“Gladly.” I didn’t care how things landed as I threw them into my bag. I was hauling ass out of there before she decided to cut my throat.
When I got to the bottom of the tower, I saw Kiara running across the courtyard. “Kiara, wait!” I shouted, but she didn’t listen. She disappeared into a crowd of sophomores before I could catch up with her.
I stood at the bottom of the tower and felt terribly sorry. Yep. The world of the Arcanea could be more brutal than I ever predicted.
* * *
“Eyes up!Arms straight. Come now, Emmaline, is that really the best you can do?”
My breaths came in quick puffs as I stroked around the ice, working on my speed. I had my first practice with Lady Magdalina as my coach that afternoon, and hell, she wastough.She pushed me harder than anyone else ever had, even my mom. We’d only been on the ice for an hour, and already, I felt like I’d been there at least two.
The ice rink on campus was huge, and state of the art. It had three Olympic-size rinks, and leather stadium seats instead of stands. On the upper level was a gym, and a couple of dance studios where Odette was currently practicing. This rink was exclusive to figure skaters, while the other two were dedicated for hockey. I heard the sound of boys yelling and smashing each other into the boards through the thick walls. Companions played hard when it came to ice sports.
I switched to skating backwards and did some crossovers before I went into a triple loop. I leaned too far out of the jump and went down. I slid into the boards.
Lady Magdalina made atsk-tsksound. “Again, Emmaline. Perform a tighter rotation this time. Your arms are too loose.”
Delmare, who’d followed us along just for the hell of it, was currently eating nachos she’d gotten from the vendor in one of the seats that surrounded the ice. She gave me a thumbs-up as I struggled to get off my ass. I groaned. I was gonna be hurting tonight. I returned to Lady Magdalina, dusting snow off my tights.
My eyes caught someone as they came onto the ice. Shit, it was Gabby. Motherfucker. She was an ice skater, too? Whatdidn’tthis bitch do?
Lady Magdalina looked at her as she approached. “Try the jump one more time, Emmaline, then our session is over. Gabby’s lesson is up.”
Gabby wrinkled her nose when she saw me. “Ew. You’re here.”
“Yeah,” I told her. “Turns out you don’t own the rink, so.”
“Just stay out of my way and don’t mess up my jumps.” Gabby’s eyes narrowed.
“Girls, play nice,” Lady Magdalina scolded. “Save it for the competition.”
Gabby sneered. I went to do my triple loop again. This time, I landed it flawlessly. Lady Magdalina clapped lightly. Gabby rolled her eyes.
“Cool down, Emmaline, and call it a session. You’ve done well today,” Lady Magdalina said. “Gabby, warm up, then I want to see your program.”
My body was tired and sore, but it was so worth it. I was going to excel under Magdalene's teaching. I bet once I started infusions my energy would come back and I’d blow Gabby out of the water.
I stroked around the rink and pretended to drink my water, while really, I was observing Gabby perform her program. She was skating to Swan Lake, too, just like I did, but she played the part of the Black Swan, while I always skated to the part of the White.
It was really fucking ironic.
She knew I was watching her, too, and landed every jump. Not one spin wobbled, and her footwork was flawless. Gabby’s eyes were totally directed at me as she finished her program with a smirking smile of victory.
I was gonna wipe that smirk off her face. I resolved I’d train harder, and get better before the competitive season in Malovia began in January. Like hell I’d lose to her. I’d be fine with second-to-last place as long as she was under me.
When I came out of the locker room, Odette and Delmare were waiting for me in the rink lobby. Odette had her ballet bag over her shoulder and was wearing a big smile on her face. Since school was over, all of us were back in our normal clothes. I had on skinny jeans, a white racerback top, and leg warmers over sneakers. Odette wore a cute pink dress that had purple horses on them. Delmare sported combat boots and ripped fishnets with a leather skirt. The best part of her outfit was the spiky black bra she wore over a see-through, long-sleeved black shirt.
I had to give it to Delmare. She was one brave ass bitch.
“That was the best lesson ever!” Odette beamed. “Even better than the last one.”
“I’m sure you say that every time,” I said. I noticed Theo walking out the glass double doors ahead of us. “Is Theo in your class with you?”
“Oh, yes. He’s been my dance partner since we were little kids,” Odette said cheerfully. “We work well together.”
Oh, geez. I could only imagine. That had to make things awkward… for him, anyway.
There was nothing quite like the feeling of the warm sun on your body after you left an ice-cold rink. It sent pleasant pinpricks running up and down my skin. It wasn’t a long walk back to campus from the rink— it only took us five minutes to walk up the cobblestone path through the gardens back to the university. On our way, we passed Chastity— the girl that everyone said Ethan was going to marry.
