The Next Line ( The Lineage Series #2)

Aurora

Summer's almost gone. The countdown to Juilliard is officially on, and between packing pointe shoes, arranging schedules, and trying not to spiral into full-blown panic, I somehow passed out on top of my bed.

I'm half-dreaming of pirouettes when Jamie's knocking shakes the walls.

"Aurora! Get up! We're leaving in thirty!"

I groan into my pillow. "Leaving for what?"

"Joshuan's fight. You coming or what?"

That wakes me up.

"Oh... yeah. Yeah, I'm coming," I mumble, rubbing my eyes. "Can Lena come?"

Jamie shrugs from the doorway. "Yeah, whatever. Just tell her to keep her hands off me."

I roll my eyes. "As if you're that irresistible."

He smirks. "I'm a legend."

I throw a pillow at him.

By the time Lena pulls up, I've thrown on jeans, a cropped tee, and my favorite sneakers. Something casual but cute.

Lena, on the other hand?

She's in full "I hope your brother notices me" mode.

Black leather jacket, hoop earrings, and her hair slicked back like she's about to walk a runway.

"Tell me why I'm not sitting on Jamie's lap all night," she jokes as she slides into my passenger seat.

I just laugh, shaking my head.

But of course, the second we walk into the arena, the real chaos starts.

The second we make it through the doors, the energy shifts.

It's loud.
Hot.
Packed wall to wall with bodies buzzing from the anticipation of watching someone get knocked out.

And, naturally, we can't even walk ten steps without someone running their mouth.

"¡Mamacita, ven pa'ca!" some guy shouts as we pass.

"Damn, señorita, let me take you out after the fight!" another calls from across the aisle.

I feel Lena stiffen beside me, and I can already see her plotting what creative insult to throw back.

"Yo, preciosa, smile for me!" a third one whistles. "Bet you'd look real good cheering for me instead of him."

I pull my jacket tighter and keep walking.

"¿Quién la dejó salir así? Dios mío..." someone mutters behind us, loud enough to hear.

I glance at Lena, who's glaring over her shoulder.

"You good?" I ask under my breath.

She flips her braid and shrugs. "They wish."

We finally find Jamie near the front, surrounded by his usual crew, cash already in hand as he bets on Joshuan like it's guaranteed.

"All on him," Jamie says proudly. "My boy's leaving this ring clean."

Front row.

Of course.

Exactly where I can't hide from anything—or anyone.

And then I see him.

Joshuan

He's across the ring, wrapping his hands, focused, deadly, like the fight's already over in his mind.

Tank top clinging to his back, tattoos sharp under the lights, jaw clenched like he's already thinking three moves ahead.

And somehow, in the middle of all of it, his eyes find mine.