An omen sat behind those words, but Kallia nodded.
The moment Roth entered the scene, he became the star of the room. And he basked in that fact, as he raised a chair from the ground beside Kallia and sat down like a king before taking his throne.
“My powerful, powerful friends, as you’ve noticed, we have a new addition to our group who I think needs no introduction.” Roth smiled down at Kallia, lifting a finger for her to stand. “We’ve all seen the mirrors, and Kallia here is quite the star in her own right.”
“Sure.” One of the Red Death Dukes to the far side of the table laughed. “Then why does she need a bodyguard, for Zarose sake?”
The entire table tittered. Some glanced Kallia’s way, hunting for a reaction.
She gave them none, didn’t have to. Roth set his head at a humorless tilt. “Would any of you like to take a walk outside?”
A cold descended over the table, a quiet so confusing and chilling that Kallia shivered. Even the Diamond Rings popped their heads up at the question.
When no one answered, Roth smiled graciously. “No takers, then? Good,” he said, glancing around the table. “A lot of you wear some of the sharpest claws out there to get to where you are, so I won’t waste my breath on asking for any niceties. But Kallia is of my own flesh and blood. An Alastor. And you will all treat her as you would anyone else at this table. Am I making myself clear?”
The headliners remained quiet, though Kallia heard Vain snort softly.
“It is my greatest hope that someone might take her under their wing. Get a star back to lighting up the stage.” His stare traced the faces of those present, already weighing the options without Kallia’s opinion.
Not that it mattered, even if she snapped out loud. The last thing Kallia wanted was to train with these magicians. Maybe Ruthless, but even that was a stretch. One snake in the pit choosing not to bear its fangs could very well still bite.
Any scrap of kindness had to be questioned. Any time she put her magic in hands beyond her own, she’d lost so much. Jack, Demarco—even if he’d never intended it. She never wanted to be in such a position again. The possibility of losing any more, without knowing, was more terrifying than seeing it taken before her very eyes.
But Zarose, Kallia wanted it all back.
She would do anything to get her powers, even if that meant playing with snakes.
“Though on top of that, there is a matter of great importance I also wanted to bring to the board for a vote, which I hope might spark all of your interests,” Roth announced with a gleam in his eye. “A new show in the works.”
New seized everyone’s interests immediately. They broke out of their ice as excited murmurs rippled over the table. Something new, after all, was something different.
“What kind of show?” one magician asked on an eager breath. “Who will be in it?”
“Everyone,” Roth promised warmly. “Think of it … like a showcase. A magnificent pageant where all have the chance to show off their skills, their artistry, their power. All across the city, everyone will have a chance at the spotlight.”
A few of the delighted gasps sank into curses and groans.
“Well that doesn’t sound fair.” Filip scoffed, his brow hardened in confusion. “The Red Death Dukes do not risk their lives shirtless for every performance just to share a stage with commoners. The natural order has already placed them where they belong.” He received a few hoots from his team members, as if he’d just delivered the most inspiring adage. “You’ve already got the best acts in town for your show sitting right here, Roth. And the table is full.”
Zarose. And Kallia thought the magicians in Spectaculore were unbearable.
“You’re correct, of course. I choose only the best, just like I keep only the best.” The Dealer paced around, tapping a finger against his lip. “But what if I told you that the best is not all there is, that there’s so much more we all deserve? More stages, more audiences, more than this city.”
Every headliner, including Kallia, sported similarly confused expressions. Even Jack from his place at the wall, bowed head and all, bore the hint of a scowl.
Still, the air tightened with a hunger.
“What could possibly have more than our side of the world?” stammered one of the magicians. “We have everything.”
“We have a corner. A powerful one, but a corner nonetheless.” With a solemn nod, Roth clasped his firmly hands together. “And it’s about time we’ve finally shown the rest of the house what we’ve got, what we can do, by rejoining the true side.”
Silence dropped over the room.
Under the table, Kallia dug her nails over her knee. Her pulse thundered.
Everything Roth told her the night before shuffled back into her mind at lethal speed. Glorian, the destruction, the deaths. All of which had arrived from the show he’d just described. Another Show of Hands.
She fought every urge to look back at Jack. He’d seen this coming. He’d warned her, and still, Kallia felt like she might be sick in her seat.
There was only one way a magician could cross from one side to the next.
“You always said that wasn’t possible.” One of the Diamond Rings spoke. So softly, Kallia couldn’t discern which one, from the ringing in her ears clouding everything.
“I lied,” Roth replied. No hint of shame. “It was safer that way for everyone. Zarose Gate was a cautionary tale. It wasn’t possible because before, it was dangerous—”
“It’s still dangerous,” Kallia finally bit out, raising her gaze. Daring him to deny it. “No one can cross through Zarose Gate if it’ll annihilate everything else. You saw it yourself, how could you even suggest it?”
The silence fell longer, colder, which made Kallia realize she’d forgotten her mask. That sweet icy composure. It was clear no one spoke back to Roth like that, questioning his intelligence so harshly.
