Suspended in the Stars by E. A. Hendryx EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: E. A. Hendryx
- Language: English
- Genre: Teen & Young Adult Space Opera
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 3.1 MB
- Price: Free
TALIE
I’m falling through the air.
Darkness surrounds me with a single spotlight focused on my
descent. Above me, the infinity of the galaxy. Below me, blackness. The
crowd holds a collective breath in anticipation as I seem to hang there.
My dress wings out behind me, the base a bright, tiger orange that
bleeds into a bodice of deep turquoise. It wraps tight around my torso in
intricate ropes and twists, Zerias crystals dotting it like constellations. Their
iridescent surfaces send out rainbows like arrows into the dark.
This next move is new, something no audience has seen yet. On a
normal night, I wouldn’t be worried about performing it, but tonight is
different. It’s laced with a lingering and preoccupying sadness. And in this
business, distraction can be deadly.
High Queen Laerkin has been assassinated. The news has only just
reached the circus, but that’s the way it is for travelers, always days—or
months—late to current events. I can’t afford the grief right now, but it’s
hard to ignore. Her sudden death signals changes to the Xerus Galaxy and
its ruling council that have far reaching ramifications. For the galaxy.
For me.
“Mommy, she’s falling!”
The child’s shriek yanks my attention back to the present. I’m almost
too low, but not yet.
My hands fly out for the timed release of the next fly bar. It’s meters,
then centimeters away. I snatch it and propel myself forward, legs and
pointed toes swinging to gain momentum. My dress whips back with the
force of air rushing at me. At the apex of the arc, I let go and twist. My
arms wrap across my body, legs flying over my head in not one, not two,
but three flips before I extend to my full length. I feel the stretch from my
toes to the tips of my fingers.
The next timed bar has released, and I’m there to meet it. Both hands
grip the cool metal, and I flip so my abdomen rests against the bar. Arms
push straight, and I smile—all white teeth and confidence as if I didn’t
almost plummet to my death on the duraplast floor twenty meters below.
“And that, folks, is Talie Zarna—the Soaring Starress.” Delmar’s
magnified voice fills the auditorium. “Give her a round of applause.”
I’m greeted with cheers and claps that echo against the curved walls.
My spotlight extinguishes, and I’m left swaying in darkness, rolling
sore shoulders and thanking the stars I’m done. It’s been a long day, and I
can’t wait to relax, take a bath, and sleep.
Delmar continues the post-show wrap-up and, with a subtle nod from
me, one of the stagehands retracts my fly bar to the descent platform. I
climb on, and it discreetly takes me down to the showroom floor where I
can exit offstage, pulling my holomask free as I go.
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