The backstage hallway was a maze of half-lit corridors and hurried footsteps. All of Sleep Token’s crew members were rushing about, darting in and out of dressing rooms as the low hum of pre-show chaos echoed through the air.

You were one of them, clutching a makeup kit in one hand and pressing a headset to your ear with the other. As Espera’s personal makeup artist, the trio of ethereal backup vocalists, it was your job to make sure they always looked flawless. And, of course, everything had to go wrong five minutes before showtime.

As you hurried through the hallways, you turned a sharp corner and accidentally collided with someone, hard enough to nearly send your brushes flying.

You were about to apologize, but the words caught in your throat when you looked up. There he was. The band’s frontman, Vessel.

He stood tall, easily around six-foot-two, his signature mask concealing his expression. His exposed torso beneath the cloak was streaked with half-dried black body paint.

He didn’t flinch, didn't scold. He just looked down, head slightly tilted, as if studying your expression through the dim light.

“Careful,” he murmured, voice calm and low, each word deliberate. “You’re shaking like the show’s already started.”