Page 3 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Other skaters began to glance in their direction, clearly assessing them. But there was not a trace of fear on Lev’s face, only excitement and that almost childish desire to prove themselves, to show everyone that they were capable of more, even of things officially forbidden.

He smiled with a hint of mischief, tightened his grip on Alisa, and they entered the element.

Within seconds she was lifted into an inverted split, her body extended perfectly as the ceiling spun above her. The pair rotated on their axis, the world blurring into streaks of white and silver. She could hear someone in the stands gasp, someone else hiss in surprise. Even through the music playing in the rink, the reaction was audible.

And for that brief moment, suspended upside down in Lev’s hands, fear disappeared.

There was only the ice, the spin, and the intoxicating thrill of being seen.

They came out of the element smiling, breathing faster, returning to the ordinary rhythm of the warm-up with satisfied expressions on their faces. Out of the corners of their eyes, they watched their rivals, who were staring at them indignantly, as if Lev and Alisa had just declared themselves the kings of this ring of ice, the rightful owners of the rink. That look only fed the pride growing inside both of them.

They continued their warm-up without anything extreme. The first impression, meant to intimidate their opponents, had clearly worked.

They moved on to more exercises, a backward outside three-turn into a mohawk and push back, skating as if nothing unusual had happened. And yet the atmosphere on the ice had changed. It had grown heavier.

The blonde skater and her partner were preparing for something as well. Soon all eyes shifted toward them.

Then, in perfect synchronization, they executed a backflip, another forbidden element. They landed cleanly, each on one foot, so precise and controlled that for a moment the entire rink seemed frozen in shock.

Apparently, Lev and Alisa were not the only ones who enjoyed practicing forbidden elements when no one official was watching.

Other couples applauded the blonde pair. The tension thickened instantly. No one had applauded Lev and Alisa. They had been met with anger, with cold looks, almost disgust. It had been the kind of gaze that made you want to leave the ice entirely.

But instead of discouraging them, it only fueled the fire.

It meant the provocation had worked.

It meant the competition had already begun.

Tomorrow, a full training session awaited them, along with their new opponents. For now, they only had a few short minutes to rehearse parts of their choreography.

The blonde girl and her partner, also blonde, began skating closer to Alisa and Lev.

Both Alisa and Lev tensed immediately.

The blonde pair stopped in front of them and said something in Norwegian, sharp and fast, words neither of them understood.

“What?” Alisa frowned at the girl, clearly confused.

The blonde laughed and continued speaking in Norwegian to her partner, who also began laughing openly at them.

Then she switched to English.

“You came to Norway for a competition without even knowing basic Norwegian?” she asked, her voice edged with a light accent Alisa had never heard before.

Alisa’s frown deepened. The malicious smile on the Norwegian girl’s face was unmistakable. The four of them circled each other slowly on the ice, like kites caught in the same wind, waiting for someone to strike first, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

Alisa swallowed the nervous lump rising in her throat but forced herself to smile.

“I don’t have to learn every language of the countries I visit,” she replied coolly. “I speak two languages already, and English is enough to communicate with the world.”

Her tone was bold, almost sharp. She was irritated by the pointless provocation, by the way the Norwegian had attacked her for no reason.

The blonde boy nudged his partner lightly with his elbow and said something to her in Norwegian, quieter this time. It seemed to sober her slightly, as if he had warned her not to go too far.

Strange, Alisa thought.

She did not take her eyes off them as they slowly skated away, and only then did she and Lev resume their warm-up, though the calm from before had completely vanished.