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I’d had the car halfway packed last night after the incident with Bellamy and his friend, Lucian. I’d been ready to give up. Disappear. Then I saw Deva’s sun-catcher in the window, and the breakdown was instant, guilt swamping me.

How could I be such a coward? Deva had sacrificed her entire life to raise a dangerous child. She’d battled cancer till the very end without batting an eye—cancer that I knew I gave her, even though she’d never admit it. She’d never complained, and here I was, ready to disgrace her memory and final wish because I was scared I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.

Full of regret and self-loathing, I’d cried myself to sleep on the yellowed linoleum of the kitchen floor with Orion curled in my arms.

The morning light brought a new determination to keep going. I needed to nail this audition. I needed to dance. It would calm my magic and give it a less destructive outlet. As my awareness of my magic had evolved lately, I could sense that it was okay with that. It was like it somehow felt that dancing at the club would help it get what it wanted, chiefly Bellamy and Lucian. But I hoped that as long as I was willing to play along, it wouldn’t cause problems.

And now we were negotiating with it.

The nondescript front door of The Bird Cage was locked when I pulled on it, so I knocked on the cold metal. I was only a few minutes late, right? I checked my phone.

Crap. Okay, ten minutes late.

After a few more fidgety moments, the door swung open with a screech. The big guy who opened it greeted me with a genuine smile.

“Hey there,” he said and moved aside to let me in. “Sorry for the wait. I take it you’re here to audition?”

I stepped into the dark foyer and blinked while my eyes adjusted. “I am. Sorry for being late.”

“No worries. I’m Jake. I’m a bouncer here.”

I immediately liked Jake, and it had a lot to do with the fact that my magic didn’t seem to care about him one way or another. It was back in napping cat mode, curled up and quiet in my chest, content to let me do my thing. He led the way further into the club, and with all the lights on, it looked far less magical.

“The others are waiting in the break room. You’ll be called out one at a time, and you’ll have fifteen minutes to show off your moves to the track you requested and chat with the people who get paid more than I do.” He winked at that, and his casual demeanor eased the rest of the tension that was pulling my shoulders to my ears.

Until he opened the break room door.

At least twenty other hopefuls were milling around, some huddled in small groups and some nervously pacing. It was a sea of brightly colored athleisure wear and a whole lot of skin. Many of the other applicants had done their hair and makeup too, like they were planning to perform on Broadway. I glanced over at Jake, heart sinking.

“Was this supposed to be full dress?” I felt the job slipping through my fingers, but he just snorted a laugh.

“No. Our dancers wear masks to keep them safe and anonymous, but some people think it’ll improve their chances.” Then he raised his hand in a conspiratorial whisper. “I have it on good authority, though, that the only thing you need is presence and moves. They’ll give you a sparkly mask and fancy costume, but they can’t give you skill. You’ll be fine.”

I smiled in thanks, feeling a little better, and he shooed me into the room so he could close the door behind me. That’s when the real challenge started. There were so many bodies here. So many accidents waiting to happen. My heart rate picked up, and I waited for the telltale prickling sensation to roll over my skin.

Weirdly, it didn’t.

I dared to give my magic a little nudge. I didn’t want to provoke it, but even more, I didn’t want any surprises. For whatever reason, Bellamy changed something, started something, like finding a loose thread. Meeting Lucian pulled on that thread, and it didn’t take me long to realize that it was my resolve that was slowly unraveling. Now my magic didn’t seem to want anything to do with anyone who wasn’t either of them.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t freaking me out. My curse didn’t play nice. It hurt people. Ruined them. Why would it be so hellbent on bringing that down on these men? Because there was no other reason that it would be driving me toward them. Claiming they’re ours? Zero sense. It had to be a trick.

And that was another thing—what the hell was up with it talking to me now?

After two hours with nothing but Candy Crush and my own spiraling thoughts for company, only about half the applicants were left. Some of the interviews went a little longer than the allotted fifteen minutes, but some were barely five. One girl even came back to the breakroom to collect her bag in tears.

We all turned toward the door when Jake popped his head in. “Cordelia Grace?” I took a grounding inhale and stepped toward him. His dark eyes tracked over to me, warming when he made the connection. “Oh, hey! That’s a cool-ass name.”

My cheeks flushed, and I laughed. “Thanks.”

In the main area of the club, the lights had been switched to reflect a proper nightclub setting. Music was thumping through the sound system at a lower volume between auditions, but it still had my heart fluttering with nerves. The moment we started across the empty dance floor, my magic sat up in my chest like a damn meerkat. Something had caught its attention.

My gaze tracked over to where a group of two women and two men sat in front of one of the cages on its pedestal. I could tell it hadn’t perked up for them. There was something—someone—beyond them. Eyes sweeping the shadowy perimeter, there were a few dark shapes around the bar as employees prepped for business. Then Jake delivered me to the group with a whispered “Good luck!” before he wandered that way.

“Hello,” I said to the seated four with an awkward wiggle of my fingers. I tried to keep my smile as natural as possible, but I could feel it quivering.

“Hello…Cor–Cordelia?” One of the women furrowed her brow as she stumbled over my name.

“Cordie’s fine,” I told her quickly. “The whole thing is kind of a mouthful.”