Chapter 11: Stellar

I was practically vibrating as I strapped on my borrowed Gibson for the Stellar Lounge show two nights later. I was standing side by side with Sy in front of five dozen actors, comedians, influencers, television personalities, and other assorted famous faces, all assembled in the absurdly large living room of a celebrity late-night comedian's London home. The stir of chatter was dying away: attention was shifting toward us. It was almost time. And somehow, I wasn't afraid. Because I knew what Sy and I could do together.

He was wearing his usual dark t-shirt and jeans, and I had smoothed my silver hair into a long, wide ripple around my shoulders. I wore my favorite concert costume: a diaphanous gown of light, floaty blue material that shimmered around me like a cloak made of summer sky. We were an odd match, visually. I saw famous people raising their famous eyebrows in impatient skepticism. But I didn't care. Because I had Sy beside me. And we had our magic.

We'd been rehearsing—c