big wheel. Soon, each basket would twirl round and round and upside down as a performer swung from the bar stretched across each cart. None of the patrons would realize those performers were anchored to the bars with flesh-colored cuffs and weren’t in any danger of flying to their deaths.
Next she passed the roller coaster that would shoot through man-made tunnels decorated to resemble different planets, each one filled with bright lights, mystical holograms, and spooky mist. Only, the mist wasn’t there for visual effect, as the humans always assumed. It was there for physical effect. In the particles was a small dose of adrenaline, making the ride seem more exciting than it actually was.
After that, the bumper cars came into view. An electric shock would be delivered to every driver who was hit. For some reason, people loved watching their fellow humans jerk against the sting, loved hearing the ensuing curses and growls, loved being chased at high speed, where revenge was eventually taken.
She turned a corner and entered the food court, the scent of fried bread and meats wafting through the air, followed by caramel and citrus. Once she cleared the canopy overhead and snaked around another corner, the games Jecis used to earn even more cash from the otherworlders who had already lost their appeal came into view. Pin the Tail on the Wedlg, Rakan Piñata, and the Delensean Rack-and-Sack were the current crowd favorites.
Tears beaded at the backs of Vika’s eyes. Hardly anyone peeled back that layer of “fun” to peek at the seedy underbelly of the circus. The tricks, the lies, the cruelty. People came and they played and they laughed. They watched the performances in Big Red and marveled, captivated by feats no human—or otherworlder—should be able to do. And then they left, totally ignorant to the evil they had just supported.
Finally the main tent came into view, a big, red monstrosity her father had patterned after the circuses of old, and Vika tripped over her own feet. Jecis was inside, preparing for the first show.
Trust, X suddenly said. Set the otherworlders free. Walk away. Today. Now. This minute. Never look back.
How she would have loved that. “If I do, they’ll only be captured again.”
Trust.
“You don’t understand.”
Don’t I?
Vika reached the entrance and swept inside. Bleachers filled every inch of space that wasn’t used by the center ring, and of course, the hidden space in back where the performers changed. In the ring were spotlights, poles, wires, nets, equipment, boulders, and smoke machines.
As a little girl, she had dreamed of having an act of her own and making her father proud. Now, she was very glad he’d always denied her request, too afraid someone would see her, want her, and take her, even back then. To be stared at, judged, and critiqued by strangers? No, thank you.
A hard hand latched onto her forearm and forced her to turn. Mini-bombs of fear exploded through her when her gaze landed on Matas, who was glaring down at her, a blazing fire in his eyes.
“What are you doing here, Vika? You’re supposed to be in your trailer.”
I will not cower. “Have you forgotten rule number one?” she forced herself to snap.
A cruel grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “We’re going to be married at the end of the month, which means your rules are out and mine are in. And do you want to know the first one? You do what I say, when I say, or I hurt you in ways you cannot even imagine. And don’t forget you owe me for letting Kitten go unscathed.”
There’s still time to leave, X said.
I can handle this, she assured herself, even as her blood chilled in her veins. “My father will not be amused. He doesn’t want you to mistreat me.”
“Actually, I think he’ll change his mind when he sees this.” Matas held out his free hand. A small, black device rested in the center of his palm. He used his thumb to press the button in the center, and a blue screen crystallized in the air.
Colors flickered inside that screen, a picture soon forming.
Oh, sweet mercy. She wanted to, she really did, but she had to contain this situation first. If her father ever saw this, Solo would be killed. “D-don’t show him, Matas. Please.”
His fingers closed over the device, and the screen vanished. “I hid a camera in the