Page 50 of Spectacle

They all bow in unison, and we applaud.

“Whoa, okay, not what I was expecting but still super cool,” I say to Ghosie, who smirks.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Magenta says. “Where did you find them?”

“They sent in an audition tape. They are from a small planet at the far edge of the galaxy. The animals are bred and traded to control forest fires, but it’s still a very new process. They are hoping the circus will drum them up some business.”

“That’s smart,” Susie murmurs, and I have to agree with her. Earth could certainly use whole herds of them.

I end up offering him a spot in the circus on the spot as well. The last act scheduled today also gets an offer. It starts with the lights off, and when slow droning starts, they turn on, showing the stage covered in rocks.

“Well, that’s a little underwhelming,” I mutter, and Ghosie snorts.

“Wait,” he whispers.

The low droning continues, and one of the rocks start moving. Susie and Magenta gasp.

“Oh, I know what this is,” Magenta says, leaning forward.

One by one, all of the rocks start to vibrate, and then they begin to roll around the stage. They seem to be making patterns or following a routine, but from this angle, I can’t see it. In the circus tent, it won’t be a problem though. They freeze, and then suddenly, they roll toward the largest rock in the middle of the stage, and as they touch it, they seem to meld together. My mouth drops open as it forms a being with two arms, two legs, a body, and a head. The head rock forms facial features, and the being grins and waves.

The stage manager wheels out more rocks, and the being proceeds to give us a demonstration on his strength.

“Okay, a rock strongman, I like it,” I remark at the end of the show and also offer him a position. “I like what we’ve got so far. What do you all think?” I ask my co-judges, and the two girls agree with me while Ghosie points at the tablet.

“There are three more scheduled for tomorrow, but we’ve made a good start. Shall we head home and see if everyone else’s day was as successful?”

I invite Magenta and Susie to join us, but they both beg off. Susie and Mark are staying at a hotel until they need to be on the ship, trying to get some distance from Aura and company to see how they really feel. Magenta admits to being in a funk and not good for company, but promises that once the circus gets underway, she will be over it.

I let them go, although I’m worried about both of them, and add fix their problems to my list.

Ghosie leans in and gives me a brief kiss. “Lila, you don’t have to fix everyone’s problems,” he says gently. Damn intrusive mate bond.

I grimace sheepishly. “I know. I’m a fixer, okay? I’ll try to do better,” I promise, and we leave the theater behind and head back to our family.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lila

The auditions exhaust me, and when I get home, I ask Zeydan for a rain check on our date, mostly because I want to be able to focus on him, and right now, my attention is scattered. Instead, I suggest we have family dinner and game night. It feels like it’s been forever since we were all in the same room together. Xavier and Tirrian arrived from Fluxx, so we’re all here, but Nik is insisting on making the call to Aquilia first. He wants to see if they are still going to provide some Aquilians for their act.

He’s quite agitated as we sit down in front of the large screen that doubles as a TV and a video conferencing device. “You know, even if they don’t, we have the makings of a cute little act right here,” I tell him, rocking Hali in my arms. Thankfully she’s asleep for now, because she does not stop. Ty is a lot calmer, which is so funny considering his name. We certainly got that wrong. We should have called him Tranquil or Millpond or something more appropriate.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to have you and the children in the act? Maybe we can incorporate the krakens into it as well.”

He looks thoughtful, but before he can reply, the screen lights up, and his mother is staring at us, wearing an expression that makes her look like she smelled something bad.

“What is it, Nikos? I’m pretty sure I made it clear that if you chose the path you did that you would no longer be welcome on Aquilia.”

My mouth drops open in surprise, and I gape at my husband. “You never told me that. When did she make you choose?”

He sighs, brushing a hand over sleeping Ty’s small head. “A few days before I gave birth, she answered one of my calls and gave me an ultimatum. If I gave you full custody of the children and returned to Aquilia, she would make me crown prince again, and I would be forced to marry an Aquilian woman of her choice. She was planning on claiming my babies were stillborn, as they are the rightful heirs to the throne with the way Aquilian succession goes. It’s supposed to be the firstborn.”

“You hag, what a horrible thing to do to your son,” I sneer at his mother, disgusted by her ultimatum. “You are no better than that slug of a husband. You probably would have kept me in the dungeon and pimped me out too if Tirrian hadn’t saved me,” I say, knowing that’s what her husband planned to do with me.

She shrugs. “You would have been a good money earner,” she remarks nonchalantly.

“Mother, I thought if you saw the babies, you would change your mind.” Nikos holds up Typhoon so she can see him. “This is my son, Typhoon, and Lila is holding our daughter, Hali.” I don’t bother disturbing our child by holding her up. I don’t want this woman to have anything to do with my babies.

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