Dancing for the Lord The Academy - By Emily Goodman Page 0,35

as though she’d had as much time to practice as any of the other girls in the class. She danced the selection effortlessly, en pointe the entire time—which, she was pleased to note, not all of the girls could manage. Most of them were, as her partner had pointed out, dropping down for several of the steps.

As she leapt into the air, flawlessly performing a series of jumps and twirls in sync with her partner, Danni could feel a smile breaking out across her face. As far as she was concerned, this was the best way to dance.

She came back to the young man’s arms, leaning back effortlessly and allowing him to support most of her weight. It wasn’t difficult. For one thing, she didn’t weigh much; and for another, he was obviously used to supporting his partner. He bent down over her, and she was relieved to note that his eyes were twinkling almost as much as hers.

“You’re a pleasure to dance with,” he murmured.

She smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

Applause broke into the pleasant reverie Danni had been experiencing, and she straightened with little of her usual grace.

“Well done, Danni!” Mlle Kirby proclaimed. “And you’d never worked that dance before, had you?”

“No.” She blushed hotly. “I know I should have waited, but—“

Mlle Kirby waved her off. “You looked wonderful!”

“I had a good teacher.” She smiled back at her partner, a more genuine smile this time.

He grinned back, something that looked suspiciously like relief sparkling in his eyes.

“Nicholas,” Mlle Kirby continued, “I think you’ve found yourself a new partner, at least for the time being.”

Nicholas. The bottom dropped out of Danni’s stomach as she spun to stare at him. Katarina’s partner. The other girl had hated her before, but now, she was going to absolutely despise her.

Whatever was showing on her face, it clearly wasn’t pleasure, because as she watched, the young man’s expression fell. “It’s all right,” he said woodenly, turning to walk away from her. “I—“

“Wait.” Danni suddenly didn’t care who he was. Her reaction had upset him—and she didn’t know why.

No, that wasn’t fair—she did know why. She knew exactly why. She’d heard the whispers. Katarina’s hurt—and it’s Nicholas’s fault.

Looking into his eyes as he turned back to her, she knew that wasn’t the case. He might have made a mistake—it happened—but whatever had happened to Katarina, it hadn’t been Nicholas’s doing. He felt bad about what had happened to her. He knew exactly what the rumors could do to his career, too—and he was terrified.

“I’d love to dance with you,” Danni said simply.

Nicholas’s shoulders relaxed almost exactly as they had when he had asked her to dance with him in the first place, and he let out a breath that she wasn’t sure he had realized he was holding. “Good,” he said smoothly.

“Now, Danni, that does raise a question.” Mlle Kirby hesitated. “Have you ever done the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy before?”

Danni blinked at her, not sure she was speaking English. “I’m sorry—what?”

“Well.” Her teacher’s expression was very strange. “Katarina was supposed to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy this Christmas, you see—but it’s obvious that that isn’t going to be possible now. On that ankle….” She didn’t look at Nicholas as she said it.

Danni felt all the blood draining from her face. The Sugar Plum Fairy—Lord, I never imagined that you would answer my prayers this way! It had been her favorite role ever since she had watched The Nutcracker all those years ago. She had always wanted to dance the part.

It had been Katarina’s. Now, it was hers.

“Danni?”

Nicholas laughed, drawing attention away from her for a moment. “I think you surprised her,” he pointed out.

Mlle Kirby sighed. “Well, all of the other students already have parts!” she informed him. “Costumes have been altered, dances blocked out…performances begin in two weeks!”

Two weeks. “K-Katarina didn’t have an understudy?” Danni whispered.

“No.” Nicholas’s face was hard.

She suspected that she didn’t want to push him on that question. “I—wow. Okay.” She blinked. “I guess, um….” It hadn’t really sunk in yet. She was still in shock. “Two weeks. Wow.”

“If you’re not sure,” Mlle Kirby began.

“I’ll do it.” Danni knew that she was going to regret making that statement. If she failed, it was going to color everything she did here. No—it was going to reflect on the entire Academy.

But if she succeeded…oh, if she succeeded, it would open doors beyond her wildest dreams.

“This is almost unheard of,” Mlle Kirby cautioned her. “And you’re going to have to work hard—harder