A skater stretching against the boards waved me over. I knew her. Her name was Amantha— she was part of the griffin Faction. She was technically one of my competitors, but we got along, and she was friendly. She’d dyed her hair white, with streaks of silver, and had big blue eyes that matched the pale color of the ice.
“Hey, Emma. Have a nice break?” Amantha asked.
I shrugged as I stretched my arms. “It was okay. And yours?”
“I barely got off the ice,” she said. “Magdalina grilled my ass from Christmas until New Year’s.”
“Sounds like her.” My stomach wiggled when Lady Magdalina was brought up. I was expecting a lecture from her today. We hadn’t spoken since the King’s Contest ended. I was scared of what she was going to say to me. Would she even want to be my coach anymore, after what had happened?
Amantha scoffed. “At least Gabby’s not here. Last time we were on the ice together, I accidentally got in the way of her jumps. She called me a stupid kid.” Amantha giggled.
“She probably wasn’t looking where she was going.” Gabby thought she owned the ice.
“She wasn’t. She slammed into the boards the other day on her triple lutz.” Amantha smiled. “Eli was watching. She was trying to jump and cast a spell at the same time. She totally landed on her ass.”
“That’s not surprising. Casting spells is hard enough when you’re not already doing something else,” I said.
Amantha laughed. “Too bad Gabby doesn’t know she’s not the only one who can skate and cast illusions at the same time.”
Amantha skated off. She did backward crossovers around the center of the rink, until she dipped into a layback spin. As she spun, she twirled her fingers above her. Beautiful snowflake illusions spanned across the ice, creating blue designs across the white sheet. They faded away as Amantha exited the spin.
“Impressive,” I told her. “Too bad the judges don’t give out points for illusions.”
“I know, right? Sucks there isn’t a magical division for ice skating,” Amantha said. “You should try it sometime.”
“Maybe I will,” I said, but I resolved for it not to be today. I didn’t want to be flamboyant and show off when I didn’t know how Magdalina was going to act toward me.
After I was done talking to Amantha, I continued my warm-up. Lady Magdalina entered the boards of the rink. She had her eye on me the entire time— she waited by the sidelines in a large gray fur coat, and looked intimidating as ever.
I stopped beside her on the ice. Lady Magdalina gave me a searching look— sheepish, I looked down.
Magdalina made a scoffing noise. “Don’t act like that, Emmaline. We have no time for you to be ashamed.”
I dared to glance up. “I know you’re disappointed in me. I’m sorry.”
“Disappointed? Yes,” Magdalina confirmed, and my gut sank. “But disappointment won’t change anything. We must look onward toward the future. You have proven yourself a skater of great quality, as well as an excellent sorceress. I expect you to put your talents to good use and not waste them.”
“I’m sorry I used the Unseelie necklace,” I blurted. “It was stupid.”
“I will hear no more of it. You have shown me you are willing to do whatever it takes to win— an important quality in an Arcanea,” Lady Magdalina said. “Sometimes we must be ruthless and unjust. It is the only way to get what we want.”
I didn’t think we were talking about skating anymore. Lady Magdalina stood tall. “Gabriella is talented, but she is more than what is to be taken at first sight. Things are not always what they seem.”
Her tone was firm as her eyes bored into me. I wasn’t sure what Magdalina was hinting at. “Are you saying Gabby is hiding something?”
Lady Magdalina shrugged, then flicked her fingers. “Go. I want to see a triple salchow double toe loop combination. If you wobble, you’ll do it again.”
I skated off, though my mind was whirling as I prepared to perform the jump. I had a feeling Lady Magdalina was just as uncomfortable with the idea of Elijah and Gabby taking the throne as I was.
And just like Ethan, I felt it in my gut that she would do whatever it took to stop them. Even if her plans included using me.
* * *
I came backfrom the rink tired and sore. Lady Magdalina had worked me hard today. I wasn’t sure if it was punishment for what I did, or preparation for the upcoming competitive season. The competition season in Europe was set to take place this January, but Magdalina had pulled both Gabby and I out of it, on account of our participation in the Contest. She wasn’t allowing us to compete until next fall, when the Malovian National Figure Skating Championships would take place.
Malovia was a small-enough country that it didn’t have qualifying events like Regionals or Sectionals back in the U.S. If I wanted to compete at big events like the World Figure Skating Championship, or even... shit, the Olympics, I needed first to prove myself, and be accepted onto the Malovian figure skating team.
Not an easy feat, as Malovia produced some of the top figure skating champions in the world. But Lady Magdalina was certain I could make it, so I’d made it a goal of mine to compete with the best of them. That meant placing at least first, second or third on the podium at Nationals, otherwise, I would have to wait until next year.