Which made it all the more chilling when Roth’s response held no anger. Only pure understanding in the way he nodded. “I know, my dear. I thought the exact same,” he countered. “It wasn’t an easy decision to come down to, but I do believe there is another way—and you helped me put it all together with how the pieces fit.”
That was certainly not how Kallia remembered it. “What pieces?”
“One I’d forgotten, overlooked,” he said pensively. “Someone who I think may be able to help you break through the surface that’s divided both sides.”
She tore through every word she recalled from their conversation, and there was nothing of this there. Nothing that sounded even remotely like this.
“You and I are the last Alastors, Kallia. We were spared for a reason.” His eyes twinkled, glistening at the edges. “And I think it’s because we can make a different ending, together. A better one, that can get you home.”
Her nostrils flared. It was everything she wanted to believe, spun into one thought that lured her closer. As if the choice were hers.
That was the danger, in someone who didn’t need to rule by force. Not if they had the power to turn any want into a weakness.
“Her?” Vain cut in with a scoff. “What exactly can she do? She has no power.”
Unlike me, the unspoken thought trailed after. The stab of annoyance woke Kallia up. Unsurprising that of all the things this girl was concerned about, it was wrapped in comparison. Jealousy. These headliners cared about nothing else but their own reflections.
“Not for long.” Roth’s jaw clenched, far sterner with Vain than he had been toward Kallia. “Everyone’s powers are in flux when they first arrive, that’s how it always is in a new world. And you all were no different.” He cast his steely gaze on all of them. “Don’t forget just how easy it can be to go back.”
Everyone stilled at the chilling note. Even Kallia shivered, unsure if he meant removing their seat from the table, or letting a devil have its way with their magic. If these people were even aware of how quickly it could all be taken away by what awaited outside the
ir city gates.
Roth held them on some leash, regardless.
“Alas, power always returns because magic makes the magician.” A triumphant note marched back into the Dealer’s voice as he gave a decisive nod. “And once it does, our show will well be underway. And all will be—”
“With all due respect,” the raspy magician with a face riddled in scratches and tattoos cut in. “But why would any of us even want to go back?”
It was the question on every headliner’s mind, from the way they all pressed forward. Intrigued, confused. Too hesitant to share too much of both.
“The true side is for the weak. It’s boring,” the magician continued, chewing at the toothpick between his teeth as he propped the heels of his boots on the table. “Hardly anyone there gives show magicians the respect we truly deserve. Not like here.”
Kallia’s jaw nearly dropped at how many male magicians in the group raised their fists high in agreement. As if they weren’t well aware how cushy they had it on both sides.
The sight alone almost made her flip the table. Especially when Roth nodded slowly in sympathy, understanding the shared plight.
“Then why not take this chance to prove it to them, Baranum?” he asked the magician, posing the same question to the rest. “You all have risen higher than those on the true side who believed you would amount to nothing. Those who never gave you the proper recognition, who claimed you weren’t memorable enough for the spotlight or didn’t fit their vision of power.”
Hardly anyone breathed when Roth nodded at each of them, acknowledging every story they came from. Every rock bottom they had to claw their way up and out of.
All with that blaze of challenge on his face. Mesmerizing, and terrifying.
“However, their loss was your gain,” Roth stressed. “It’s unpredictable, how we fell through the pesky little cracks of the mirrors by chance. And even then, how quickly the world forgets about you when you disappear. How little the mortal side tends to remember,” he said, smiling as if something amused him. “But I know there’s nothing chance about it at all. The mirrors called to you, because you were destined to fall. To rise in this city, to sit right at this table.”
A sniffle sounded somewhere along the table. Kallia wouldn’t be surprised if she looked around, there’d be tears glistening at the corners of many eyes.
“The mirrors saw what I see. Your potential, your talent, your power—under my watch, they will never go to waste,” he said. “Not here, and certainly not on the true side.”
The pride in his promise tugged a cord in Kallia. The words were ones she’d always wanted to hear, touching every want and dream and hope right to her very core. They were powerful words. Dangerous ones.
The words to make a follower of anyone.
Satisfied by what he saw in the room now, Roth smiled. “We will all show them,” he went on. “And the only way to get there is by putting on a grand show. The more magic, the better. So it requires the full participation of the city.”
This time, no protests. Absolute silence.
Roth paced around the table long enough that he finally reached his seat. “And of course, this all cannot be possible without the full support of my headliners. Your opinions matter so much, and your minds will make this show the greatness I know it can be.”
Without even ordering a vote, each performer lifted their hand. One by one, around the table, ending with all of the Diamond Rings. And Kallia, raising hers tentatively. Unsure what might happen otherwise.
A unanimous vote.
“Splendid!” Roth clasped his hands together in gratitude as a renewed excitement sparked in the air around them. “We are in full agreement.”
As he triumphantly held up a flute of green-tinted champagne that had seemingly come out of nowhere, Kallia glanced down to find the same drink suddenly by her plate, and all the place settings in sight. The delightful discovery was all the signal everyone needed to answer Roth’s toast.
“And tonight”—the Dealer threw back the whole drink in one swallow—“we announce our plan, and seal our vote with a duel!”
