The crowd was vibrating. Sold out. Jam-packed wall to wall, every voice raised like a war cry. The lights strobed red and gold. The scent of sweat, anticipation, and faint pyrotechnics hung heavy in the air.
Backstage, the band huddled.
Gabriel paced, tail twitching with chaotic energy. Mark checked cues with the lighting tech. Thane stood near the board, calm as ever — until he leaned toward Gabriel and murmured low enough no one else could hear:
“Ask her.”
Gabriel blinked. “Her?”
“Darla. She’s here. She knows the music. Give her that moment.”
Gabriel’s brows lifted, ears twitching as the idea clicked into place like a perfect chord. He grinned, fangs glinting under the greenroom fluorescents.
“You’re evil.”
Thane smirked. “I’m right.”
The set was fire.
The crowd howled. Literally. Feral Eclipse tore through their best songs with precision and chaos — Gabriel bouncing like a man possessed, Cassie belting so hard the front row sobbed, Jonah doing stick tricks like a circus act.
And then…
Everything dropped into darkness.
Just Gabriel. A soft white spotlight.
He stepped to the mic, voice low, breathless from the last chorus.
“I met someone today. Someone who reminded me what this is all about.”
Confused murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“She doesn’t know I’m doing this. She’s in the front row. She’s got silver hair, a guitar pick necklace, and a better sense of timing than I do most nights.”
Darla’s eyes widened. The crowd turned, gasped, scattered whispers and phones raised.
Gabriel extended a clawed hand toward her and smiled.
“Darla. Come play with us.”
The venue exploded.
Security parted the crowd like waves as Darla — stunned, hands over her mouth — was led to the stage. The crew handed her a warm-up acoustic from side stage. She tested the tuning with the grace of someone who had done this before, a lifetime ago.
And then… she looked up.
And she smiled. Wide. Confident. Radiant.
Gabriel turned to the band. “Low Moon Lullaby. Key of C.”
Cassie gave her a wink. Jonah nodded, set the tempo with soft stick taps. Thane was offstage, arms crossed, expression unreadable but eyes shining.
The song began.
Slow. Gentle. Gabriel’s bass murmured beneath her strumming — steady, pulsing. Darla’s voice was rough but real. She harmonized with Cassie on the chorus. Maya stepped in behind her, joining on rhythm guitar like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The crowd?
Dead silent. Not a single phone was held up.
They just… felt it.
When the song ended, the silence broke with a roar.
Gabriel stepped up beside her and gently took her hand, lifting it high like a champion in a prizefight.
“Darla, everyone!”
She bowed, then leaned into Gabriel’s mic and added softly:
“Thank you for letting an old lady remember how it feels to be alive.”
Backstage, afterward, Thane waited at the steps as she came down. She handed off the guitar, her fingers shaking.
“That was… I don’t even have words.”
Thane leaned close, speaking just above a whisper.
“No words needed. You earned that.”
She hugged him. Tight. The kind that said thank you for seeing me.