She’s breathing hard and I can feel her heart racing almost like it’s inside me, pounding next to mine.
“Are you alright?” Orion asks, quickly skating over.
“I’m okay. I think. I saw sky for a second, but I don’t think I hit the ground. I didn’t, did I?” Hestia says, blinking up at us.
“No, they were all over you too fast for that,” Cato says.
I glare at him, and he smiles back.
“I think I need to practice my skating a bit more,” she says, laughing shakily.
“You’re doing great. You must have hit a slick patch,” Henri says, brushing her hair out of her face.
I suddenly realize we’re holding her up, Hestia’s feet dangling above the ice. I nod at Magnus and we carefully set her down. She holds onto his coat as she finds her balance. I keep my hands on her hips but put some space between us.
When she’s ready, Magnus leads her to the edge of the rink, the rest of us following behind.
Hestia’s eyes are wide, and she’s blinking a lot.
I rub her back and ask, “Do you want to stop for now? Get some hot chocolate?”
She twitches at the mention of chocolate. I figured that would get her attention. She blinks a few more times and takes a deep breath, her big brown eyes finally focusing on us.
“You don’t have to stop on my account. I’ll get back out there in a minute,” she says.
“I could go for abighot chocolate,” I say.
“With lots of cream,” Cato adds.
I elbow him, but he darts away before I connect.
“That does sound good, if you’re sure you want to stop,” Hestia says.
“Of course. I’m ready for a break,” I say with a smile.
Hestia smiles back, melting away the last of my worries. Whatever her thoughts since we left the coffee shop, at least she doesn’t seem to hate me.
We aim for the exit, me on one side and Magnus on the other.
Hestia’s hand brushes against mine. When it happens again, her pinky curls around me, and I wrap my hand around hers. I hold it tight until it’s time to take our skates off.
The five of us hover around Hestia as we get in line for hot chocolate.
It’s not just Cato that’s behaving differently. Have we ever been this…attentive with other trainees? Or even other omegas back when we were dating?
Nomy alpha whispers, but I ignore him, not ready to face the truth.
Chapter 15
Hestia
The mug warms my hands while I wait for the whipped cream to melt into the hot chocolate.
I watch hungrily as the fluffy cream slowly sinks in, and when I can’t stand it any longer, I take my first sip.
It’s smooth and rich, the chocolate perfectly balanced with the milk.
Something tickles my nose, and Henri is pulling a napkin away when I open my eyes.