Without hesitation, every headliner erupted in cheers. The Diamond Rings clinked their glasses together with howls loud enough for the moon. Once Filip sent his flute shattering to the ground, the other Red Death Dukes followed with boorish shouts of approval. One celebratory drink was not enough, and soon the others demanded more.
Kallia quietly swallowed down her own drink as the madness descended.
A perfect distraction.
Jack had the same idea. From the corner of her eye, she watched him slowly push off the wall and inch toward the exit, sparing a glance at—
“Exciting isn’t it, my dear?”
Roth stepped right in her line of vision.
Kallia sat up straighter. She should’ve guessed he’d never let her out of his sight.
“Yes, exciting,” she repeated half-heartedly. “Forgive my interruption from earlier. I must’ve forgotten the part in our conversation last night where something of this magnitude was decided.”
She had a few more choice words, but they were too improper to utter out loud.
“Why, you were the muse for the idea, my dear,” he declared as if it were obvious. “The endeavor is a risky one, I know. But I would’ve never dreamed of it again until you arrived. Nor would I ever have thought it a good plan in the first place until I realized you would not be doing this alone. There is another who will help you.”
It was either a lie or the truth. At this point, she wasn’t sure which one she wanted it to be. “Who?”
“It’s heartening, how eager you are. But we have plenty of time to get to that later.” Roth patted her on the cheek like a child to its doll. “Now, have you ever dueled with illusions before?”
Kallia knew if she pushed, he would take note of it. And her position was already precarious enough.
In a manner fitting of the fools around her, she beamed at his attention. His affection. “Can’t say that I have.”
“Then you are in for a treat! My philosophy is that dry business must end in sport,” he went on, rubbing his hands together in relish. “And there’s no violence allowed in my town, unless it has an audience.”
“To the death?”
A disturbing laugh rumbled from deep in his chest. “Oh, that would be something, wouldn’t it? Alas, it is all in good fun.” The twinkle in his eye made it sound every bit as ominous. “They range from drawn out and brutal to some of the most magnificent rapid-fire spectacles you’ll ever see. A great way to find new talent or cull old talent, depending on who wins. Occasionally I show mercy; other times, I give the crowd the choice. And the whole city shows up because no one can ever predict when they’ll happen or what will happen.” His eyes flitted warmly past Kallia’s shoulder. “That is, unless you’re in the ring with our very own Queen of the Diamond Rings. A fight like that always ends the same.”
With the smug toss of her short locks, Vain preened. “In tears and annihilation.”
Figures she would be the most cutthroat of them all.
And she wore the bloody crown proudly with a pout as she said, “Winning all the time is truly a curse. No one ever wants to play with me.”
“A true challenger will come soon enough. Maybe even tonight.” With a wink for them both, Roth shot back to his feet to address the room once more. “Since tonight would’ve been a show night for the Red Death Dukes, the gents have the floor on this one.”
A round of hoots came from the red-robed team who pounded at their chests with primal joy.
“So what will it be, a traditional headliner duel?” Roth posed. “A fight with someone in the crowd, perhaps?”
“Like we would ever waste a fight with a random loser in the crowd,” hollered one of the magicians, who was met with whoops and slapped hands behind him. “We’re keeping it classic. A headliner duel.”
An intrigued wave of oohs swept over the room as the selection process began
. Most magicians flexed their fingers, cracked their knuckles. Even Vain had begun praying under her breath for the chance to knock their teeth out. Bloodthirst, even thicker than from Jack’s fight last night, drenched the air once more. All were ready, and looking for a fight.
“We’re dueling the fancy new meat.”
A swift cold punch of silence.
“Without her bodyguard.”
Kallia barely flinched. The searing weight of Jack’s eyes on the back of her head was somehow heavier than the weight of the entire red army now sneering at her from across the table.
Her slow answering smile held a million curses behind it. Even more, as the wave of chuckles and low whistles across the table rolled in. A disappointed curse from Vain.
And the sharp click of the tongue from Roth. “Nice try, boys,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “You all heard what I said—”
“Yes, which was to treat her like we’d treat anyone else at this table,” Filip pointed out. “Which means she’s a headliner.”
“I’m touched,” Kallia shot back, though it was by no means a compliment from the way he’d spat it out.
Of them all, only Roth appeared deeply unamused. “While I appreciate your attentiveness and effort to be inclusive, gentlemen, my Kallia has never dueled before. She’s fragile and delicate and not at all ready yet. I would hate to see her get hurt.”
My Kallia.
She nearly gagged. After hours of knowing her, he already threw such a claim. Even though she could’ve been no more than a piece of fruit on the table, from the way he spoke of her, already treating her like a shiny toy not to be touched.
She almost welcomed the chance to break, just to spite him.
“Oh, with all due respect, we don’t want to hurt her. We want to help.” An angelic light entered Filip’s demeanor. “We just figured … none of us knew how to duel. I certainly didn’t, until someone plucked me from the crowd and threw me into the ring.”
The words were so sugar-coated, Kallia had to cut in, raising finger in confusion. “But I thought only random losers occupied the crowd.”
When Night Breaks Page 21
