21. River

"Do I look okay?" I ask Indy as he eyes my outfit. It's fifteen minutes till show time, our very first one, and I'm surprisingly excited. Nervous as hell, but still excited. I'm wearing a skintight acrobat one-piece. It's dark blue with gold details that almost remind me of a superhero costume. The top half drops into a deep-V and the whole thing is tight enough to show off every muscle.

"Stars, yes. You and Akira look amazing."

"Stars?" I laugh. "Wow, you're starting to sound like Seven, now."

Indy grins as if I gave him the world's best compliment. "I don't see an issue with that."

"Of course you don't." I smile. It's so nice seeing my brother alive and happy. When I first found him, I didn't understand his bond with Seven. I just… didn't get it. But now that I've seen BCC in action, befriended the others, and fallen in love, I have to admit that I'm thrilled for my older brother. He deserves someone like the Ringmaster in his life.

Happy, I glance over at Akira and admire his outfit. He's wearing all black and his outfit is similar to his everyday clothes; tight black pants, boots, a tank top, and his signature leather jacket. Since it's so cool in the performing tents, it doesn't look out of place in the California heat.

Rhea is standing over Akira, as she puts a dark charcoal eyeliner on him. And of course, he's back to looking like a sexy as fuck pirate.

Akira walks over to my side when Rhea is finished. "You ready?" He holds out his hand.

I nod, jumping in place a few times to try to shake out some of my extra nerves. "Let's do this," I reply, lacing my fingers with his.

My heart is pounding when we walk through the tent flap. Immediately, loud cheers fill my ears. Dazzling lights float in the air like twinkling stars and the faint taste of faerie magic is in the air. I can even hear the whispered music of the mysterious shell, as Akira squeezes my hand.

I glance at the audience in shock and then laugh. "What is this?" I ask, relaxing as I really take in the crowd.

Every seat is taken by a familiar face. I see Indy sitting with Brighton and Zander. Conall is with Tindun. Aaron waves at me as soon as I spot him sitting with Alyx and August. I laugh again and wave at Rhett, who is in front and sitting on Coal's lap.

Drake catcalls from the back, causing Eli to blush. I even see the Farren by the entrance of the tent.

"We thought it would be easier if our first exclusive act was in front of friends and family only."

Tension eases from my shoulders. "Yeah. You know what? We got this."

As rehearsed, Seven walks on stage in a three-piece suit and a vibrant purple top hat. He introduces us like normal, almost as if we aren't in a tent full of friends. He keeps the intro short and sweet. And he doesn't use much glamour to impress the crowd. We all agreed to leave the big theatrics to Akira.

Smiling, I walk out onstage and pull out Akira's faerie daggers. Unrolling the leather pouch, I pick out my favorite dagger and pull it out of its sheath to show the audience.

The crowd cheers when the dagger I'm holding lights up, showing off the intricate blue details and symbols. I explain a fake origin of the daggers, a story Akira and I weaved together while incorporating bits of the truth, to give the daggers a little extra mystery.

I hand the blades to Akira, and he gets to work. Throwing dagger after dagger at his targets, each time adding more glamour to the mix, the music steadily picks up the pace until I finally announce the Wheel of Death, or in our case, the Wheel of Life. I mean, we couldn't steal Drake's wheel name, after all.

I step up onto the footrest and prop my body against the wooden boards. I grip the handrests and give Akira our subtle signaling nod. He steps forward with a sexy smirk on his face. Damn pirate. He winks and grips the wheel before giving it a few good spins.

My whole world tips upside down, and that familiar rush soars through my stomach as I spin and spin. Once I feel the wheel naturally begin to slow, I shift my body, using the momentum to keep the wheel spinning.

During training, it took me way too many tries to get used to the wheel, but once I did, it truly was like swinging on a swing. I needed to adjust and thrust my body to keep it going.

The thunderous music picks up pace, making my heart pound with the upcoming danger.

A blue flame speeds past my body, lightning quick, and the heat of it licks just to the left of my arm with a jolting thud. My heart slams.

Gasps of fear can be heard from the crowd.

Fuck. This is the rush I crave. Thud. Thud. Each blue flame slices through the air straight at me, before slamming into the board behind me.

I can barely make out the sparkling embers of magic that fall to the ground around me. The tiny sparks are, of course, just an illusion. Akira wasn't willing to add floating embers to the mix, since he doesn't actually want to hurt me.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The rush is intoxicating.

The last dagger hits the board which means they should all be surrounding me now, and the wheel is spinning fast enough that it should look like a stunning vibrant blue ring of fire.

Cheers go up around the crowd and I let the wheel naturally slow. Once I'm able, I step off the Wheel of Life and give a deep bow before standing up straight.

Akira pulls me to his side and whispers in my ear. "And with how hard you are right now, this is exactly why I insisted this show be adults only."

My cheeks heat, and I glance down at the erection in my tights. "Ooops," I giggle.