XII

“You’re going on a date with my brother,” Greer said as soon as Odette picked up the phone. “What did I tell you?”

Odette laughed. She threw another dress onto her bed, adding to the small mound that was already there. “You were right.”

“Did he kiss you?”

She stayed quiet. A grin threatened to spread on her lips, so she bit down hard; but, unfortunately, it seemed that her silence was an answer in itself.

“He did!” Greer insisted. “Was this the first one?”

“Well …”

Greer shifted across the line. “When?”

Odette leaned against her bedroom wall, looking out the window. “You’re his sister, isn’t this weird to talk about?”

Greer groaned, “Just tell me, Det.”

That was all the coaxing she needed. “Okay. It was at the gala. Before I left, he took me up to the roof and we started talking …”

“And …”

“And what do you think? We kissed … twice.”

“No!”

“Yes,” Odette giggled.

Greer sighed. “That’s too perfect, darling. I couldn’t be more happy …. What are you doing now?”

“I am picking out my dress for this evening,” Odette grunted and dug deeper into her closet. She balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder, half holding her breath. The phone was dangerously close to slipping.

“Do you need help?”

“No, actually, I think I’m good. Unlike a gala, I’ve actually been to a ballet before. The only thing I’m worried about is … the date part.” Odette’s heart plummeted just thinking about it.

“Why?”

Odette sighed. “Because I’ve never been on one. I’m afraid that I’ll do something embarrassing or say something stupid. You and Grayson are the only people I really know here and, if I mess this up, then it will be a disaster.” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand, easing a worry-induced headache.

“I wouldn’t worry your pretty little head on it. Everyone’s nervous when they go on their first date. Grayson isn’t an exception. Nothing will go wrong. Grayson will do everything in his power to make the night … magical.”

Odette smiled, though she knew her friend couldn’t see it. She stopped her rifling for a moment and leaned against her closet doors. It was hard to imagine Grayson Mages getting nervous over anything, but he was only human.

“Thanks, Greer. You’re the best.”

Grayson arrived at the Sinclair’s at five thirty, spending a few minutes downstairs talking with Jonah and Pamela while Odette finished getting dressed. Her nerves got the better of her, making her hands shake no matter how hard she squeezed them. She just hoped he wouldn’t notice.

Odette gave herself a once-over in the mirror, approving of the dress and the shoes. Her jewelry? A pair of pearl earrings and her silver heart monitor.

She was halfway down the stairs when she got a good look at Grayson for the first time. He had dressed up; his blue amulet glinted on the lapel of his jacket.

He met her half way. “You look beautiful.”

She smiled. “So do you.”

Pamela and Jonah didn’t linger any longer than necessary after giving them both some instructions, what they could and couldn’t do as well as the curfew. Odette did catch her mother drag her father off by his collar, saying something along the lines of “she’ll be fine.”

Grayson opened the front door for her and her eyes landed on his car. It was a sleek midnight blue sports car that looked like a similar model of his sister’s. She wasn’t all that surprised.

He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in before getting inside himself. Anxiety crackled within her. It was really happening and she had no backup, no one to rescue her if she said or did the wrong thing. She could totally screw herself over with this guy and lose him and her only friend—who also happened to be her neighbors. Odette was beginning to regret her decision.

The silence between them was killing her but Grayson didn’t seem perturbed. In fact, he seemed happy.

She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Have you seen Swan Lake before?”

Grayson smiled. “I have, actually, but it’s been a while. I liked it; the ending is my favorite.”

Odette laughed incredulously. “You liked it when they committed suicide?”

“I thought that it was poetic. They loved each other so much and they knew that they couldn’t be together, so they jump off a cliff. It foils Von Rothbart’s plans and ties everything together.” He glanced at her every few seconds while he spoke, gauging her reaction.

Odette couldn’t stop shaking her head. “It’s tragic, that’s what it is. And slightly flawed. Yes, the idea of love at first sight is romantic but the prince fell in love with a swan. I question his sanity.”

