Page 15 of Stealing Samantha

One of the soldiers escorting them opened a door and she slipped into the private box and took one of the seats to the left. They had a fantastic view of the stage, and from the rehearsal earlier, she knew it’d be easy to follow Jaess from their position.

“You’re sure everything’s fine?” Kayla whispered as she settled in at her side.

“I’m sure. Drop it, Kay. I’m just looking forward to the performance.” She added a smile to temper the bluntness of the words.

Luckily it wasn’t long before the lights began to dim. Dark fell, voices hushed, and she breathed in the comfort of anonymity. Now she could finally stop pretending. That was the thing about performances, whether she was part of the audience or the one giving the show—she could just be, no pretense, no masks, just Sam.

The drumbeat started, and it was just as she remembered. She didn’t even try to avoid looking for Jaess among the other dancers. The familiar flash of his bright wings brought a tightness to her throat, and she fought not to curl her hands into fists. She shouldn’t have played for him. She couldn’t look away anymore. Sam couldn’t tell herself there was nothing there, even if it was just a fragile cord that only she could sense.

Maybe it was stupid to accept Lithi’s offer, but what was the alternative? She could do it. She could bear the brush of wings and the snap of feathers. It’d be a way forward, the type of opportunity that might never come again. She’d be playinghermusic in front of hundreds of people, soaking up the energy from stages across the continent, maybe even the world. Lithi had handed her a dream, even if she’d been too stunned to fully realize it that afternoon.

Jaess was doing better than he had earlier. He no longer seemed to be a step behind the group as they spun and jumped their way through the opening numbers.

“What are you smiling about?” Kayla asked softly, nudging her with an elbow.

Sam turned her head towards her sister and realized she really did have a grin on her face. “Nothing,” she whispered back, still feeling an unaccountable lightness as she looked back at the stage.

She gave herself over to watching the performance, shutting off the swirling thoughts that only seemed to pull her back down. Instead, Sam let herself soar with each leap and crash again each time their glinting scaled feet hit the stage. When Jaess took his place for the final number, it was her song she heard playing. No drums, no pan pipes and fifes—her notes were the ones that filled her mind when he danced.

He’d seen her. She was almost positive he had. It was easy to imagine each lunge, each flare of his wings was for her, just like it’d been earlier that afternoon. He’d almost reached the end of his solo. Jaess’ feet touched the highest platform as he landed lightly. He looked out across the sea of people watching, and she would’ve sworn their eyes met. Then he plunged from the platform like he was taking a dive—sleek, dangerous grace. Kayla gasped at her side and she heard the other Xithilenes’ feathers rustling.

Foolish. Dangerous. Impossible.The soldiers T’xith had brought spoke the words low in Xithilene, and she took in their stern expressions as the audience broke into riotous applause. Sam glanced at T’xith. His lips were turned up at the corner of his mouth despite the disapproval of his men.

“I take it that he’s always enjoyed testing limits,” she said.

T’xith stiffened slightly before he turned to look at her, but his voice was relaxed and warm when he spoke. “Yes. My cousin has always been the first to seek trouble, but I understand now why he was chosen to represent us.”

“He’s amazing, but none of the others jumped like that. Is it safe?” Kayla asked.

T’xith grunted. “It’s Jaess. He can handle it. He’s expecting us to meet him backstage.”

Sam shifted in her seat. It was coming now—the moment of truth. She knew she didn’t want to see Kayla’s face when she realized what Sam’s plans were. At least she had a few more minutes of peace before the incoming lecture.

The crowd was calling for an encore, but Jaess had stepped into the back row of dancers, and it was Lithi and another man who performed a short number amid the continued clapping. When it was finished, all of the Xithilene dancers bent their heads towards the audience in unison, and then they filed out in neat lines towards the wings. The stage lights darkened, and only seconds later, the house brightened. The theater was full of the rustling of human clothing and comm device alerts pinging as their silence modes were deactivated.

“Let’s go. Someone should be waiting at the door to guide us,” said T’xith as he stood and held out a hand for Kayla.

A human woman in an usher’s uniform motioned for their party to follow her once they stepped out of the box. After that, it was just a rush of sound and motion. Sam held her head high, but she was looking through everything in front of her as if it weren’t there at all, until it was all just a blur of tastefully dim hallways and rich, red carpet.

“Does our demonstration meet with your approval, captain? I’ve heard that you’re from Lisseethi yourself.”

Sam’s world clicked back into focus at the sound of that sly, feminine voice. She was standing beside Kayla, and Lithi was addressing T’xith with a flirtatious slide of a smile. Her fingers began to twitch by her thigh, and she realized it was the same feeling she’d experienced while watching the other woman cling to Jaess. Not jealousy—not exactly, but the desire to put Lithi in her place, to remind her that she had no right to either of the men. She doubted T’xith would thank her for her interference if she were to say anything, and she made herself relax her hand and wait for Lithi to notice her.

“An excellent performance—I didn’t know our dances could look that way. Maybe we need a similar tour back home among the continents.” T’xith smiled easily as he tucked Kayla closer beneath his arm. “Jaess! Come,” he called out over Lithi’s shoulder.

Sam looked and saw Jaess watching them, his arms braced against the frame of an open door to the right. His bright wings were all tucked away behind him, and he bent his head to them with a grin. Then his body seemed to snap to attention as he dropped his arms and moved forward, each step sinuous and sure.

“Well met, cousin,” said Jaess as he reached for T’xith’s arm.

“Samantha Chang, I have something for you.” Lithi had moved in close beside her and held out the inside of her delicate wrist. She wore what looked like a thin gold bracelet with a smooth medallion in the middle, but Sam recognized it for what it was—a Xithilene comm device. “The tech should be compatible for a data transfer,” Lithi continued expectantly.

Sam pushed back her sleeve and lifted her wrist, pressing the face of her own human-made device towards Lithi’s. She waited to hear if her comm would give the slight notification buzz for an incoming file. When she felt a hum against her skin several seconds later, she nodded to Lithi as she swiped the accept icon on her now active device.

“I’ve got it. I’ll just take a moment to look it over, if you don’t mind,” she said as she stepped back from the others. She caught Kayla giving her a look and shook her head, silently telling her it was nothing to worry about.

Sam quickly read through the offer, pressing her lips together to hold back a whistle when she saw the number of credits indicated. It wasn’t anything crazy, but it was definitely more than enough to buy her a few months' time once the contract was up. Two months—that was how long she’d be expected to play for the dance troupe’s performances. Afterwards they’d all be returning to Xithilene. It was a good offer. She should take it before Lithi changed her mind.

“I’ll do it,” she said before she could chicken out. “When do I start?”

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