Page 43 of The Devil and His Goddess

The first thing she saw was the brand new pink leotard, an exact match to the one she’d discarded today. I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but when I’d gone into the bathroom after everyone had left the company today, I’d found a bunch of Harper’s things in the trash. When I caught the odor coating the items, I surmised that was why. I still didn’t know how it had happened, because Harper refused to let me in, but the reason didn’t matter.

What did matter washer. Taking away the pain she hid. Giving her the things she needed to reach her dreams. Offering whatever was necessary to make that smile light up her face.

It was a normal reaction to want these things for her. I mean, she was my principal ballerina, and her well-being was important for her to do her job well.

I told myself there was no other reason.

As she pulled the leotard out of the large box, the smile she’d been holding back broke wide across her lips, all while her eyes glittered in awe. The expression had my chest warming in a way I’d never felt before, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sight of her gorgeous smile. I couldn’t even blink out of fear that I’d somehow miss a precious second of that happiness on her face.

She studied the leotard for a few moments with reverent hands before laying it next to the box. She went through the new dance bag, exercise bands, make-up, and different ballet shoes with the same amount of glee and soft appreciation, practically making her glow from the inside out.

The euphoria was infectious, and I found myself standing right beside her in an effort to get even closer. I started to reach out to brush my finger along the side of her face, hungry to touch her while she beamed at all I’d given her, but at the last second, I froze with my hand millimeters away from her cheek.

She couldn’t know I was here.

But no sooner had I froze than she seemed to turn her head slowly, nearly pressing her cheek into my palm. I sucked in a sharp breath, my fingers tingling where they whispered against her skin, and my chest only rose and fell harder when her dark lashes fluttered closed.

She didn’t know I was here.

She couldn’t know.

I was securely hidden in the veil between our worlds.

Yet she leaned into my phantom touch as though she knew exactly where I was.

I took a deep breath and stepped away. The electric spark of something dangerously strong pulling me into her orbit rattled me. Before I did something stupid like step out of the shadows, I turned to leave right as her whisper shot through me like a fatal arrow.

“Perseus.”

“THE CHOREOGRAPHY IS DEMANDING, BUT I love it,” Mandi gasped as she tried to catch her breath. She rubbed the back of her hand over her glistening forehead before bracing her hands on her hips.

“It feels great getting back into the role of Prince Siegfried,” Samir noted with a content, if not tired, smile on his tan face.

I smiled at my two leads inSwan Lake. “I’m glad you’re both excited. I can’t wait to see the show in two weeks.”

“It will be better than any year prior,” Mandi announced with a proud tilt of her head.

Grinning at her confidence and enthusiasm, I said, “I look forward to that.” Satisfied by what I was seeing in the rehearsal for mySwan Lakeleads, I turned to the dance master and répétiteur. “I’m heading to practice room two to check on myDancing in the Darkleads. Let me know if you need anything.”

My pulse practically tripled as I kept my walk nonchalant. As I passed dancers finishing up rehearsal or other employees that bustled through the hallways, I kept up every bit of normalcy. In reality, I was wound up tight, eager beyond belief to catch even a glimpse of Harper.

It had only been two days since I’d last seen her dance, but that was two days too long. I ached to watch her again. I could only hope and pray to all that was unholy that I hadn’t missed her rehearsal thanks to all the other duties I had during the day.

Music I recognized as the ending to the second act Psyche and Malak pas de deux drifted faintly into the hallway from the closed practice room doors. Since the piece was nearing a close, I only had a few moments left to see Harper in action.

I quietly opened the door and slipped inside as Harper and Elijah moved through the end of their routine. With this being the first day of rehearsals for brand new choreography, music, and storyline, there were plenty of things that still needed worked on. It was whyDancing in the Darkhad a six week time frame until opening night as opposed to the mere two forSwan Lake.

Even with the imperfect timing and missed steps, Harper was a vision of excellence as she moved across the floor with Elijah. She commanded your attention, and even as she bobbled on a hurried step or second-guessed the next part, it didn’t matter. Her grace, strength, and beauty made the song—no, the very dance itself—all her own, and it enchanted me to my very core.

When the song ended, I still held my breath, my gaze locked on her beaming face as she leaned on Elijah’s shoulder with heavy breaths.

“What did you think, Mr. Mavros?” Delilah, one of the répétiteurs, suddenly asked, snapping me out of my daze.

Elijah and Harper seemed to notice me then, and when my eyes met Harper’s, a dumbbell might as well have been slammed into my chest. I swallowed hard and forced my gaze away from hers to meet Delilah’s.

“I came in at the end, but what I saw looked amazing for only one day of rehearsals,” I answered.

“These two are definitely quick,” Hans, the dance master, gushed. “You’ll be impressed with them, sir.”

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