Well, this was eye-opening. The model strutting down the catwalk to the strains of Harry Styles’s “Adore You” wore a sequined green top with spaghetti straps and the plungiest neckline I’d ever seen. The top skimmed the inside of her boobs, stopping just before each nipple. I’d never have the guts to wear something like that… not that I could afford the designer price tag. Although, maybe if I looked like a model, I would’ve been game to wear it. Actually, maybe not.
As she passed us and neared the end of the platform, her skyscraper heel caught on something. She jerked forward and hopped as she tripped. I sucked in a breath. She scrambled to stay on her feet. Was she or wasn’t she going to…? Phew! She managed to save herself, turn, and make her way back along the catwalk. She hadn’t even looked down to check herself, and she really should have. I mean, wasn’t there a breeze where there shouldn’t have been? The top, which had only just covered things, had shifted, revealing both nipples.
Will’s eyes were wide open. When he’d agreed to come to the London fashion show to see his sister working, I bet he hadn’t imagined he’d get such an eyeful. He probably wasn’t disappointed though. I turned my head and looked at Beren. He didn’t appear to be overly disappointed either. We couldn’t blame them, but Liv and I still shared a head shake. At least it hadn’t been Sarah, Will’s sister, who’d flashed the world. I couldn’t imagine what Will would’ve done then since we weren’t allowed to use our magic in public.
“It’s Sarah,” Will said. I looked at the catwalk. It was the first time I’d ever seen her at work. I already knew she was gorgeous, but wow. Her five-feet-nine frame was made way taller by nude platform heels. She wore a red mid-thigh-length dress with a low neckline, but not as revealing as the previous model’s. Her sheer sleeves were fluted at the ends, the fabric slightly longer than her hemline. She gave us a flirty smile as she strutted past. I sighed. Models with their long limbs did everything so nicely and elegantly. It was as if they were from another planet. I knew I should be happy with myself because there was nothing wrong with how I looked, and my body worked just fine, but I sighed. It would be nice to feel stunning for five minutes, be the one everyone oohed and aahed at when I entered a room. Oh well, no one could have everything. Time to get over it.
Two more models walked by, and as the last one made it to the end of the runway, the lights went out. Totally black. That was brave of the designers. What if one of their models fell off the stage?
The music continued playing. Well, this was weird. Was it a statement from the designer? Yeah, nah. As if they’d go to those lengths to make things dramatic. Although, people had probably tried weirder things to sell stuff.
The music stopped. A woman’s voice came over the microphone, her posh English accent calm, as if nothing untoward was unfolding. “I’m very sorry about this, everyone. If you could stay seated, we’ll get this sorted in a jiffy.”
Phone torches lit up around us, people unable to bear more than a minute without illumination. Some of them were texting or maybe posting on social media. I supposed if you were rich and always flitting from fashion show to party to fashion show, not much bad stuff happened. This was probably a really negative experience for them. I chuckled.
There were a few murmured conversations, but the dark seemed to muffle people’s desire to talk loudly. Will whispered, “What’s so funny?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Ah-huh.” The tone in his comment meant he got me. And that, folks, was why we were still together. We understood each other. I smiled. Affection and love filled my chest. His hand felt for mine, and we entwined our fingers.
During the fashion show, I’d been getting pings of magic from many different people—there were obviously a few witches working in the industry—but a strong spike of magic elbowed me in the back of the head. I rubbed my scalp. That had never happened before. Had I become even more sensitive to magic? Just what I needed—something else that could give me a headache.
The crowd’s murmuring grew louder, and a couple of people complained, threatening to leave. The lights flickered and came back on. The two people who were going to leave sat back down.
A shrill scream came from backstage. Will and Beren jumped up and picked their way through the two rows in front of us, then ran to the backstage area. Once an agent, always an agent.
“Is this part of the show?” came from the row in front of us.
“I don’t know,” a woman answered, “but they do look like models, so maybe?” I had to agree—Beren and Will radiated gorgeousness. Liv and I were lucky girls because they weren’t just good-looking; they were both wonderful humans.
I turned to Liv and leaned over Beren’s chair towards her so I could talk quietly. “Hey, should we go and see what’s up? Maybe they need our help.”
She looked around, then back at me. “Um, I can’t really do anything. Maybe you should go check. Text me if you’re not coming back.”
A tall, slim man in a spiffy white suit came through the curtains and onto the stage. He held a microphone. He walked to the middle of the catwalk and peered around the room until everyone was quiet. “Our apologies, but we have to cut this evening short. If you could make your way to the foyer, we’ll be serving complimentary champagne and canapés. Again, our apologies, and thank you for coming tonight to Evelyn’s show. We hope you like what you’ve seen. Good evening.”
Well, there went me going to see if they needed help. I slid my phone from my bag and texted Will. Is everything okay? Will you be long?
Not sure how long we’ll be. Something’s happened. Take Liv and go downstairs.
Is everyone okay?
I don’t have time to fill you in. Please just go downstairs. We’ll be there as soon as we can. I hmphed. I hated not knowing.
I eyed the door to backstage, wanting so badly to go through it.
My phone vibrated with another message. Don’t even think about it. My mouth dropped open. How did he know? I sighed. Okay, so he knew me too well.
I hmphed. Okay, fine.
I told Liv the situation. “Do you think someone died?” she asked.
“I have no idea.” I glanced at the backstage curtains and the door next to the stage again. Tempting as it was, I’d been given instructions, and I wasn’t in the mood to get into trouble. “He said they’ll be down soon enough. Come on.” Behaving wasn’t nearly as much fun as it should be—if it was, people would do it way more often, and by people, I meant me.
Liv and I waited till the beautiful crowd had left in a smog of allergy-inducing perfume before we made our way out and down the stairs to the ground floor. In the spacious reception area, waitstaff in black-and-white livery served alcohol and expensive-looking finger food from silver trays. We stood to the side—all these Botoxed, expensively dressed people were intimidating. I was just a normal person, and I was sure they could tell. Maybe I needed to get out of my own head. If they looked down on me, who cared? Besides, I could do magic, and most of them couldn’t. Come to think of it, I could buy nice fabric and magic my own designer clothes into being if I was really that worried about it. To be honest, I couldn’t be bothered. There was my answer. I laughed to myself.
“What’s so funny?” Liv popped an hors d’oeuvre in her mouth.
I grabbed one off the proffered tray. “Just realising how silly I am. Nothing new.” I laughed.
“Well, fair enough, then.” She smiled. “I wish I knew what was going on up there. What if it’s dangerous?”
“I can’t feel anything unusual. Besides, if it were dangerous, Will would have told me to get you out of here ASAP.”
“True.”
An older woman, her white hair slicked back and her ears glittering with what I assumed were diamond earrings, abruptly stopped talking. She slapped her hand on her mouth, her eyes wide. She frantically jerked around, then hurried away but didn’t make it more than ten feet before she threw up all over the floor. Splat! Splat! Splashes from the impact with the timber floors flung up and soiled a man’s black trousers. I cringed and put my own hand over my mouth.
Ew.