He clicked his tongue but he didn’t disagree. “Then what is your favorite ballet, Miss Sinclair?”

“I never said this wasn’t my favorite, but it would probably be Romeo and Juliet.”

Grayson snorted, startling Odette. She’d never heard him make that noise before. “Oh right, the other ballet where the love interests kill themselves? That’s totally different.”

“I like Tchaikovsky. I have to like Swan Lake or else I would be a traitor to my name,” she explained, resting her hand beside his.

The brunet smirked, shaking his head. “Nobody would want that.” He laced their fingers together slowly, taking his time in order to fluster the girl.

Odette turned her head to the side, hating how he could get a rise out of her so easily. She did set herself up for it, though. She liked holding his hand; it was comfortable and gave her butterflies at the same time.

She came to the conclusion that, if she had to pick a Mages to drive her somewhere, she would choose Grayson. He, unlike his sister, obeyed traffic laws and didn’t have a band of screaming girls in the back. Well, she’s glad he didn’t, that would be weird. But, at the same time, if that situation ever came about, she would just walk because being near Grayson Mages is enough to make it hard to breathe.

The city lights came into their line of sight. He took a turn that she hadn’t been through before and went down a very nice-looking street. Many couples were walking; all of them were dressed up in semi-formal attire. There were a few children; most of them were six-year-old little girls in sparkling dresses with tulle skirts.

He drove past the giant theatre; the lights were lit up on the marquee, advertising the ballet in its large black letters. There were black marble columns with golden flecks out front and a plush red carpet that led to the inside. The line of well-dressed people was only just starting to form.

Grayson pulled the car up to a valet but he paid more attention to her than the male. “Are you ready to go?”

Odette grabbed her purse and opened the door, her date appearing beside her in seconds with his arm extended. She took it bashfully and thanked him.

“Have I told you yet tonight how beautiful you look?” he whispered in her ear, staring down the valet boy threateningly.

She blushed, biting the inside of her lip. “Thank you.”

He pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek and led the way to the ticket booth. There weren’t many people in front of them, which was good. Odette was slightly surprised because it was the evening performance, which was what most people would attend.

Grayson kept a tight hold on her the whole time they were in the line. He had a sour look on his face, one that bordered on emotionless, and it worried Odette.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked him quietly.

His face softened when he looked down at her. “I’m fine. There are a lot of people looking at you.”

Odette laughed. “They’re probably looking at you, Mr. Celebrity.” She poked his chest gently and stuck her tongue out.

“No,” he chuckled. “They’re looking at you because you’re gorgeous. They want to have you on their arms but they can’t because you’re mine.” His voice dropped down several octaves when he said that and what was supposed to sound like cute jealousy just sounded … creepy.

Odette glanced behind her but she saw no one watching them. “Yeah … I guess they were too late.”

Thankfully, he didn’t push the subject anymore for the remainder of their wait. Once they got inside, the cool air of the theatre embraced them. Odette liked the change in temperature as the outside was becoming uncomfortable.

“Come this way, we’re up in the boxes,” Grayson said monotonously.

For most of the walk, the aisle was only an incline. When the stairs did start, Grayson insisted on walking behind her just in case she would fall. Odette assured him that she would be okay but he wasn’t moving anytime soon. The stairs up were rather narrow, made even more so by the two handrails on the walls. Everything, as far as the eye could see, was varying shades of red—the carpet, the walls, the railings, the drapes, the wood that peeked through.

Grayson’s arm looped around her waist and gently pulled her into the last box that they came to. He pushed the heavy crimson curtains aside and ushered her inside of their private viewing box. There were only two plush chairs but the space was relatively open and wide. He pulled the curtains closed and settled into the seat beside Odette, taking her hand in his.

“Are you excited?” He was grinning a genuine grin unlike the smirks he wore so often. It was the type of smile that made others want to smile too.

Odette nodded her head, looking into his eyes so he knew she was genuine. “I am. I haven’t been to a ballet in years. This is honestly so perfect, thank you.”

