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“Eat. I know you’re going to dinner after with your mother, but you haven’t eaten in two days.” He rubbed his hands over my shoulders. And I stopped what I was doing and ate a mouthful of salad. I was ravenously hungry, but I didn’t realize it until the lettuce hit my tongue and my mouth filled with saliva. “I’ll meet you at La Fleur after, all of the arrangements are made—you just have to show up.”

“Break a leg?” I offered as he opened the top drawer of the dresser that was filled with his dance apparel. He
stared into the drawer for a moment before he closed it.

“Thank you, you should send Leslie a text. I’m sure she’s nervous.
I know I was the first time I danced on stage as a Principal in front of an audience…” His words trailed off. And he shook away whatever memory coaxed the slightest of smirks to turn the corner of his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,
” I managed somehow to say between gluttonous bites of the green salad.

With a smirk, he left me to my arduous task of making myself look presentable. I kept my hair in the curlers as I pulled on the pale gray, sheath dress with its demure off the shoulder sleeves, and the summer length hem that stopped just below my knees. My accessories were all that bright red shade that would tell any vampire who passed me that I was Aleksi’s. I stared at the bright red clutch and shoes for a while before I actually slipped the shoes on.
Are you sure you want vampires to know who you’re connected to by sight?
I for once agreed with Miss Manners’ logic, but I knew it would hurt Aleksi to not see me with the thick necklace of rubies and diamonds set in white gold that he bought for me. I didn’t want to contemplate what it or the earrings cost. I missed my simple pearls. I felt over dressed with rubies the size of my thumbnail dangling from each ear. Even if I did look stunning in the mirror, I still didn’t know what I thought of all of it. Pulling out my curlers I glanced at the time, it was fifteen until curtain. Cursing I darted out, hastily locked my door and took the elevator down to the lobby.

Outside the theater looked like it was some red carpet premier for a summer blockbuster. There was a literal red carpet, touches I missed when I saw Swan Lake because I arrived an hour early with Leslie and Kendra. Oh yeah, I didn’t fit in worth a damn. I stood out like a sore thumb as I crossed the street and attempted to skirt the paparazzi to get in. Seeing the mass of photographers made me feel somewhat relieved, there didn’t seem for any way for someone with a gun to get passed the seething mass of shutterbugs.

“Autumn.” I jumped as someone called my name, and then slowly turned around. Two limos back Elizabeta had the window rolled down as she beckoned me over. I quickly closed the distance and she opened the door and I slipped in. “They are really just eating up Aleksi this year. Everyone who is anyone in Hollywood is here. Movie stars and Billionaires the world over have all converged to see your boyfriend and Master dance.” She smiled at me. “No one will want your picture, so just follow behind. People will assume you’re my assistant.” I nodded and the limo pulled up to the curb in front of the
theater and Elizabeta opened the door and slipped out with all of the grace I didn’t have.

I practically stumbled out into the blinding bright flashes behind Elizabeta as she called people by name and answered seemingly mundane questions. She handled everything with the grace and poise one would expect from a three hundred-year-old vampire. As always, I followed orders, and she was right, they didn’t care about me. The flashes all followed Elizabeta’s measured and perfect gait, leaving me to trail behind slowly. Following behind Elizabeta did have its advantages, though, no one asked me for a ticket, and no one stopped us from just walking into the lobby passed where they were taking tickets. I noticed a handful of actors amongst those milling around. Though admittedly I was dressed the part, I didn’t feel like I belonged amongst that glittering throng of people commenting on Tristan’s impending retirement, and how intense Aleksi’s performances usually are. Once Elizabeta left me to go to her box, I gripped my clutch and chewed at my bottom lip remembering the last time I stood in the lobby. Swan Lake was only eight months ago, so much had happened in such a short amount of time.

The lights flashed the fifteen-minute warning for everyone to get to their seats and my stomach dropped as I steeled myself and stepped passed the usher who nodded at me in recognition and headed into the auditorium. It wasn’t until I was seated that I realized that I had a phenomenal seat. Close enough to see the dancers’ expressions, but far enough away to see all of the stage. The seats all around me quickly filled up and before I knew it the lights had dimmed and the curtain raised. No one applauded anyone’s entrance—that was until Aleksi stepped on stage. The applause actually hurt my ears, he, however, didn’t acknowledge the audience he continued on like he was anywhere else.

