Page 210 of Juliet & Her Romeos

I’ve never seen Ambrose play the violin before.

I knew that he played. Benedict has praised him many times, but seeing…hearinghim…play is something else.

Every soaring note is torn from Ambrose’s soul. It quivers with a pain that he can’t talk about.

He’s not good with words, the same as Benedict isn’t. But they share a different way of expressing emotion.

Ambrose’s eyes are closed.

He’s transformed.

A god.

He kisses the violin’s strings with the bow like they’re lovers.

Decadent waves of music drift across the stage. They make my stomach flip, and my feet move faster.

Swan is caught in their spell, leaping more daringly.

He’s on fire.

It’s because we can hear it in the music, as well as burning through our hearts,the love.

This play that we’re dancing, which is full of heart and passion, is made stronger and not weaker by Swan and I being lovers.

We’re better dancersbecausewe have bonds.

In every stroke of the strings, Ambrose is promising us his eternal love and protection.

He plays with an intensity and symbiosis with Benedict that takes away my breath: Omega and Alpha as they should be.

They’re speaking through their music, as Swan and I are speaking through our dance.

Will the world stop to listen?

Swan elegantly lifts me, cradling me in a fluid moment. When our gazes meet, our eyes flare.

It’s electric.

My heart speeds up, as the music swells to a crescendo.

I can’t entirely lose myself to this moment because I know who is in the front row watching this.

How will Olivia react?

We’re about to act out Mom’s murder, and everybody only thinks that they’re being entertained.

But I can do this.

I must.

When Swan lifts me in a breathtaking move, before catching me like he always has and always will, he pulls me closer in our final kiss.

All of a sudden, the music takes on a dissonant, dark shift.

Swan and I freeze.

The lights dim, leaving us in a spotlight alone.

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