He gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Trish knows better than to talk back.
Master Kaazu stalks back toward her and reaches up to one of the props of the painted balcony scenery. He lifts it up and then smacks her across the face with it in a terrible crash. Several of us flinch.
Trish goes flying back, her body crashing onto the floor of the stage with a whimper. Kaazu stalks over and throws the broken pieces of the painted background at her where she lays. None of us dare move.
“You ignorant, fat, clumsy fool!” he hisses at her. “I’m pulling you from the performance tonight. You obviously need extra training. You’ll be on the bars tonight. And no food for three days. Maybe if you lose some of that weight in your fat ass, you can balance better.”
Trish keeps her head down in submission, and I see a tear flaking down her cheek like dead skin. “Yes, Master Kaazu,” she murmurs.
“Get her out of my sight,” he says, and two of the guys quickly pick her up and help her off stage.
“Jetta.” Kaazu’s fingers snap, and my legs are already moving before the sound even finishes hitting my ears.
I stand in front of him, looking up at him with a bored, unaffected expression. It’s become more than just second nature, it’s become my default. You can’t ever let him know he’s getting under your skin, or he’ll peel it back and strip you raw. “You’ll play the part of Adulteress tonight.”
I nod. “Yes, Master Kaazu.”
“Don’t disappoint me.”
The threat hangs in the air as he turns and walks off the stage, once again ready to watch us go through the routine. “And two of you fix the background. If it’s not perfect for tonight’s performance, I’ll wring Trish’s fucking neck.”
A couple of the troupers immediately jump in and start the process of cleaning up the stage and fixing the background that his temper tantrum destroyed.
Kaazu stands on the side, arms crossed in front of him and a glare set on his face. All I give myself is a single slow blink. One breath in the darkness. And then I open my eyes, and I’m ready to play the part. Not just of the Adulteress, but of Master Kaazu’s perfect troupe member.
The other troupers who will be in tonight’s performance give me a nod as we retake our places, me shifting around to take lead, while one of the other females takes my old part where I was going to be doing acrobatics from the ceiling, swinging on long strips of fabric.
None of us bat an eye at the switch. We’re used to Kaazu pulling this shit last minute. It’s why we all learned a long time ago to make sure we knew not just our parts, but everyone else’s too. Luckily, I go through the routine flawlessly, and Kaazu finally relents, giving us a short reprieve while the auditorium fills with Canes who’ve come to watch the show.
When it’s time for the performance to start, I stand behind the stage with Heathcliff and the others while Master Kaazu goes out and mingles with the crowd.
We’re somewhere in Washington I think, but the places bleed together. One state or another, it doesn’t really matter. We travel. We get hired. We perform. Master Kaazu gets paid. On and on the cycle goes.
I watch Kaazu standing tall, the lights making his slicked black hair shine. His short, elaborate beard that he shaves into the shape of thorny vines stands out. It makes him look theatrical and eccentric, a piece that always catches the eye, just like his deep green suit.
He’s a poisonous plant, his natural beauty just another trick to draw people in. Like now, while he talks to the audience, he’s drawing them in inch by inch, and by the time we start performing, they won’t even realize he’s snared them.
“You okay?”
Cliff’s voice grabs my attention, and I look over at him in the shadows. “Of course.”
“Worried I won’t catch you after your backflip?”
I snort because the idea is ridiculous. “No. You always catch me.”
He shoots me a soft smile. “I do.”
I look away from the adoration in his eyes. Not because I don’t return the feeling, but because I’ve never been good at expressing it. “You gonna kick Perry’s ass?”
“No doubt,” he says with confidence, making me grin.
After the choreographed performance, which includes some very sensual ballet and ballroom dance moves where I seduce Cliff on stage, he and Perry—who’s