Even if he never beat another drum, he could die with his ears straight up #SciFi #Romance #Rockstar #MFRWhooks

In this scene, Izzorah is recalling a concert where he entertained as the drummer for the rock group Kumwhatmay.

Surrender Love

Izzorah cranked up the hot water and turned his back, head tilted down so it soothed the tension in his neck and shoulders. He lathered Kin shampoo into his pelt, a thick band of long fur covering the upper part of his chest above his nipples, up to the collarbone. Humans likened it to a lion's mane. He always hid his pelt beneath shirts, unwilling to bare his alien nature to fans. It was one thing for them to know he was Kin. Another to flaunt it.

He lifted his face to the water, rinsed everything and turned around again. While the fall of heated water soothed his back, his mind wandered to the past. At their last concert, he'd been tired. He was always tired, but that night had been extra hard. His chest had been hurting him again and it hurt to breathe. He'd psyched himself up by remembering a vid.

He had never seen the audience, but one time, Kory had found a vid of Kumwhatmay on Imperinet and downloaded it to Izzorah's player. It showed Izzorah's drum solo halfway through the show. About ten Praetorian guards had sat on the front two rows, all decked out in the black military uniforms of the Empress, clapping in unison.

To Izzorah's music. The beat of his drums. His drums.

Talk about knocking yours ears off. That cut them off at the base and threw them on the floor. He, Izzorah Ceeow, had played for Praetorian and hadn't even known it.

So the night of the last concert on Kelthia when he was too weary to stick out a claw, he pretended the whole audience was nothing but Praetorian. He'd played better than ever.

The audience had hooted and cheered and screamed. After his solo ended, the others tried to join him on cue, but the audience went crazy. Izzorah fumbled a drumroll, unsure what was happening. When he realized what they were chanting, it shocked him into flat-eared silence.

Humans repeated Izzy! Izzy! Izzy! which was pure out-and-out stellar, but his people, the Kin fans out there, had set up the sustained howl of a speerus kinthu—a spirit of pride. A call to the spirit of the people to come witness. Come judge. It was done so bad things didn't happen without being seen, or to celebrate a wedding, or a birth. Except on that night, you could hear the pride as well as smell it. Chills chased over him even now, prickling his pelt as if he were there.

The crowd was calling for his people to come and witness his song.

If he never beat another drum, he could die with his ears straight up.