" You do sleight of hand, too?” I asked her.
“No, I play his assistant. Hand him things on stage so the performance goes smoothly, with no gaps in the action and movement. It’s the best way to get through a talent show without having an actual talent.”
What a brilliant idea. “Don’t happen to need any more assistants, do you?” I looked at Doran and hoped desperation was beaming out of my eyes.
“Back off, Shield,” Lydia growled. “He’s my ticket through the Festival.”
“And,” Karish tugged on my hair. “You’re doing something with me.”
“We never agreed to that,” I protested.
“We’re agreeing now.”
High-handed bastard. “Neither of us have any talent.” Which was a pretty pathetic state of affairs.
“You must be able to do something,” said Lydia.
“You’d be stunned by the level of my ineptitude. "

― , The Hero Strikes Back (Hero, #2)