Page 173 of Requiem
“Wow,” she murmurs with a grin.
I smirk. “I love you so much, blondie.”
She yanks me into another passionate kiss. “I love you, too, Meekah,” she whispers against my lips.
“Thank you for helping to save my life,” I say, cupping her face in my hands.
She swallows. “You’re the one who saved mine.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “You pushed me out of the way. You took a bullet for me. Asshole.”
I sigh, my forehead falling to hers. “And I’d do it all over again if it meant that you were safe.”
And I would. A thousand times over.
Chapter forty-six
JUDE GRAVES
The sound of the ocean doesn’t fully reach us back here behind the stage. Cables and black curtains separate us from the thousands of people waiting out there. Our first show since I reconnected with Emma.
I roll my shoulders once, then again, like I can physically loosen something that has nothing to do with muscle and everything to do with memory. But it doesn’t matter how many times I try because my body still remembers how to brace for impact even when there’s no one here trying to hurt me anymore. I don’t know if that will ever fully leave me.
Back when I announced this show, I was happy to see how many supporters we still had out there.
Finnick is across from me, tightening his guitar strap, and Kami is pacing in a small loop near the equipment cases, bouncing lightly on her toes with excitement like she always does before a show. Micah stands just behind me.
He taps my shoulder once. “You good?” he asks.
The question has a different meaning than it used to, because “good” used to mean something I could fake with a smile and whatever substance I could get my hands on. But now it means something I don’t yet have words for. So I nod.
“Yeah, man,” I answer quietly, and after a pause. “I think so.”
Micah studies me for a second, and then he exhales. “Good enough,” he says simply, patting me on the shoulder. “Our girls are out there. It will be Heather’s first time really seeing me in action. So I have to impress her.” He expertly twirls a drumstick between his fingers, and I roll my eyes.
I then realize that it will be Emma’s first time seeing me perform as a free man.
Kami steps in suddenly, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hold that surprises me. “You’re gonna be amazing,” she whispers. When I look down at her, I see tears forming in her bright blue eyes. Sharp black wings outline them, and her blood-red hair is tied in a thick, high ponytail.
I let out a breath that almost becomes a laugh. “We’ll see.”
Finnick snorts from the side without looking up, throwing his ever-growing dirty blonde hair into a small bun. “That is the least reassuring thing you could’ve possibly said before a show, dude.”
And for a second, the ball of anxiety in my chest loosens. It suddenly feels like old times, with my band surrounding me. My best friends for the last few years. I look down at my hands, and the glint of several of my silver rings on my fingers grounds me for a moment. And then I glance out past the curtain.
I see Emma before she sees me, just a glimpse at first, standing in the front row already with Heather. Rafe and Adela are positioned beside them as well. My girl looks different now, her dark hair falling loose against her shoulders, and when her eyes find mine across the chaos of the crowd and stage lights, it feels like everything else falls away.
She smiles, and it tightens my chest so sharply I have to look away just to keep fucking breathing.
Micah nudges my elbow. “Time,” he says softly.
“Ready, boys?” Kami asks, slinging her bass guitar over her shoulder.
I nod, adjusting my own. And then we’re moving.
The moment I step out, the world breaks open into sound. It’s a living, roaring wave of noise that hits us hard. For a second, I’m suspended between who I was and who I’m trying to be.
Lights explode over thousands of faces, and somewhere in that overwhelming expanse, I hear my name being called. Finnick starts the opening beat, Kami follows, Micah locks in behind us as our steady heartbeat.
We’reDissonanceagain.
