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I grinned at Ash. “Thanks. So, you and Ember are resurrecting your comedy lyra routine?”
Ash shrugged. “I guess. I think we’d probably be okay without all the clowning around. We know our stuff and we have several relatively simple acts we could do in our sleep that still look impressive.”
I winced again at the clown reference.
“Sorry, sorry.” Ash shook her head and turned her attention over to Robby. Casey had shown up and was helping him.
“She has no idea, does she?”
I laughed. “Nope.”
“I’ll kill him if he hurts her.”
“She does have a history of falling fast, then burning out quickly. At least as she’s told it after a few drinks. I’m not worried about Casey’s feelings so much as her actual safety. We’ve been attacked a few times now, and I’d hate to see her caught up in all of this.”
“Crazy stuff.” Ash cast her gaze over the auditorium.
This was a show we did every year. A benefit for the local underprivileged children to have access to extracurricular activities they might not otherwise be able to afford, one of them being the circus school Ember’s parents ran. The money went into a scholarship fund and parents applied for different camps or experiences for their kids. The show itself had a minimal cost per ticket so anyone could attend and hopefully kids would get an idea of different activities they might want to try. Donations from the sponsors were the main source of income for the scholarship fund.
Ember entered the auditorium, and I focused on her as she came over to us.
Ash smirked. “Ember has entered the building.”
“Your back is to the entrance,” I pointed out. “It could be anyone.”
“Knight, there’s only one person who gets that look from you, and it’s Spark.”
“Point.” I couldn’t even begin to describe what Ember meant to me, but it didn’t surprise me that my love for my spark showed in my expression.
Moments later, Ember came up to my side, putting her arm around my waist and tucking herself against me.
“Hey,” she said.
“We were talking about our act,” Ash said.
Ember smiled, shaking her head in resignation. “Yeah. I dug out my colorful leotard. It’ll have to be enough. I don’t think I can do the full clown makeup right now.”
“No kidding,” Ash agreed. “We should get ready though. We’re the warmup act.”
Ember stood on her toes, and I leaned down to kiss her, still astounded that I hadn’t had to give her up. I thought I had been prepared for that eventuality, but as the years progressed and no one turned up from Nightmare to collect their princess, it got harder and harder to imagine not having her in my life. Ember had made it completely clear she wouldn’t accept the princes without them accepting me. Nic accepted it. I had no idea if the other two would, but I doubted they’d be as understanding as the shadow prince.
“Geraint,” Ember’s mom called from the table at the front of the auditorium where the school’s info was prominently displayed. “Can you help me with this?”
I hurried to her side. “Of course.”
***
I shifted on the hard metal seat and stared at the stage, unaccustomed to this view. Normally, if I got to watch the acts, it was from backstage or on a monitor. Ember and I had plenty of time between her opening act and our closing performance and, for once, I wanted to watch from the audience.
Nic lurked in the shadows, and Robby would be stationed to work the lift on the lyra so it could raise and lower for this act.
Ember’s mother came out on stage.
“Hello, everyone!” Her voice echoed around the room, carried over the mic she wore.
The full audience quieted while she introduced the school and told everyone what they did and the classes they provided.
I tuned her out, alert for trouble, but also focused on the stage. Nic was also on guard duty until Ember and I went on later. Then he would focus on us, and Robby would watch for trouble.