“Look at those thighs.” Someone near me murmured as Leslie and Aleksi started the first
Pas de Deux of the ballet. They actually partnered fairly well, even Colette all made-up seemed imposing enough to fit the part of the mother. All was going well until they actually went to Wonderland and I saw Tristan in full White Rabbit fair. My heart and stomach twisted and sunk. I shut my eyes tight as Vlad’s warning came flooding back to me. I opened them just in time for everything to slow to a crawl as Tristan lifted Leslie and then the gunshot exploded from above me and they both collapsed. The Theatre erupted in screams and shrieks, and then there was a second gunshot. The curtain came down quickly and the house lights came up fast enough to give me partial blindness as I ran in the opposite direction of everyone else.

My heart was pounding at a million decibels as I slipped back into those painted cinderblock corridors that lead to the rehearsal rooms. I ran down the halls until I came to Evan, bleeding against the wall holding his stomach. He furrowed his brows when he saw me and his pale lips twisted. The blood had already started to pool under him in a semi-viscous near maroon puddle.

“I…I’m soo…” I swallowed and knelt beside him, his blood wetting the hem of my dress as I used one hand to apply pressure. Could a vampire die from blood loss?

“Autumn, it… it wasn’t… Gregory
.”

“Shhh…”
I swallowed and looked around. “Help! Somebody! Help!” I screamed, my voice echoed off down the soundproofed walls into nothing.

“The Envoy… tell… tell Tristan… fuck this… hurts.” Dark blood slowly dribbled down Evan’s chin
from his lips. Aleksi slid into the hall then, dressed in costume with blood on his hands and his tights and red and white jacket. When Aleksi knelt beside us, Evan grabbed Aleksi by the shirt. “The Envoy,” Evan choked out as Aleksi ripped open the ginger vampire’s pale pink shirt, buttons ping-ponging off of walls as Aleksi inspected the flesh.

“Aut
umn, I need you to distract him,” Aleksi ordered as he probed at the hole in the middle of Evan’s abdomen with his finger. I scooted closer to his head and cupped his face in my hands.

“Evan, look at me.” He raised his eyes to mine. “I have flecks of dark brown in my eyes, can you count them?”

He nodded and winced but didn’t shut his eyes as I stared at his face. I could see out of my periphery as Aleksi rooted around in his chest with his fingers, and the dull, sickening sucking sound that accompanied it. Evan screamed and Aleksi sighed.

“Good news is I found the bullet. Bad news, like the piece I pulled out of Tristan
it’s silver.”

“And that’s bad?” I asked.

“It’ll kill him if someone doesn’t get it out of him, and I can’t reach it.”

“
Thirty-seven,” Evan whispered, his icy hand reaching up to caress my face, and I got to watch as his pupils turned to pinpricks and he passed out.

“Is he?”

“No, not yet, but he’s going there fast.” Aleksi snatched Evan up like he was nothing and tossed him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “They want you in the ambulance with Leslie, they won’t let a vampire ride with her because of the blood. They’re in the lobby, go.” He gestured towards the door and I hesitated a moment before I left them and walked back into the lobby.

Twenty-seven minutes. That was the amount of time between the gunshot and my arrival at the hospital in the ambulance with Leslie unconscious on a stretcher beside me. I had to scramble to keep up with the EMTs as they rushed her into the ICU to start prepping her for emergency surgery. The bullet was still inside of her. Leslie wasn’t getting along with her parents so I had been listed as her next of kin on all of her medical forms. So I was who the doctor came out to talk to, he was a balding Indian man in his forties who frowned heavily when he saw the blood on my dress.

“Ms. Darling?” He asked eyeing me for a moment, his accent was slight probably faded from years of working in the States. “I’m Dr. Petal, I’ll be Leslie’s attending. They’re taking her into surgery now to remove the bullet and better assess the internal damage. It should take four… maybe five hours. Unfortunately, my shift is ending in three. So when Leslie is out of surgery an amazing colleague and dear friend of mine, Dr. Sophia Mendez, will take over. She’ll probably come over and introduce herself when she arrives. Do you have any questions?”

