young and old, with their long coats hanging off their chairs. Glorian coats. Kallia’s mouth fell open. “You invited the city into your tents?”
“It’s cold in these parts. Why let a warm circus tent of curiosities go to waste? Spectaculore shouldn’t be all about the top hats.” Canary smugly patted at the small blue pouch hanging off her shoulder that looked near bursting. “Besides, it’s not as though they come empty-handed. They pay us, we offer them a seat.”
“You sure that’s a good idea? The people here can be … critical.”
“That’s what Rova’s for.” The flame-eater gestured toward the head of a room where a severe-looking young woman in black sat on a makeshift throne of pillows and pedestals. Her pale hand rested on the head of a large, sleeping lion. “Our lead animal tamer. If anyone slights us, she’ll wake Aya to restore the natural order.”
Kallia snorted, almost wishing she could see a demonstration.
“Come on, Your Highness.” Canary tugged on Kallia’s elbow, weaving them between tables and over fallen props with her head held high—a queen passing through her kingdom. “Another reason I was hoping you’d come sooner was because you’ve acquired a few fans in my troupe.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s obnoxious.” Canary sniffed. “Also, I don’t know what sort of crowd you’re used to, but none of us have a single prim and proper bone in our body. Just forewarning you.”
“And to forewarn you,” Kallia countered, lips curled, “neither do I.”
They bypassed a group of girls stretching in a cramped corner without complaint, likely dancers. But when they began bending into all sorts of shapes, walking on their hands as easily as legs, Kallia’s eyes widened. Her limbs suddenly felt rigid as rocks at how little she could do with them in comparison. Canary laughed, and tugged her closer to the rowdiest source of noise in the tent.
An unexpected jitter went through Kallia as a table brimming with ladies burst out in full laughter after two players slammed their cards down.
“You cheated, Cass!”
“I would never cheat family,” the other girl said smugly. “It’s just easy to beat someone who’s shit at cards, is all.”
“But I’ve never played with these Glorian ones before.”
“Excuses, excuses…”
“Those are the Starling twins,” Canary whispered. “Our resident acrobats. On land, it’s all war between them. But in the air, nothing but harmony.”
Kallia nodded, drawn to the scene. That unfamiliar ache from when she’d first seen the Conquerors returned like a bruise. Like the story in front of her was not hers to join, only as a spectator looking in from the other side of the curtain.
Juno craned her head above the group, the inked roses and thorns framing her face stretching as she smirked. “Just when I thought things around here were getting boring.”
The group hushed as everyone turned in Kallia’s direction. A flush broke out beneath her skin as she began to fidget in a way she never had on stage—until Juno pulled her in for a surprisingly warm hug. “You look like shit,” she teased. “I can see why you’ve come back. Could use some more blush.”
“Maybe for the next show night,” Kallia replied. “If they let me back in.”
The others hooted and banged the table.
All at once, it became a heart-pounding blur of shaking hands and names paired with titles too fantastic to forget. Linnet O’Lione, the animal charmer who played with beasts and laid with snakes. Camilla Falco, the fierce dagger catcher and thrower whose perfect aim made her the deadliest of the group, though her toothy smile betrayed otherwise. And along with the Starling twins, another set of sisters rounded out the group—the Cygna sisters: Silla, Sersé, Sirenna, and Sann, who had learned the graceful art of water dancing as mermaids in the sea, only to bring their talents ashore.
With a touch of awe, she shook the dancers’ hands. “Mermaids?”
“We all have our little stories.” Sann winked.
“And the public loves a good fairy tale.” Canary plopped into an empty seat with a sigh. “I was tragically born in the midst of a terrible fire, the only survivor who got away with a taste for flames.” She snorted. “It’s a touch more epic than being a dropout from Queen Casine’s who ran away to join the circus.”
“Why?” Kallia cocked her head in interest at the confession. “If you have magic, you don’t need the circus.”
“Easy for you to say, Highness. You born magicians have power brimming from your fingernails that people would pay to see,” Canary said, not unkindly. With a touch