a rag from the pile and start swiping the blood off my face.
Perry and the others did a number on me tonight, but it’s nothing compared to what I’ve had in the past. At least I won, and Trish didn’t end up shifting. That would’ve sucked for me if she had.
I clean off my face as best I can and then lather on some cream to staunch the flow of new blood. It’ll help me heal faster, and the marks will be gone in a few hours. Luckily, nothing was deep.
I watch as Magnus and four other male shifters carry out the unconscious bodies to the exit, where they’ll be tossed into one of the vans or RVs to sleep it off. They’ll have to face extra training tomorrow for losing, and if Kaazu is feeling particularly sadistic, maybe even punishment. At least I don’t have to endure that since I won. Small victories.
Moving quickly, I strip out of my dancing slippers, leotard and skirt, and pull on some jean shorts, a plain t-shirt, and my combat boots over my fishnet tights. I made the mistake of loading up one night while still wearing my costume and accidentally snagged the material. Kaazu’s punishment was a cane to the knees and ten thousand dollars charged to “replace” my costume. I make sure to always change now.
Finished, I start tossing in costumes and packing up the lighting, while everyone else rushes around to pack up just as quickly. We all know what happens when we’re not finished by the time Kaazu is ready to go, and the consequences aren’t pretty. He’s an impatient motherfuck.
“Jetta.”
I look up as I’m shoving all the makeup into one of the plastic bins to see Heathcliff walking toward me. My stomach automatically does a backflip and misses the landing. I always have that reaction when it comes to him, no matter how much I try to suppress it.
“Hey, Cliff,” I reply before snapping the lid closed and moving over to gather up all the hair supplies.
“Jetta, I need to talk to you.”
That’s usually code for sneaking away to steal a few moments together. “Now?” I ask with a knowing smirk, my body already switching from one adrenaline rush to another. It’s not uncommon that we fall together after the show is over. In fact, it usually goes hand-in-hand, since everyone is distracted with packing up. “Alright, but we’ll have to be quick.”
I turn around so I can tug him into a dark corner, but he stops me. “No, I really do mean talk,” he says, and I frown at the serious tone in his voice.
Despite the dim lighting backstage, I take a moment to really look at him, and his appearance makes me pause. His usually perfect blond hair is lined with sweat at his sideburns and the ridge of his hairline. His blue eyes are strained too, and he looks paler than usual.
I’m instantly on high alert, all thoughts of fooling around out the window. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes shift around. “Can we go outside?”
I look around again, knowing we have to look busy in case Kaazu or the others see. We may all be troupe members, but there’s a high level of mistrust and dislike that breeds in our shared air. Kaazu makes sure of it.
“Okay. Grab a trunk?”
With a nod, he leans down and snaps shut one of the full costume trunks before hefting it into his arms. I grab the bins for the makeup and hair supplies, stacking them up in my arms, and follow him outside so we can look busy and no one will question anything.
A couple troupers pass us to grab more stuff and load it up. Cliff and I head to the far RV that’s parked near the dumpsters where there’s a lone streetlamp several feet away that keeps flickering off and on.
We put our stuff inside the RV, shoving it in as far as it will go on the side, careful to leave space in the middle since someone will have to lie there to sleep.
“What’s up?” I ask, dusting off my hands from the stray glitter that always seems to be stuck everywhere.
Cliff looks around, but I shake my head. “No one else is outside right now,” I assure him.
“Good.” Grabbing my arm, he starts hurrying us away, dragging me alongside him.
“What are you doing?” I ask, frowning as my feet hurry to keep up with him as he walks us away from the vehicles.
He doesn’t answer me.