Breathing deeply, she blocked fear of judgment, of being found wanting, of failure, and focused only on her breath as she exhaled. She imagined air stretching from her mouth, floating out over the crowd, expanding until it filled the entire room and returned to her more powerful than ever before. She opened her eyes. So many faces stared back at her. Hungry, desperate, murderous. For an instant, fear gripped her again, closing her throat and freezing her lungs.
I can run. It wouldn’t take much. If she ducked through the door at the side of the stage and slipped her handlers, she would be on her own. She could disappear.
The urge passed and she breathed deeply once more. She wouldn’t run. She had chosen this life and this path. She would not fall apart now.
The white noise of chatter dul
