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Looking down at myself, I cringe at my basic... well, every- thing. I may have just signed a contract for the hottest ticket in Vegas, but I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do to fit into this world. I spent twenty-one years living by Mom’s rules. Never leave home after dark. Always look both ways. Keep the doors locked. Those are the more normal ones. The other ones, like, keep the attic window open, toss salt over your left shoulder when your arms ache, and never, ever go outside during a storm–those are the ones that remind me my mother is a witch.
As we leave the lobby and head toward the hotel suite of my new cast, I feel like her rules are outdated. Now, I have a job and a life. My future is an outstretched wing.
For years I went along with being her caged bird, knowing that deep down she wanted the best for me. And I for her. Some people are close to their moms–mine is like a sister to me. Still, no matter how close we’ve been, she’s always held the lock and the key.
As I walk into the room to meet my future fellow performers, I know with everything in me that I’m ready to be free.
2
Vaughn
Lark walks into the room and suddenly everything clicks into place. She is the light I’ve been wanting, the sun to my moon. All the romantic clichés you could come up
with–there she is. An angel fallen from Heaven–that is Lark.
The casting director, Mark O’Leary, holds up his phone. “Oh, damn. Sorry, I’ve gotta take this. Introduce yourselves.” Lark looks at him with confusion written on her face. “You’ll be fine, Lark. They don’t bite,” he says warmly, before slipping out the door.
“Hey,” she says tentatively, taking another step closer. “I’m Lark.”
I stand up from the couch in our suite’s living room. We were hired yesterday and already the Spades Royale has us put up in the fanciest place I’ve ever set foot in. I move to walk toward her, but North moves past me, his long stride putting him ahead of me.
“I’m North,” he says smoothly. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
I try not to roll my eyes. We were all called here, to her, together, but sometimes it’s a hard pill to swallow. The idea that these men are her sworn protectors same as I am.
But I want to do more than protect her. I want to be hers – mind, body, and soul.
People say love at first sight isn’t real, but the moment I watched the video clip, the one Gaia showed us a week ago, I knew she was made for me.
“Nice to meet you,” she says softly. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she lifts her chin, ever so slightly, taking in the room. “And who is everyone else?”
“I’m Brecken, at your service,” the guy to my right tells her, not letting North’s swagger take him down a notch. He offers her his hand and she takes it.
“Great to meet you,” she says.
Then Sawyer stands and gives her a smirk, “The pleasure’s all ours, little bird.”
She twists her lips, assessing him, and I like how she isn’t easily won over by his confident lines. “Though she be but little, she is fierce,” she says.
If I thought I fell for her at first sight, I was wrong. That wasn’t love–this is. Is she truly standing here, quoting Shakespeare, putting Sawyer, of all people, in his place?
“Touché,” he says, walking toward her. Without pause, he lifts her chin with a finger. “I’m Sawyer, and baby, I’ll be the wind beneath your wings.”
I snort then, because really, who the hell does he think he is? We may be from the same flock, but this man is flying solo. No way is Lark gonna fall for this act.
“You’re too sweet,” she tells Sawyer, her face softening to his. “I was nervous to meet all of you, but you’re helping me feel more at ease.”
My eyes fly to hers. No way. She’s my girl. Sawyer can’t walk in here and take her under his wing in one fell swoop.
“Nervous to meet us?” I ask. She has it all backward. We are the ones who should be bowing to her. While we don’t know why Gaia called upon us for this mission, we take it seriously. Since we were born as hawk shifters, we’ve been taught to respect the ancient legends; the stories that give our people a place on Earth.
And our land is threatened, now more than ever, as disasters continue to ravage the planet. Unexplained natural disasters have been coming for us, all of us–man and creatures alike. If we can do our part to help stop it, while Gaia works her magic, then we are all in danger. It’s our duty. Our honor.