“N-no, thank you, Doctor.”

“Don’t go thanking me just yet, Ms. Darling.
I will let you know if her situation changes.” He smiled at me and left back down the hall checking his clipboard; leaving me alone in the midsts of the too white walls, and the stink of disinfectant and death.

Garrett was the first to arrive, he wasn’t in costume, but his stage makeup was still on. Seeing him with the fake dimples drawn on his chin and cheeks, and the bright yellow contact lenses in while he wore jeans and a t-shirt just made the situation seem so surreal. He wordlessly pulled me into his arms and started crying.
Shouldn’t you be crying too?
I rubbed his back and attempted to sooth him.

“I was…I… we were just on stage together. Not three minutes before. Fuck…” He squeezed me and I whimpered. “God the blood, so much fucking blood.”

“Do you have any news about Evan?”

“Evan?” He pulled back from me and furrowed his black painted brows.

“Evan was shot too… he was in bad shape,” I frowned and shook my head.

“I know Elizabeta took Tristan to Hobbes… uhh, that’s the private hospital for us non-humans. She probably took him too. I didn’t see Colette once everything went down either, but Aleksi was giving interviews with the press and trying to keep everyone calm when I left.” My phone buzzed in my clutch and I took it out.

[Bullet & Fragment out. Both fine]
Elizabeta texted the whole vampire community, if the string of ccs were to be believed. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, now all that was left was waiting. I wanted Aleksi, I wanted to wrap my arms around him and to burry my face against his neck and to just ball my eyes out. But he wasn’t there… Garrett was. I slowly turned and looked at him.

“Evan and Tristan are fine. Apparently they got the bullets out.” I blinked at my own voice
, it came out way softer than I thought it would.
Hopefully Leslie’s okay too, since this is all your fault.

“You’ll see. They’ll be up and walking around before Leslie’s out of surgery.” Garrett smiled at me with one of those big charming, reassuring smiles—I was in absolutely no mood for it.

“I’m going to get coffee.” I stood and turned down the hall to the vending machines. I didn’t get coffee I just wanted to be alone while guilt took its time nibbling at my toes. After a few
minutes, I put a few coins in and got what said it was a French Vanilla Latte, but tasted more like a sick combination of hot cocoa and half a pound of sugar. Frowning I glanced at the cup and saw the Jack of Hearts staring back at me. Where was my Jack of Hearts?

Slowly but surely other members of the company filtered in, most had actually washed their makeup off and looked normal. The little television in the waiting room flashed with what they called breaking news about the shots fired at the ballet. Danse Macabre, they called the story, attempted murder at the ballet. Aleksi was front center on the screen, his costume smeared with Evan, Tristan, and Leslie’s blood.

“Our hearts go out to the injured dancers’ families in this time of need. The rest of the performances this week will continue as scheduled
, with Petra Ivanovich in the role of Alice. We are confident this was an isolated incident involving Leslie Gellar’s debut and an obsessed fan, nothing more.”

“Why isn’t Tristan D’arcy giving the official statement?” A reporter asked, coaxing a sigh from Aleksi.

“Tristan is currently at the hospital with Leslie anxiously waiting news of her condition with the rest of the company, something I’d really like to go do. So if you’ll excuse me.” He didn’t wait for a response he just went back
into the stage door.

“And there you have it, the show will go on. I’m Connie Stewart, for Action News.” I turned away from the television, looking up just in time to see Tristan limp in with Colette and
Elizabeta, who was rocking little Margot in her arms. Tristan looked like hell, his golden curls were tousled and matted, and his eyes were so bloodshot the baby blue almost looked white. Tristan walked over to me with a staggered gait and collapsed beside me.

“Any word?” He asked, his voice rough around the edges.

“Not since she went into surgery.”

“I feel…I should have been able to protect h-h—” He was cut off by a sob, and tears poured down his cheeks. He didn’t look like anyone’s leader, as he let his tears flow freely. If someone wanted to cut at his
heart, they certainly accomplished it. His grief was transparent, and that was why Aleksi had given the statement. If anyone outside of those around us now saw him in this state, it would probably be more chaos, which was the last thing we needed.