Because of one man. Because of what he had shown her in the brief time he had touched her life. Because of the love of music he had resurrected inside of her.
Maybe she was never meant to keep him. Maybe he had only been allowed in her life long enough to show her how to live, to breathe again. Maybe he was only meant to be her muse and nothing more.
Whatever reason Liron had been in her life, he had changed it for the better. He had helped her remember how to live and not merely exist. He had helped her heal. She would never turn her back on that gift.
Melody pounded out the last part of the song, surrendering completely to the music, letting it flow through her like her tumultuous emotions, and letting the tragic notes soothe her as her heart bled.
The last note echoed through the room, followed by several seconds of utter silence. She noticed vaguely that tears were streaming down her cheeks, but paid them little attention as the audience and the orchestra members behind her burst into uproarious sound.
She lifted her head and glanced out at the audience. Everyone was on their feet clapping wildly and cheering in a way that would be much more fitting at a sporting event. A small, genuinely joyous laugh bubbled through her chest and she stood, giving several deep bows. Then, she turned to the orchestra, who were yelling and applauding in the same fashion, and bowed to them as well.
The music director appeared from the wings of the stage carrying an enormous bouquet of red roses and more tears filled her eyes—these of appreciation and genuine wonder at the kindness of her former orchestra members.
She took the roses and cradled them in her arms while the director pressed a kiss to her cheek. She turned and bowed for the audience one more time, then swept her arm wide to indicate the orchestra behind her. The audience continued to cheer loudly, and the rest of the musicians gave a unanimous bow.
Since it was the end of the concert, the musicians started to file off of the stage in a precisionlike manner. Melody took her leave as well, but started toward the other side of the stage to avoid the stampede of the orchestra members.
The lights in the house came up so that the audience could see where they were going, and Melody glanced out at them as she started toward the wings. She scanned the packed theatre and smiled to herself, then stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes were drawn to a solitary figure standing along the far back wall.
She frowned and her heart did a strange ker-thump. She peered closer at the stoic form, still having difficulty seeing clearly due to the low light and the shadows the balcony cast down onto the main floor. He stood tall and lean, with broad shoulders and hair that flowed to those shoulders.
A rush of cold heat passed through her and she felt the color drain from her face. She stumbled to the edge of the stage and looked out, knowing she must appear slightly crazed, but not caring.
Slowly, the figure she was desperately trying to get a good look at stepped forward into better light.
The cold wave of heat that had pooled around her stomach exploded into fiery tingles along every surface of her body, and she tripped herself on her high heels and practically broke her ankle wheeling around and scrambling off the stage’s side steps.
She dashed through the dispersing crowd, darting around people like she was in some kind of pinball machine, and came to a screeching halt in front of the most glorious sight she had ever beheld. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t even move. All she could do was stare at his beautiful face, at his blue eyes that were sparkling with joy and his wonderful smile that lit up every corner of her heart that had withered only moments before.
He was dressed in a black suit with a deep burgundy-colored shirt and a black silk tie. He looked so striking it was ridiculous. Tears filled her eyes and hovered there while her heart did tumbling motions that robbed her of breath. “Are you a hallucination?” she rasped.
He gave her a lopsided grin, gently took the roses from her, and set them down, then slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close against his chest. “What kind of a hallucination would I be if I told you?” he whispered against her ear.
Melody’s eyelids fluttered closed as sensual, smoldering notes drifted leisurely through her mind, igniting similar sensual, smoldering fire in her body. Her breath rushed out of her in heady relief, and her tears finally succeeded in falling. She buried her face against his neck, breathing in his scent, lavishing in it, and snuggling so close to him she may as well have been attached. “I thought I’d failed,” she muttered against the collar of his shirt.
“What?” He took her gently by the shoulders and pulled back just enough to see her. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with tender fingers.
“After my concerto…you weren’t here. I-I thought I’d failed, that I wasn’t good enough, that what I’d created wasn’t good enough.” More tears descended under the onslaught of her emotional rollercoaster ride.
He frowned. “Weren’t good enough? Are you insane? I never want to hear you say those words again. If I had not been able to come here tonight, it would have been failing on my part, not on yours. It would have meant that I hadn’t inspired you enough.”
“Liron, I don’t care whose failing it would have been. It doesn’t matter. Where were you? I thought my whole life was over.” She let out a little sob, feeling like a neurotic spaz.
Liron gave a soft chuckle and pulled her back into his arms, holding her close and burying his fingers in her hair. “Well, unfortunately, I had no control over where the portal decided to open. So I ended up in the janitor’s closet. Took me a bit to find my way out. When I finally did, they wouldn’t let me into the theatre because I didn’t have a ticket. I loitered around in the lobby until intermission, when I snuck in and hid in the dark back here like some kind of criminal.”
She laughed in spite of herself, her turbulent emotions subsiding. She wrapped her arms around Liron’s waist and held on, relishing in the solidness, the realness, of him. “I thought I’d lost you,” she said on a sigh.
His arms tightened around her. “Never. I would have found a way. I can’t let you go. I won’t.”
