legs felt weak beneath me, and my hip and back throbbed, I forced myself past the pain and painted a big smile across my face. Figure skating was all about faking it, and I wanted to give the impression I felt nothing but perfection. The crowd applauded in support as I rose upright.
Shit! I’d already fallen, and on my first jump, too!
But it didn’t matter now. It was like now that I’d fucked up, I felt weightless. I was free to do my other jumps with ease. I had to skate fast in order to catch up to my music. I danced to the other side of the rink, where I performed my triple lutz triple toe flawlessly.
The crowd cheered. I twirled into a flying spin, and nailed it before I flew into a triple axel. I landed it without wobbling and immediately followed it up with a triple loop, triple toe-loop combination.
The audience loved that. The sound of their applause grew louder as I spiraled from jump to spin to jump again. I did my best to play the part of the beautiful princess, cursed to be a swan as my blades twirled from one element to another. The ice spun around me, but try as I might, I just couldn’t fall into an easy rhythm. The rock was still in my core, weighing me down. I finished off my program with a layback spin, my signature move, and ended on time with the music, striking my final pose on time.
My chest felt like knives were running through it as I struggled to regain my breath. I performed a few curtsies to the crowd, which was applauding loudly, before I stepped off the ice and walked to the kiss-and-cry area.
“Well done, Emmaline,” Lady Magdalina praised. “Let’s try to keep that triple flip a little tighter next time.”
That was what she considered a complement. We sat down. My hands twisted nervously together as I waited for the judges to deliver their scores.
I heard screams as my score came on the megascreen above the ice. 80.45. That was a personal best, and a high score. I was in second place, right behind Gabby. She was only ahead by a few points. Which meant I had a chance to catch her in the long program!
I screamed and hugged Lady Magdalina. She laughed and embraced me, though her joy was short-lived. “Don’t get too excited. We still have to focus.”
I kept it together, but only at the expense of almost jumping out of my skates. My short program was over, thank the gods. Now I just needed to stay calm until tomorrow night, when the long program would be held at seven o’clock. But with my performance, I definitely had a shot at the podium.
“Emma!” Odette flung herself at me the moment I left the locker room. She and the others were waiting for me in the main lobby. “You did so well!”
“Thanks.” I gave a laugh. “Though it would’ve been better if I hadn’t taken that fall.”
“Hey, you almost had first place,” Stefan said. “Gabby wobbled on one of her jumps. I was sure she was going to go down.”
“She did look nervous,” Delmare added.
That eased my mind. If Gabby was worried about me being her competition, and I’d placed second today, it might get to her that I had a chance for gold tomorrow.
My friends parted, and I saw Ethan. He reached out to give me a hug. “That was an excellent program, onawilke.”
I buried my face into his jacket. I felt so warm and safe in Ethan’s arms. His praise lifted my spirits so high, it was like I could see the heavens. I really wanted him to kiss me, but I knew I couldn’t expect that. “Thanks, baby.”
Oh, crap. I hadn’t planned to let that slip out. Ethan stiffened. I pulled away, before I could make things worse. He averted his eyes from me, looking down. Alexei hurriedly stepped between us to break the tension.
“Hey, Arthur asked if you wanted to get together for dinner. Jasper got third for his short. He’s got a chance to qualify for the European Championships if he gets the podium tomorrow. We’re going out to celebrate,” Alexei said.
“Um, sure?” I asked, giving a side-glance at Ethan. If Arthur was there, Finlay would be, too. I expected Ethan to object, but he just shrugged and said nothing.
We met Arthur and the others at some bar in Dolinska not long after. I was sure Ethan