Page 18 of Cosplay & Consequences

“We are divided, and that’s how Oderan wants us. Do you think he fears this alliance? No. He lets us squabble and fight to keep us weak and frail. We fight for crumbs while he lords over us, crushing us under his heel.”

For a brief second, I remembered his hands on my face and in my hair as he leaned down to kiss me. I forced my eyes open and took a deep breath, trying to keep my hormones in check. When I saw him standing there, it wasn’t Daniel Finnegan or Marlin Sinbad. It was Tyrst’an of Glen Orrin forming the Alliance of the Cauldron.

“Well, I say: no more! If we band together, not only will we be stronger, but Oderan will know we’ve come for him. He will know fear and flail like a child as we take away what is rightfully ours. Tonight… we kill a tyrant.”

The entire audience rose to their feet, screaming, and applauding. I found myself on my feet as well, trying to find a way to control my breathing, my hands clapping together like everyone else. He bowed to the crowd and returned to the chair, picking up the mic but not sitting. He smiled at me. “How did I do?”

“That was incredible.” I said it without thinking. I regretted it as soon as the words exited my mouth. I cringed internally, becoming flustered and tongue tied.

“Thank you,” he said earnestly, and the audience roared in approval as we both sat down.

He smiled at me. “Any other questions?”

I took a deep breath and cleared my head. “Um. Yes. A few. As you know, the series cut out a lot of scenes from the original books. What’s your opinion on how they handled Roderick Galfast?”

I watched as his face went blank. “I’m sorry, who?”

A soft groan of disappointment ran through the crowd. His eyes darted around and then back to me. Whatever warmth and memories of last night that I still had evaporated. My heart pounded, and I realized I was clenching my teeth.

Fucking. Actors.

I straightened my posture, narrowing my eyes at him. “You haven’t read the books, have you?” I asked, bluntly.

He hesitated. Behind him, I saw the blonde woman fuming.

“No,” he replied.

The crowd turned. You could hear it in their groans.

“That’s okay. I don’t think anyone from MaxFlick has either,” I quipped.

And that would be my second viral moment of the week.

I stopped interviewing Daniel after that. I threw it open to the fans who asked various questions, but I could tell my one jab took the spirit out of him. When our time was up, he took a bow to mixed applause. I went off stage right, and he went to stage left where the blonde woman waited for him. I took a seat, trying to keep my mind from reeling. As soon as I was offstage, I scratched furiously at my shoulder until it burned.

I replayed everything from last night in my head. How I fell and he caught me. Our flirtation in the elevator and–

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by shouts from the other side of the backstage.

I watched the blonde woman beating Daniel repeatedly in the arm with the tablet. Despite the situation, I cracked a smile.

I pushed my amusement aside and went back to my thoughts from the previous evening. Was this all a scam? My broken heel and twisted ankle weren’t his fault… but he was there, right at that moment. Did he take advantage of the opportunity for all of this to happen? No, I pulled him into my room and… fuck.

And the interview. Everything went well for him until I brought up the books. I felt the guilt gnaw at me for some ridiculous reason. Why did I feel bad for his stupidity? In the end, he was just another fucking actor.

I don’t know how long I was in that fugue state until I heard my name called out.

Daniel stood in front of me. “I don’t suppose we could have a moment to talk now?” he asked politely.

I crossed my arms and fixed him with my most pointed glare. The pounding in my ears was giving me a headache. I gritted my teeth, saying nothing.

He inhaled deeply, having trouble keeping eye contact with me. “I want to clear the air. I had no idea who you were last night. If I did, I wouldn’t have-”

“Railed me in my hotel room like there was no tomorrow?” I spat out.

“Well, that’s certainly one way of putting it,” he said, frowning. “Honestly, I didn’t even know I had an interview this morning until I got back to my room. I didn’t have my phone with me all day.”

True. I gave him my number this morning, because he didn’t have his phone on him. One of the shortcomings of tight leather pants is that there’s not much room for anything, let alone a smartphone, I supposed.