to go,” he amended. “But you, having a top spot in a competition like this? That would’ve been unheard of when we first started the show circuit. We found out the hard way when venues turned away our act for months. Nobody wanted the Daring Duo. And our aunt certainly wasn’t keen on Eva wasting her talents on the stage when she could one day lead the Patrons.”
“Girls can’t take the stage, but it’s fine if they take over the magicians’ vanguard?”
“The Patrons don’t exactly parade themselves across Soltair like performers do,” he explained. “It’s a respectable position, but not the loudest. One that comes with a lot of responsibilities Eva didn’t want to tie herself to for the rest of her life.”
“Why didn’t you take over, then?” It seemed a natural fit. One that allowed him to use his power with purpose, favor the shadows over the spotlight. That he’d led such a notable performing career had been the biggest surprise of all to her when she’d first met him.
“Eva was the better magician,” he admitted without shame. “Aunt Cata wanted her to inherit the Patrons, but Eva didn’t want to be the next Aunt Cata. Our aunt wasn’t the biggest supporter of the path Eva wanted, and neither were the venues. It was suggested we take on an assistant to incorporate more elaborate acts so no one could refuse. But Eva and I didn’t trust anyone else on the stage with us.” His brown eyes shadowed. “So she took on the role herself. Disguised herself, so no one would know.”
Kallia frowned. “To get you through the door?”
“For a chance to be on stage,” he said, digging his hands into his pockets. “She’d always say that even if everyone came for the Daring Demarco, the applause was for her. Even behind masks and costumes, she made her mark clear. She designed the shows, supplemented the magic, helped me brainstorm every trick to be better than the last.”
“She sounds brilliant.” Kallia smiled, a little in awe. To hear of another magician like this—like her—made her feel that much more seen. As if she’d been alone, screaming into a void, only to realize others had been there with her all along. “I almost wish she’d left you in the dust and gone solo.”
Demarco let out a quiet laugh. “You two would get along famously.”
The way he talked about his sister, it was as if she might walk through the door at any moment. “What happened in your last act?”
His knuckles whitened over the edge of the table. “The props for our newest set hadn’t been ready in time, so we decided to fall back on a popular trick from our early days. The Vanishment.” He uttered it like a ghost’s name. “All you need are twin mirrors—of the same make, from the same maker. Most theaters keep their mirrors uniform, so it was easy to cobble the act together when needed.”
A chill ran down Kallia’s spine. “How does the act go?”
“Have you ever walked through walls before?” At this, she shook her head. “It’s the same concept, but it’s tough magic that requires transfiguring your entire body. I was always shit at it so I didn’t even try, but when Eva encountered difficult magic, she took on the challenge until she could do it in her sleep. She spent over a year trying to walk through concrete and brick and all manner of stone—all to make gliding through material thin as glass seem easy as breathing.
“So for the act, I would unveil a mirror. Floor-length, front and center. I’d knock against the glass like a door, confirm with the audience that it was indeed only a mirror,” he said. “And when the mood of the room lightened with laughter, I’d push Eva in.”
Kallia tensed, envisioning the act.
The dramatic silence, the alarmed gasps.
“She was supposed to cross out of the other mirror, waiting in our dressing room, and walk out. People would cry out in shock, applause would sound.” Demarco blinked slowly. As if coming to after years asleep, the nightmare still clinging to him. “But something went wrong. This mirror was different.”
“Different how?”
“It fractured as soon as she passed through, and she never reemerged.” The moment weighed on him as he spoke, as if it never stopped. “No matter how long we waited, no matter how long I sat across from the other mirror, she … never returned.”
A heaviness sank inside Kallia as if an anchor had dropped in her chest.