Excerpt from City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Why are you here? How did you know where to find me?" I hiss, nearly standing up. He reaches his hand out and stops me by the elbow. The touch is surprisingly gentle, and my body remembers it in an instant. Swan Lake. The smell of sweat, crushed rosin, and damp wooden floors.

"Fine. I came to talk to you," he says, withdrawing his fingertips and leaving only memories like bruises. "In fact, I came to offer you a job. I want you to dance Giselle at the Mariinsky in the fall season."

I stare at him in disbelief, and he calmly holds my gaze. I can't help but ask, "Why would you want me?" A smile ripples across his face; he loses the seriousness and becomes mocking again.

"As the director, my job is to give people what they want to see. And there's no one else who sells tickets like you do, Natalia Nikolaevna."

"They won't buy tickets when they realize I haven't performed in two years." I roll my ankles as I speak, testing out the edges of the pain. When it returns, my eyes sting and my tongue becomes hot and heavy inside my mouth. What Dmitri doesn't know is that I haven't even gone back to the studio, let alone the stage, since the accident.

"Hold yourself together, Natasha. I'm offering opening night, with our newest premier as Albrecht. I'm not going to repeat myself." He rises, smoothing down his pant legs over his thighs. Just before vanishing between the rows of statues, he turns around and says, "The class still starts at eleven. See you tomorrow."

Excerpted from City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim. Copyright © 2024 by Juhea Kim. Excerpted by permission of Ecco. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.