Though I’ll really need to feed if I’m going to pull that off. Not to mention committing my little theft.
I settle myself in beside Amelia on some bleachers and we all hang out there as we wait for the show to start. Taser seems to be in a much better mood. I lean back against Dericia’s knees as she braids my hair to pass the time. She does two French braids that stop at the nape of my neck and ties ribbons around them. I usually bring extras with me. I never know when some jerk will pull one off.
Eventually the entire crowd quiets down as a soft atmospheric melody begins to play. The sun has already set and the stage is still dark, but I can see Wrath’s figure walk slowly out on to the stage towards the microphone stand. Just before he begins to sing, the lights flare on brightly, pointed on him, and the entire crowd cheers. But the cheers from the women in the crowd are for a whole different reason.
He’s wearing the pants. The ones Amelia teased me about. They’re loose-fitting pants that cling to him in a way that makes something very apparent.
And the way the lights hit him seems intentional.
Reese draws in a breath. “The lights and those pants are really doing the stars’ work,” she says with a laugh. “Damn.”
“Damn is right,” Amelia agrees.
“Weird,” Taser says. “I thought I was straight, but…” He trails off and we all laugh, but quiet down quickly as Wrath begins singing a song that I’ve had on repeat for quite some time.
Amelia and I are moving side to side and screaming out like teenage fan girls as Eerie, the bassist, turns his back to the crowd, falling slowly to his knees in front of Wrath. Eerie slides down to the ground, until his legs are spread straight out in front of him, and his head falls back over the edge of the stage. We aren’t the only women screaming. Wrath, continuing to sing the chorus, straddles Eerie, resting one of his hands around Eerie’s neck, and slowly drags his hand down Eerie’s torso, interrupted by the bass that Eerie is somehow continuing to play.
During a break in the lyrics, Wrath bends down and slowly shifts Eerie’s mask up so that just his lips are uncovered and leans in, giving him a full long kiss before he jumps up off his bandmate and goes right into the next verse. Eerie slowly gets back up, using one hand to pull his mask back down, the other reaching out to Wrath as if he’s lusting after him still.
The crowd is a puddle of screaming women and men. Taser and Tubbs exchange glances. Tubbs give a slight cough and they break eye contact. Amelia and I chuckle. We can pick up on everyone’s arousal pretty easily.
After Voracious Maw’s fairly explicit performance, I’m practically buzzing out of my skin. I haven’t fully fed in so fucking long and my powers are completely gone. Amelia keeps looking at me.
“There are about forty-five minutes before the Phantoms go on. Go find Grim and feed yourself, please.” She gives me ameaningful look. “I can practically feel your lust coming off you in waves.”
I shake my head, but I don’t respond. She’s right. I need to power myself up and Grim is obviously extremely willing. He’ll probably be pretty comfortable to be with. He makes me laugh.
But he’s not my bond.
But what if I never find my bond?
What if despite everyone’s reassurances, my bond doesn’t actually exist?
What if I can’t complete the deal with the wraith?
I think about staying here with my friends, but then I remember that Simon is going to introduce me to Wrath and I don’t know when. I might only get the one chance to befriend him and I might need my powers to convince him that Simon’s idea to bring us on as openers for them is a good idea, especially after I get his tears.
So I say bye to my friends and make my way backstage, hoping to catch a glimpse of Grim. To my disappointment I don’t see him yet. The band is probably still somewhere getting into their costumes. None of the Voracious Maw guys are around except for Simon, who’s in the middle of a phone call and looks like he’s simultaneously directing where the roadies should move their gear.
A little ways off I see a familiar face that sends my stomach twisting. Jinx, Jordan’s best friend and bandmate, is standing a bit behind Simon and he’s spotted me, a smirk already fixed on his face. He’s walking my way, so I turn and quickly move the other direction, weaving through several venue staffers, hoping Jinx will lose me in the crowd.
I decide to go behind the stage in an area that’s off limits to anyone without backstage passes, but it also seems to be an area that no one is using. I cut through to the other side and end upclose to the grassy picnic area with the maze from the scavenger hunt on the other side.
I spare one second to glance behind me.
Jinx is standing still, looking around. I see it when he spots me. A slow grin spreads over his face, and he starts moving, heading right towards me.
I try to blend in with the crowd that’s milling about waiting for whatever show they’re going to next. The maze is roped off currently, but I figure if I can slip in there, I still have the map, so I could pop out on the other side and circle back around to make my way back to Amelia, to safety.
What is Jinx playing at?
I duck under the tape that’s closing up the entrance to the maze and make the first few turns from memory, taking out my map from yesterday. As I’m trying to orient myself I walk past a section I know is a dead end.
A hand snakes around my waist and pulls me back into a muscular, too hard chest. “Hey there, Bliss,” Jordan all but hisses in my ear, his breath hot and sticky on my neck. I wrench out of his grip and he puts on a confused look. “What’s wrong, beautiful?”
“Don’t touch me.”
What the fuck is he doing here?