“The date has hardly begun; you shouldn’t thank me yet, princess.”

Odette played with the end of her dress, admiring the decor of the theatre. When she had been a dancer, she had been up in a box seat but never to watch. It was usually during dress rehearsals when she and a few other girls would explore the area and watch the other acts from above.

There was a flash that drew her attention back to the boy next to her. She blinked repeatedly, surprised. “What did you do?”

“I took a picture of you, obviously.” He was typing something on his phone, not looking up at her.

The girl scoffed. “Well, can I see it?”

“No.”

“No?”

“That’s correct.” He turned the phone off, putting it away.

Odette was miffed. “Well, why not?”

“Because, if I show it to you, you’ll say that it looks horrible and demand that I delete it,” he shook his head, laughing to himself. “Besides, you will see it. You and all three-point-five million followers I have on Instagram—”

Odette didn’t even let him finish his sentence as she tore open her purse. Her phone was the biggest thing in there but she still fumbled with it, her nerves getting the best of her.

“Oh, you jerk,” she mumbled, glaring at him.

The social media app took forever to load; it was like it knew the urgency of the situation and wanted to make her die. She didn’t really know why she hated the idea of him putting up a picture of her; maybe because she hated the attention, as strange as it sounded.

His page came up finally, loading the newest picture that he had tagged her in. Odette hated to admit it but it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. It was just her looking over the front of the box. She did stand out against the all red background but he had cropped out the ugly “EXIT” sign above her head.

Odette glanced up from her phone at him, not missing the smug look on his face. “At least you know how to take a decent picture. I might have killed you if it was horrible.”

Grayson said nothing, only motioned for her to come closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Do you want the program?” He handed her the booklet and they flipped through it together.

The lights flashed and the curtains rose. As soon as the theatre darkened, Grayson squeezed Odette closer to his side. The dancers came out on the stage and the party scene began.

“Who is your favorite character?” Grayson whispered.

Odette turned her head to the side but kept her eyes on the stage. “Von Rothbart or Odile. I like the villains.”

“Really?!” he whisper-shouted. “That surprises me.”

“I like the villains because they are the ones that make the story. What about you?” she asked, settling her elbows on the arm rest.

Grayson had a funny smile on his face. “You’ll laugh.”

“I promise I won’t … much.” Odette grinned, waiting for him to answer.

“Okay … I like Odette,” he admitted.

Odette feigned a gasp. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s true. My favorite character is the Swan Queen. She is the lead after all but she is also the most graceful of all of the dancers. And, now, I have a new reason to like her.” Grayson turned away from the dancers, watching her face.

Odette hummed. She leaned her head down on his shoulder and didn’t say anything else for the rest of the act. She didn’t make a show of it but she noticed that the boy was watching her more than he did the actual performance. Many thoughts of why came to mind, such as he might not actually enjoy watching it. She couldn’t blame him there if he didn’t. It wasn’t until the prima ballerina who played Odette in the ballet came out on the stage that Grayson roused her attention again.

“I bet you could do a much better job than her.”

Odette snorted, lifting her head from his shoulder. “You’ve never seen me dance, and I can promise you that I never looked like that. I could hardly do three turns perfectly, and this girl is doing a million pirouettes.”

“You doubt yourself too much. Besides, I know two very loving parents of yours who would willingly show anyone the recordings of your dances.”

Even in the dark, Odette could make out that he had just winked at her.

“You put too much pressure on the old me, you would be disappointed,” she warned.

“I could never be disappointed in you.” He said it with such confidence that she didn’t dare point out the fact that he hardly even knew her. It made her feel good, though, knowing that he felt like that. Even if it would only be for a short while.

The music from the orchestra pit was coming to an end, heralding the end of the second act. Everyone clapped politely and intermission started.

“So … how was it?” Grayson asked as they walked to his car.

Odette smiled, pressing in closer to his arm. “It was great. I loved every second of it.”

