Revelle

Bodies flew through the tent, tumbling in graceful twists in sync with the band’s dark, seductive melody. The spotlight flashed upward, and I craned my neck to see where it led.

And then I saw her. The most beautiful girl in the world—falling from the stars.

She swung from the trapeze, her long legs caught by a curvy acrobat. The crowd was deafening as she flipped through the air toward the next swing, and the next, again and again until she finally landed on a cloud-shaped crystal platform. She draped herself over the ledge, the spotlight blinding against her sequins. The cloud lowered her until her face was even with mine, though a sea of bodies still stretched between us.

Our eyes met. A desire I’d never before experienced gripped me.

Home. She’s my home.

She couldn’t be looking at me—she was the most sublime being in the entire world, and I was a nobody. Yet it was as if her heart was beating in rhythm with mine. I could practically smell her perfume, feel the softness of her lips. A thousand pictures fluttered before my eyes, a life we’d never lived together, but we could—we could. She blinked at me from beneath thick lashes, wild curls barely kept tame by the ribbon circling her head like a crown. The mere act of breathing was too much in her presence.

She turned away, her gaze sweeping over more worthy admirers. I cried out, begging her to look at me again. But the crowd was packed with New York’s best, and she was going to have her pick.

I could hardly make out a single word of her angelic song, not over the thrashing of my heart and the commotion of the crowd. If only I could get closer to honor the connection glowing between us. I climbed over the railing—

Strong hands pulled me back into my chair. Roger.

“He must have given her a gem!” Trys yelled.

“But he’s broke!”

I felt their hands on my back, heard their concern, but she was all that mattered.

Her flips and jumps on the trapeze swing were sweet torture. To see her finely tuned muscles in action lifted my spirits to dizzying heights, but I gasped with relief each time she made it safely to a platform. My whole heart, my whole world, was hanging from those precarious swings with no safety net beneath her.

Minutes passed like fragments of seconds. Her siren’s song continued as she swung her hips on the stage. Look at me, I begged her. I would have given her anything, all the jewels I’d ever touched, the clothes off my back, anything at all—

Roger’s hands pressed against my shoulders, pushing me back into my seat.

Trys stomped on my foot to hold it in place. “Should we get him out of here?”

“It’s almost done. See?”

The other acrobats caught her and lowered her onto the cloud again. Men flung fists full of precious gems onto the stage, and women pried the jewels from their rings. She deserved them all. If only I had something to show her how much she meant to me—

My mother’s brooch.

I didn’t have time to claw the gems from it; I’d toss her the whole thing—

“No!” Trys tackled me on the dirty carpet. I swung my arms wildly, but she yanked the brooch from my grasp and rolled away.

“Give it back!” I shouted, but I couldn’t look away from Luxe long enough to grab it.

As I scrambled to my feet, Luxe’s gaze found mine again. Roger and Trys disappeared. The scores of intruders melted into oblivion.

We were alone, floating to the moon. To the stars.

Her crystal cloud kept lifting her higher, too high for me to reach. Her lips curled into a secret smile only for me.

Then she turned away, blowing kisses to her fervent fans.

Utterly drained, I collapsed into my seat.

Roger patted me on the cheek. “And now you’ve met my cousin.”

“Poor Jame-o.” Trys gripped my shoulders. “You understand Revelle magic now?”

I couldn’t look away from Luxe. “She’s my home.”

Trys shot Roger a look. “Now, that’s just cruel.”

“That’s show business.” Roger fixed my crooked hat. “You paid the admission fee, didn’t you? That’s how she charmed you.”

I didn’t pay a damn thing. Sure, she possessed magic like all Revelles. But without jewels, it had to be real.

“Hang in there, Jame-o. We’ll be here when it wears off.”

It wouldn’t. My friends could not begin to understand what I knew with absolute certainty: Luxe Revelle was my destiny. Everything tonight had led me to this moment. The déjà vu. The crate. The bees.

For the first time in my nineteen years, I was exactly where I belonged.

She perched on the edge of the cloud and waved to her many suitors. Children darted across the stage, sweeping the jewels into the wings. Sapphires, emeralds, topazes, even diamonds soared through the air, but I kept my sights on the girl high above them all. Her smile strained at the corners. She was exhausted.

Our eyes met once more and—

Her hands flew to her stomach. Her feet slipped.

Fear flashed in those perfect eyes.

Roger screamed her name.

And she tumbled

from

the

sky.