A row down from them, my friends sat. Odette, Delmare, and Kiara were bothering the crowd. They were waving giant signs they’d made the night before to cheer me on, and blocking the view of several people. Their crazy cheers sounded like a rugby match and not a figure skating competition. Alexei waved a tiny wolven flag in support. Theo was yelling at Stefan for dumping nachos on his lap.
Then my breath caught. Ethan was here. I’d thought he’d be too sick to show up, but there he was, sitting on the other side of Stefan. He couldn’t take his gaze off me. He gave the smallest smile, and it was warm and kind. He looked excited.
His comfort made my insides warm, and my nerves began to settle. I wanted to impress my mate and do well today. Nobody’s else’s opinion mattered here, not even the judges, so long as I won Ethan’s pride. I wanted to skate for him alone.
The warm up was over, and we were asked to leave the ice. I headed to the locker room, to wait my turn before my skate. I was skating last— I fucking hated skating last. I passed Amantha on my way off the ice— she was first. She almost looked green as she took her spot for her short program.
I did leg-ups in the locker room and calmly stretched as Amantha’s music played on inside the rink, but I heard a lot of oohs from the crowd that didn’t sound good.
I knew well enough not to watch other competitors before I had my turn, but I just had to know. I headed to the doors of the rink and peeked my head out, to see what Amantha was doing.
It wasn’t good. She attempted a triple toe-loop, and fell. Then she popped her triple axel and fell again. She’d plastered on a smile, but looked near tears.
I closed the door and drew my attention back onto myself, though this time, my gut felt heavier than before— like it had a rock in it, weighing me down.
The competitors skated one by one. I did my best to block out their music, and the sound of the announcers giving their scores. The wait stretched into eons. This was always the worst part.
I wasn’t stupid enough to watch Gabby. I turned my music up to block out the sound of her short program, but when it was done, I noticed the thunderous applause. The entire arena nearly quaked. She must’ve done well.
Lady Magdalina poked her head into the locker room. “You’re up, Emmaline.”
A shiver passed over my skin, but I let it flow before I followed her. The rink was so quiet. The ice looked so big, white and flat, larger than it had ever appeared before. I could hardly believe all these people had shown up to see me skate.
I waited at the boards until the announcer had called my name. “Representing the Arcanea University Skating Club, Emmaline Sosna!”
I gracefully skated to the center of the ice to begin my program. There were cheers from my friends, but mere polite applause from everyone else. I wasn’t a fan favorite. Most were rooting for Gabby to win.
Didn’t matter. I was going to pull this off. I had to.
I was frozen like a statue in time as I took my starting position. The music began. I felt the adrenaline flow through me as I opened with my footstep sequence. My short program was inspired by the beautiful ballet, and had only been enhanced by watching Odette dance. I did backward crossovers in a circle, and began my entry into my triple flip. This was my easiest jump. I always landed this one, every time.
Except this time, I could tell I stuck my toe pick in at the wrong moment. I launched myself into the air at a difficult angle. I tried to save the jump, but my attempt was wobbly, and I went crashing into the ice. I crashed onto my right hip. I was going so fast I went sliding. There was a loud slamming noise as my body hit the boards, and my back jolted.
The crowd gasped. It was rare to see such a violent fall. I knew the cameras were focused on my face, which was twisted in pain. The music played on, though my body remained motionless. Gods, this hurt like a bitch.
Get up. I gritted my teeth and forced myself upward, although it was painful. Though my