The boy hummed, “I’m glad you did. Are you hungry? I can’t send you home without feeding you, that would just be rude.” He tipped the valet who pulled his car back around, opening Odette’s door for her.

“Honestly? Only a little, I ate a little something before we left but …” she trailed off. “Are you?”

“I could eat something small,” he replied. “Let’s drive around a little bit and tell me if something catches your eye.”

Pulling out of the parking lot, Grayson had one arm resting on the back of her seat and the other on the wheel. He didn’t even spare a glance at the people who stopped and pointed at him at stop lights. Even at the ballet, people recognized who he was and gawked.

“Are you okay? You’re kind of staring off into space,” Grayson pointed out.

Odette blinked a few times, turning red in embarrassment. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking.” She tucked some strands of hair behind her ear and looked away from him. “How about there? They have good fries.” She pointed out a fast-food restaurant that they were coming up on.

“Whatever you want, princess.”

There weren’t many people at the small restaurant; most of them were teenagers or druggies. The person working the register was a squat-looking woman in her late thirties who seemed like she hated her life. As soon as they walked in the door, the woman struggled to hide her displeasure of having to serve another customer so late, but that all melted away when she saw Odette’s date.

Grayson’s impassive face turned into a pleasant smile. He sauntered up to the woman like he would on stage and used his most charming voice while ordering a hamburger and curly fries with two cola drinks. It was almost comical and Odette hid her growing smile behind her hand. The employee ate it up, her dull eyes brightening considerably.

“I’m actually a big fan of your show. Do you think I could have your autograph?” she asked timidly.

“That would be no trouble at all.” He winked and, with a wave of his hand, a pen appeared.

The woman, so flustered, scrambled for something for him to sign. She picked up one of the paper to-go bags and handed it to him. He made quick work of signing the bag, and when he offered the woman his card to pay for the order, she declined it.

“It’s on the house, Mr. Mages,” she insisted.

Grayson protested but she held up her hands, saying that her decision was final. “Thank you, you are a very sweet lady.”

Food came soon enough and the two of them settled down in a corner booth, eating their food relatively quietly.

“That was nice of you,” Odette said suddenly. “Signing that autograph for her.”

Grayson shrugged, finishing his food. “It’s part of the job. If I didn’t do it, we would lose fans and people would stop coming to shows. Less people at shows means less money and the next thing you know we’re bankrupt. It’s better to put on that flashy show than risk it all.”

Odette slightly frowned; he made sense but he also sounded like he just didn’t care. She knew that the show had to have a lot of acting in it, and it must tire him out having to act like that all the time, but didn’t he genuinely appreciate his fans?

Her thoughts were halted abruptly when she felt him caress her face. His thumb ran across her cheekbone with a feather-light touch, the heat of his palm radiating off of him. She wondered if he was going to speak, say anything instead of just watching her. It seemed like all he ever did was watch, gauging her reactions to him and reading her like an open book.

“How long have you been interested in magic?” Odette asked, tentatively bringing her hand up to cup his own.

He looked surprised. Grayson was probably asked this question more than he was asked if he was single, so what made it so different when she asked. He straightened his back and cleared his throat.

“Several years now, when I was much younger, I was good at sleight of hand magic. I learned it at the school I attended from an older kid,” he chuckled to himself, lost in a memory. “I used to get picked on a lot. My darling sister was always the stronger one out of the two of us, and, if that wasn’t enough, I was poor, small, and scrawny. One day, this kid—I think he was probably twelve at the time and I was eight—taught me how to use my smallness. He gave me a book of magic tricks and I learned everything in that book.

“The kid, he moved away not long after and he was the only person I could really count as a friend back then. I was upset but I had had enough of being picked on. I would break into my bully’s lockers or take things from their desks and I would hide them or plant them in other places. I got my revenge on them for beating me up.” Grayson retracted his hand and looked out the window. “My sister was never really interested in magic; she called me a nerd for knowing all about it.

