Page 62 of Fractured Heart

"What?" Silas asks, cupping his ear with his hand. "Speak up."

"Silas." Charles shoots the Dark Prince a scowl. The look would bring a lesser man to his knees, but not Silas.

He responds with a shrug that reeks of false innocence. "Sorry man, I just couldn't hear her."

"Why don't you move a little closer, Roonie?" JJ takes my hands in his and tugs me forward until the toes of my shoes are almost touching his. “Much better.”

I blush.

“It’s just us.” He loops a strand of my hair around his finger and gives it a tug. My heart does a summersault. “There’s no pressure…”

“It’s just an audition,” Silas adds. For a second, I actually think he’s trying to help. “Just an audition that will make or break our entire a cappella careers. So yeah, no pressure.”

“Not helping,” Charles snaps.

“Sorry,” Silas says, though he’s clearly not.

“You’ve got this, Roonie,” my Prince Charming reminds me.

I nod. I don’t have a choice.

If I can just focus on the song, I can get through this.

I picture it in my head until it’s so clear it’s almost like the guys are performing it right in front of me. I know the high notes and low notes. I know the tone and richness of each guy’s voice. I can imagine them melding together to form something that will sound amazing. Or, at least, a whole lot better than they had when they sang Apples.

What matters is that I know what the performance should sound like. More important, I know what it should feel like. I just need the guys to sing it the way I’m picturing in my head. Hopefully, that’ll be enough.

“Let’s begin,” I croak, my voice barely audible.

The guys nod. Silas smirks.

Focus on the song, Roonie, I remind myself. Focus on the song.

“JJ,” I say, my voice much stronger this time, “please lead the warm-ups.”

Chapter 30

“You want me to lead the warm ups?” JJ sounds hesitant.

“You should always warm up your vocal cords before singing,” I explain at barely above a whisper. “It’s important—”

“We know what warm ups are for.” Silas rolls his eyes at me. “And JJ doesn’t lead them.”

I turn to him in question.

“It’s usually Silas’s job,” JJ confirms. Silas smirks. “But it can’t be that hard. I’m sure I can manage.”

It’s obviously a dig at Silas, who glares at me.

“N-no. Silas can do it,” I whisper. I don’t want the Dark Prince to hate me any more than he already does. I also don’t want to make JJ lead warm-ups if that’s not his job.

Silas smirks—but unlike JJ, who turns the look seductive, Silas makes it look predatory.

He saunters forward. There are plenty of other places to stand, but he takes my spot and I barely have time to scramble out of the way. Then, he gives one small, barely perceptible nod, and the guys transform. With military-like precision, they stand at attention and take deep breaths almost as one. Then, with a flick of his wrist, Silas guides them through a series of warm-ups, their voices rising and falling up and down the scale.

The Dark Prince joins in, a smirk dancing on his lips as he sings. My gaze is instantly drawn to his piercings and I have to force myself to look away. Unlike the other guys, Silas slouches, and I’m pretty sure he does it on purpose. He wants me to see that he’s putting in zero effort and still getting results. He wants me to know that he can do this in his sleep.

I think Silas always wants to intimidate me, but it doesn’t work. Okay, fine, it works, but I’m not any more intimidated than I was before the warm ups. I know the guys must have done this precise vocal drill dozens of times before. They can do it on autopilot, so there’s no need for Silas to do more than just stand there.