Chapter 1: Introduction
It was just another night at the bar; the strangeness of Maye's life was glossed over by the comforting medley of foreign music and beer-infused chatter, albeit more pronounced tonight than usual. A melting pot of cultures seeped into the dimly lit bar, filling the space with a warmth that separated itself from the chaotic concrete world beyond.
Behind the bar, glasses clinked together in a rhythm all too comforting for Maye to have ever thought it monotonous.
Her slender fingers danced along the piano keys, each key glistening under the glow of the overhead lights.
As she sang, the bar fell silent. Every gaze lingered on her petite figure, now cloaked in a rich, scarlet evening gown that only seemed to emphasize the length of her pink hair and the bright green of her eyes. The air felt thick, a charged current running through the establishment as her sultry voice blanketed the room.
She had been here many times before, aware of the irresistible pull she had on humans.
The way their hungry stares never failed to leave her heartbeat unrushed, the thrill that surged through her at the acknowledgment of her power eclipsed by the joy that came with being true to herself. Tonight, there was a certain someone who caught her eye, one who didn't seem to drown in her gaze like a moth to a flame.
Across the sea of bobbing heads and dimmed lights, a pair of deep blue eyes bore into hers. The enigmatic stranger, John, had an undeniable presence that permeated her being.
She saw stars in the blue abyss of his eyes, irresistibly pulled toward the allure of the unknown as if a red thread tethered them together.
A hush fell upon her performance, her sultry voice rising and falling like the soft waves of a serenade that only the two of them could hear.
As she concluded her ballad and allowed her fingers to slip from the keys, she felt a magnetic pull drawing her toward John. Anticipation coursed through her veins, heating her blood like an intoxicating drug.