She pulled back and looked up at him. “You don’t have to.” She grasped him behind the neck and pulled his head down to crush his lips to hers. He responded immediately, bringing his hands up to cradle her face while he deepened the kiss and possessed her completely with his mouth and his music as it invaded her mind, heart, and body. Every lonely space, every cold recess within her that had appeared at being unable to return to him, incinerated. The pieces of her annihilated heart fused back together under the velvet assault of his lips, and the dank despair she suffered while in the human world disappeared. If she’d had any doubt in her mind about returning to his world with him, that would have been enough to decide her.
Her link to her world had died with her parents. Now, she knew she belonged amongst the muses.
“You taste sweeter than I remember,” he whispered over her lips. “Like a spice I will never get enough of.”
She grinned and snuggled close to him, reveling in his warmth and his unyielding strength. During all the worst turmoil of her emotional journey, Liron had been her strength. And when he’d needed her the most, she had been his as well. She had never felt more fulfilled, more satisfied.
“Are we going to be able to go back home now?” she questioned.
He nodded. “I have asked Samantha and Raymond to cause some kind of hoopla in order to get my attention and trigger the portal. They are waiting for us back at my house.”
Melody gave Liron a flat expression, trying to ignore the spasm of jealousy that rippled through her at the mention of the other woman. “Seems like you and Samantha have become rather close over the last two months,” she grumbled.
His lips twitched in amusement. “Yes, I imagine we have. I am pretty sure she has an ulterior motive, though.”
Her eyes snapped up to his, and she scowled fiercely. “Like what?”
Liron trailed his fingers through her
hair and sighed in an exaggerated fashion. “Well, I’m pretty sure she’s only hanging around with me because she so desperately wants to meet this legendary wife of mine who can defy the laws of physics and bend the universe to her will.”
Melody felt heat color her cheeks at both the praise and at her ridiculous, possessive assumption. “Oh.” She smiled bashfully. “Well, I guess I can live with that.”
He laughed and nuzzled her nose with his. “You have nothing to be worried about, lovely.” He whispered the words over her lips in a tickling tease before claiming them again in another breathtaking kiss.
When Melody pulled away this time, she looked up at him with so much love in her heart she felt she would burst. She ran her palms up his chest and he made a happy noise in his throat and closed his eyes. She grinned and reached down to take his hand while she picked her roses up with the other one. “Come on. Let’s go. I have a couple things I need to get from my house before we go. Just one suitcase.”
He frowned and followed behind her toward backstage. “Only one?”
She nodded, and was stopped by the music director as they walked back up onto the stage.
“Melody!” he cried, enveloping her in an enthusiastic hug. “You were wonderful tonight! The way you played! And Adagio in G of all things!”
She smiled softly. “Thank you. It was a wonderful experience.” Liron’s fingers tightened over hers, and her heart responded to his touch by skipping.
“Melody,” he said, sobering. “I know this past year has been difficult for you, but we would love to have you back. Would you consider taking a place in the Philharmonic once again?”
She filled with warmth at the invitation and gave a soft sigh. “Thank you so much for the offer,” she said, “but I’m actually moving.”
He looked surprised. “Oh, really?”
She nodded. “Yes…out of the country, in fact. I need a new start, you know?”
His eyes softened and he nodded in acceptance. “I understand. Thank you, Melody.” He hugged her again. “For everything.”
“No,” she said, returning his embrace. “Thank you. You have done more than you even know.”
He pulled back with a smile. “Just know that the invitation is always there for you.”
“Thank you.” She watched him walk away and glanced up at Liron to see him gazing at her with a gentle smile playing around his sensual lips. He didn’t need to speak. All the love and pride he felt for her was reflected in his eyes. She raised herself up to press a tender kiss to his lips before continuing backstage.
“Mel!” Nikki cried when she entered the dressing room. “That song you played was—oh!” She stopped short and blinked up at Liron in surprise before a wide grin blossomed across her face. She glanced at Melody. “Is this him?”
Melody smiled. “Yes, Nikki, this is Liron. Liron, my friend Nikki.”
Liron stepped forward, took Nikki’s hand, and kissed the back of it. “A pleasure,” he murmured.
Nikki stared at him with a bewildered and slightly adoring expression on her face before she shook her head and got a hold of herself. “L-Likewise,” she stammered. She looked back at Melody. “I told you he would come.”
Melody grinned, elation burbling inside of her like magma. Liron slid his arm around her shoulders and held her against his side. She fit comfortably there. A little frown creased her brow, and her smile faded as she realized that this would probably be the last time she would see her friend. A small bit of sadness crept in, and she swallowed hard. There was no way Nikki would be able to understand. She hated that she was going to hurt her. “Nik…I have something for you. It’s at my house. Will you come by tomorrow? I’m going to leave the key in the flowerpot by the front door. Just let yourself in. Your gift is sitting on the piano…all right?”
Nikki’s smile vanished like someone had waved a magic wand and that strange, knowing look came to life in her eyes again. Her gaze darted from Melody to Liron and back again. “Why can’t you just give it to me?”
Melody chewed on her bottom lip, and she gained a small amount of comfort from the way Liron squeezed her shoulder. “I…I’m not going to be there, Nik.”