“Then … our parents died. We only had each other. She got into this really dark place and I followed after. Our grandfather saw us as an opportunity to make some money from before he died. Greer and I used magic as a way to escape—a coping method—and, when we were twelve, we had our first show. The rest is history.”

Odette swallowed hard. She hadn’t expected that kind of answer … at all. But then again, he was the “dark-and-tortured” type, so it wasn’t all completely out of the blue.

“I’m sorry … I didn’t know,” her voice was far too quiet, but he heard her. “At least you had your sister.”

“Yes,” he said sharply. “At least she was there.”

She inhaled deeply, placing her empty fry carton on their tray. She didn’t want to press him more or open any wounds. “You all do such a good job with your show, I thought that you must have been doing it for a very long time.”

Grayson smirked but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re cute, princess. Don’t think too much into all of that.” His words were bitter and cold, like he was spitting poison at her.

Had she made him upset? His agitation was almost palpable, probably from having to relieve such a memory in front of her.

“Grays—” before she could finish, he stood up abruptly, taking the trash with him and dumping it. Odette stayed seated. What had she said? She tried to replay the conversation in her mind but there was nothing she could come up with. It must have been a particularly painful memory. She noticed Grayson waiting for her by the door now, impatiently.

What is the deal with him? She stood up roughly and stormed past him. True, she asked a question about his past but she never expected him to react like that.

And he didn’t have to take it out on her.

Odette made sure she stayed a few feet ahead of him as she walked back to his car, having to half-sprint to stay in front of his long legs. Rationally, she knew that she shouldn’t be too upset with him. After all, he really didn’t do anything wrong. She was overreacting, she realized.

She was about to turn around when she saw the cold barrel of a gun pointed an inch from her nose. Her breath caught and she tried to stumble back but another person who was not her date wrapped his hands around her biceps, holding her in place.

“HEY!” Grayson barked, crossing the distance to where Odette was in a matter of seconds.

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, three more thugs surrounded them. Odette was too scared to even breathe, her heart beating far faster than it should, but Grayson remained confident and pissed.

“Oh, is this your boyfriend?” the man with the gun sneered. He looked like he was only a year or two older than Grayson himself but the tattoos and bloodshot eyes and yellow teeth made him seem older.

“Let her go and I might let you live,” Grayson seethed, stepping forward. Long gone was his foul mood … no, he was angry now. Two of the thugs grabbed his arms, stopping him. Grayson’s eyes were burning with a fire that Odette had never seen before and she felt scared.

Or … maybe she had seen that look of anger before … but in a dream. A nightmare.

The gunman laughed, his yellow teeth on display. “That’s cute. Hand over your cash, pretty boy, or we take the girl.” Once again, the gun was on her, pointing at her abdomen.

“Stop it, please,” she begged the men. She raised her hands to show she had nothing on her.

“I’ll be takin’ this.” The guy behind her snatched her left hand. He roughly yanked her wrist to take the monitor off of her.

Odette tried to fight him, but he ripped the monitor off her, leaving a red mark in its wake before pocketing it.

“N-no, please, I need that—”

“Shut it!”

Her heart was beating too fast. Odette could feel her head becoming lighter, she couldn’t control her breathing no matter how hard she tried. Not with the gunman pushing the weapon right against her stomach. If they didn’t get out of this soon, she would be deadweight.

“Haha, you’re funny, girly,” the gunman said, getting so close to her that the barrel of the gun was now touching her. His breath stunk and his nose skimmed over her cheekbone. “Tell lover boy to give us his money or you won’t like what happens.”

Grayson roared, tearing an arm free from the skinny thug behind him. One of the men screamed. There was a gunshot. Odette did something that she hadn’t done in years—she prayed.

Please, God, don’t let him get hurt!

Her vision faded and her legs gave out. She dropped forward into the thug’s arms. She could hear the sound of a person being knocked to the ground and a shout of pain. Someone began to scream but the sound started to fade away the deeper Odette fell into unconsciousness. The last thing she could feel was a splitting pain in her head before she felt nothing at all anymore.