Page 130 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Alisa: I didn’t bite you!

Tora: Oh, I wish I could be bitten right now.

Alisa: It’s time to sleep. You have a performance tomorrow!

Tora: Okay, boss. Good night. I hope we can spend the evening together tomorrow…

Alisa: I don’t know… I have a performance the day after you, and I need to get a good night’s sleep, your spirit included!

Tora: Spoil sport…

Alisa: Good night…

Tora: Nighty night.

Alisa turned over in bed and let out a shaky breath.

She was genuinely happy for Tora.

And tomorrow was the last day she could afford to take it light in training, nothing that would push her over the edge, because after that, it was her turn.

The thought landed heavily in her chest.

Alisa was terrified. And she hated how clearly she could feel it.

* * *

Today, the couple of Tora and Loke were dressed in the following costumes: Tora was wearing a sky-blue dress—light, airy, almost like the sky itself—with a skirt reaching just above her knees and a slit on one leg for better movement. The dress was covered in sequins that shimmered like the wings of a small white bird, something like a crane caught in motion. Tora looked stunning in it, the color perfectly matching her deep blue eyes.

And Loke was dressed in white, like a cloud that followed her, also decorated with blue sequins in the same shade as Tora’s dress, they were a perfect match, almost unreal in how coordinated they looked together.

They skated to the center of the ice and clung to each other in an embrace, foreheads touching, smiling softly. They whispered something no one in the arena could hear, those words that belonged only to them.

And Alisa felt it again, that sharp sting of jealousy.

Her nostrils flared as she exhaled sharply, gripping the railing in front of her, eyes locked on the couple as if she couldn’t look away even if she tried.

The track Sleep Token – Sugar began to play.

They stood directly in front of each other and began to rotate in a close embrace, spinning together as one unit before slowly opening the distance between them. As the rotation ended, Loke dropped to one knee, catching Tora by the leg as she rotated over his shoulder in a controlled, almost acrobatic backflip-like movement. She landed cleanly on one leg beside him.

Without hesitation, she turned back toward him, stepping forward, and they reconnected again.

They entered a step sequence, blades carving the ice in absolute synchronization, edge to edge, mirror to mirror.

Loke then lifted Tora under her arms and spun her in the air a few times before setting her down smoothly. Immediately after, he transitioned into a one-arm spin, carrying her like a ballerina as she rotated gracefully, before guiding her behind him, he was skating backward, she forward.

He took one of her arms, and she extended into a layback position, stretching her free leg high with control and precision.

Then she pulled the position back in and transitioned into a Biellmann variation, held cleanly with one arm.

They returned side by side into synchronized step work, accelerating into the preparation for their first throw jump. Their blades shifted rapidly, alternating edges, building speed in perfect timing.

Loke placed his hands at Tora’s waist, turning her so she faced him, and they launched into a triple twist lift level 4. The arena exploded, this was the highest-scoring element of the throw.

Loke held her securely at the waist and set her down with precision. Tora flowed out of the landing seamlessly, taking his hand and pulling him into speed.

He pulled her back in again, guiding her at the waist, and they moved into another step sequence with clean and fast, controlled movements of their legs, then separated into synchronized twizzles, perfectly aligned despite skating apart.