Nikki stared at her for a long moment, as if tossing things around in her head, before her eyes grew glassy. “I’m not going to see you for awhile, am I?” she rasped.
Melody’s own eyes filled with tears—for the millionth time—and she shook her head as her throat constricted.
Nikki bit her bottom lip. “You’re going somewhere, aren’t you? Somewhere that I probably don’t even want to know about because it’s going to warp my brain in about five different ways, right?”
Melody laughed despite the sadness of the situation. “Yeah, probably.”
The lip Nikki had been chewing on trembled and she darted her gaze to Liron again with a kind of pained expression. “Is he gonna kill you?” she blurted.
Melody startled. “What? Kill me? What in the world?”
Nikki took a daring step forward. “You know, go all blood-sucker on you and then turn you into some insanely beautiful…thing…you know…like him?”
Melody blinked at her friend for a few seconds. “Nikki, are you seriously asking me if Liron is a vampire?”
Nikki’s face contorted, and she waved her hand at Liron. “Well…look at him! And all you tell me is that you’re going somewhere and I’m not going to see you for a while! And I’ve had these weird heebie-jeebies ever since I came over after you’d finished your music score. I knew something abnormal was going on!”
Liron cleared his throat discreetly. “I assure you, I am not a vampire.”
She stabbed her finger at him. “But you’re…something, aren’t you?” She looked over at Melody for the answer.
Melody sighed and nodded slowly.
The tears returned to Nikki’s eyes. “Am I ever going to see you again?”
Melody stepped forward and caught her friend in an embrace. “I will try to come back and visit, Nik. I’m not sure when. I have to figure some stuff out first, okay? But I’ll try.” Nikki squeezed her hard and Melody’s eyes stung.
“Are you happy, Mel?” she murmured.
Melody pulled away, met Nikki’s eyes, and nodded vigorously at the knowledge that she was going back home, her real home…finally. “Yeah…I really am. I promise.”
Warmth and affection filled Nikki’s eyes even through her tears. “I’m glad then. You deserve it. Just promise me you’ll keep playing.”
Melody giggled, considering where she was headed. “I promise, Nik. I won’t ever stop again.” She hugged her one more time. “Remember to go to my house tomorrow.”
Nikki nodded. “Goodbye, Mel.”
“Goodbye.” She pulled away and went back to Liron. She took his hand again and turned him back toward the exit. She wanted to get out of there. She didn’t know how much time was left before Liron’s friends called them back, and she didn’t want the portal to the muse realm appearing out of nowhere and scaring the crap out of a bunch of unsuspecting people.
“One more thing!” Nikki called.
They both turned back to see her posturing at Liron in an almost threatening manner. She strode up to him with purpose and jabbed her finger into his chest. “Do you love her?”
Liron smiled softly, and his eyes filled with dark promises and voracious ardor as he looked down over at Melody. It was enough to set her blood ablaze and make her breath catch.
He looked back at Nikki. “I love her more than every song ever written, every note ever discovered, and every chord ever played in this world or any other.”
Nikki’s eyebrows shot up as her fierce expression turned to surprise. She blinked at him before letting her breath out in a whoosh. “Dang…” She looked at Melody. “Can I have one of these?”
Liron sidled up to Nikki with a demonic grin. “I’ll send you someone,” he murmured close to her ear. “He’ll come in your dreams. Keep an eye out.”
The color drained
from Nikki’s face, and she stared after them in stunned silence as Liron, looking entirely too pleased with himself, led them out the dressing room door.
Melody giggled. “Were you serious about sending a muse to Nikki?”
He shrugged one shoulder in a lazy movement. “I know a few people who might be interested. What does she do?”
“She’s a teacher.”
“Hmm…maybe a logic muse?”
Melody snorted and shook her head. “No way. Send her a rebel muse.”
Liron cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah. A big, hairy biker or something.” Liron’s laughter filled her with joy. He slipped his arm back around her shoulders as they headed out of the theatre.
“What did you leave her?” he asked.
She sighed. “Everything. The house. All of my things. I’m only taking one suitcase full of some clothing and some keepsakes, a few pictures of my family.”
“Are you sure that’s all you want?”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah. I have what I need. Everything else is just stuff.” She had been afraid to let go of all of her parents’ things before because she’d been afraid that doing so would be like getting rid of them. But she knew now that wasn’t the case. The love she had for her parents and the memories of them lived inside of her. They weren’t attached to inanimate objects, and she didn’t need things to bring them back to life, so to speak. They lived inside of her and always would. That was all she needed.
They took a cab back to Melody’s house, where she finalized everything and made sure all was in order for Nikki tomorrow. She sighed, took one last look around at everything, at the life she was leaving behind, and bade a silent goodbye to it. One door had to close so she could open this new one that led to such spectacular things.
As if on cue, as soon as Melody had finished dragging her suitcase into the living room, a loud wheezing whine sound blasted through the room followed by a song that sounded like it had come straight out of Scotland. It was enough to cause both she and Liron to jump, and as soon as they’d recovered, they saw that half of Melody’s living room had, once again, been transformed into Liron’s.
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