeze.
Embarrassment heated my cheeks.
“What’s the matter?” Bobbitt asked, gently elbowing me.
“Nothing.” I shook my head and adjusted myself in the seat. I glanced over to see that she’d pulled out one of her balloons and blown it up. She was starting to twist it into a shape.
It seemed that anytime Hallow wasn’t center stage, she stopped paying attention. I couldn’t blame her though. She’d probably seen the show a thousand times. For her, all of this was old news.
For me, however, it was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen.
I turned my attention back to the show, quickly losing myself in the performance again. It was so much, too much, to memorize, and I quickly gave up trying to take mental notes. I just enjoyed what was happening in front of me.
It was otherworldly. Breathtaking. Mesmerizing.
It was more than I ever could have imagined, and I couldn’t deny the realization slowly working its way through my overloaded brain: I fucking loved the circus.
Watching it, anyway. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about performing with them.
In fact, I was almost certain I’d ruin the show tomorrow. I wasn’t trained, I had no idea what I was doing, and I had a feeling I would mess up their carefully curated perfection.
They made it look so easy.
After the opening number, the performers cleared out, leaving the arena empty except for Hallow, who stood on a raised platform off to the right.
Once again, Bobbitt snapped to attention, her eyes laser-focused on the ringleader.
With a cane in their hands and top hat pulled low, Hallow radiated mystery.
They might not have been very approachable in person, but their stage presence was unmatched.
It made complete sense why they were in charge of this knotty attraction.
“Are you ready to feel your heart pound out of your chest?” they asked, their voice washing over the empty seats and reaching up to the nosebleeds. “To have adrenaline burn through your veins, to cling to the edge of your seat?”
Yes, yes, yes. I was ready.
I was captivated, at the mercy of the circus. Locked in, waiting for more.
As Hallow spoke, several things happened in the darkness behind them. At one end of the arena, something massive and inflatable began to swell, reaching skyward. At the other end, a giant sphere was being wheeled out, but it was difficult to look past the ringleader’s demanding presence.
“Then prepare yourself for an alpha who thrives on death-defying acts,” Hallow said, their grin magnified on every screen overhead. “Give it up for Revel and his team!”
In a roar of motors that managed to cut through the music, the group of dirt bike riders sped back out into the arena, circling around the carousel.
A few overhead lights popped on, giving us a clearer view of the arena layout, and my eyes jumped to the new additions.
The inflatable monstrosity was a giant ramp, with a second, smaller one several yards away.
The sphere was a cage on wheels, and seeing it made my chest clench.
Motorcycles in a cage. They hadn’t even done anything yet, and I was already finding it hard to breathe.
Apparently, I could handle knife throwing better than motorbikes in confined spaces.
Good to know.
Revel led his fellow stuntmen in another lap around the arena before they took turns launching off the inflatable ramp.
They flipped, spun, and tumbled through the air before landing on their target, just to do it all again.
I clenched my eyes closed when Revel let go of his handlebars mid-air and flew alone for a couple of seconds.
By the time I got up the courage to peek again, he was back in line for another jump.
Next, they filed into the giant metal cage and chased one another, riding inches apart.
All the while, my eyes trailed Revel’s braids, unable to look away.
He might have hated me—scratch that, he did hate me—but I couldn’t help but be in awe.
He was skilled on a two-wheeled death trap; I’d give him that.
I expected a lull before the next act, a beat for the audience to breathe, but there wasn’t one. As soon as Revel and his bikers did another lap around the arena, they were gone, replaced by a colorful squad of clowns bouncing into view.
They laughed and stumbled as they chased one another around.
A guy on stilts pretended to nearly step on everyone else as he stumbled after them, and one unlucky blonde got a pie to the face.
It was adorable, and just enough of a distraction that I didn’t notice the familiar knife-throwing target getting dragged out of the shadows.
A maniacal laugh pierced through the hall, making my stomach pitch, and I whipped my head back and forth as the lights dimmed again. I knew what was coming before Hallow even introduced the next act, and icy tendrils crawled through me as my scent match walked out to the middle of the arena.