Stefan wanted to throw a party in the suite, but I convinced him to wait until after the big event tomorrow. We had a simple evening, and a healthy dinner. I rubbed Emma’s back until she fell asleep, and remained up most of the night to be sure she got a good night’s rest. I was all but dead the next morning, but she looked bright and alert, ready to take on the world.
Emma wanted to see a bit of the city, so we walked around St. Petersburg in the morning before she came back to the suite to rest. She left me to go with Lady Magdalina for her practice after lunch, and as I let her go, I felt more relieved than I had been all weekend. I’d done all I could do, and now, it was up to her.
Ozzie was falling to pieces by the time Jasper took the ice for the men’s long program. Odette stroked his hair and said, “It’ll be all right, Ozzie! No matter how Jasper does, he’ll always have you.”
“I just want him to behappy,” Ozzie emphasized, with tears peaking in his eyes. “He’ll be so upset if he doesn’t place!”
Jasper took the ice. Gods, he looked nervous. His face was so pale. Ozzie clutched Odette like a lifeline as he watched Jasper perform jump after jump.
He needn’t have worried. Jasper’s performance was flawless, and Ozzie was dancing in his seat by the end. I thought for sure Jasper would take the gold, until a Russian came on the ice behind him and made more points by performing a quadruple toe loop. When the podium was brought out onto the ice, the silver medal was placed around Jasper’s neck, and he waved to the crowd with a broad smile.
Ozzie rushed up from his seat, to find Jasper. The rest of my friends got up as well, to get drinks and snacks before the next event. I needed to take a break, and stretch my legs before the ladies’ long program. I followed everyone down to the lobby and into an isolated hallway, where Jasper was waiting for us with a silver medal around his neck.
“Jazz!” Ozzie sang. He jumped on Jasper with a cheer. At the last second, Jasper caught him. Ozzie hitched his legs and arms around Jasper as he leaned in for a kiss. Jasper’s eyes opened in surprise, before he returned Ozzie’s kiss with the deepest affection.
The girls let out swooning sounds around us, but Ozzie needed to be careful. We might be in a different country, but there would be consequences for his actions once we got back home if anyone saw. I moved, to shield their bodies from the sight of any onlookers. Stefan got the hint and crowded around them as well. It afforded them time for a short kiss, but nothing more.
“You did really good,” Arthur said, clapping Jasper on the back. “You made Malovia proud.”
“Theproudest!” Ozzie burst, and Jasper gave him a fond smile.
“Congratulations, Jasper,” I said, and I shook his hand. “Silver is a very good place.”
“Could be better, but the Russian had the quad,” Jasper said with a shrug. “I’ll have one down by next year.”
I resisted the urge to scowl. Figure skaters were always comparing themselves. No matter how well they did, they always thought they could be better. It was never enough— a bad habit I hoped to break Emma of one of these days.
Jasper joined us in the stands for the ladies’ final. Since she was so high in points, Emma was one of the last competitors to skate. The tightness in my stomach grew more twisted as each skater performed their program. I wished they would get it over with quickly, just to alleviate the sick feeling in my gut.
The skater before Emma gave a very good performance, but though her points were high, it wasn’t enough for first— not unless Emma and the other skaters thoroughly messed up. Emma had a clear shot at the podium now, as long as she gave a solid skate.
It was then Emma skated onto the ice. Her form was smooth, and steady. Each part of her body was fluid as she took her starting position.
“Come on, Emma,” Arthur said. His voice was tinged with anticipation. As her brother, he knew what this meant to her just as I did. At least I wasn’t going through this alone.
When the music began, Emma flowed into her opening movements like water. AsA Time for Usblared over the speakers, I smiled. Our song always brought tender emotions to the surface, and I nearly had myself convinced that Emma was telling our love story as she began her footwork sequence. Her body told the tale of the ill-fated lovers, and without words, she began to weave a scene that I knew very well, because both of us had experienced it. It was as if I was out there with her, flowing through her as she moved from one part of the story to the next. Emma looked like a true faerie as she glided over the ice. She almost convinced me that her wings were out, and she was using them to fly. She looked so carefree, so blissful as her charming, refined movements floated her over the frozen water.
“Skating’s a feeling. It’s not something you can put into words,” she’d told me once. Now, I saw it. The only way to communicate what watching Emma felt like was by experiencing it through the heart. It wasn’t about scoring points and overpowering your opponent, like hockey was. It was something different, ethereal, a graceful art that communicated what was inside of a person’s soul through what they could do on blades. It was nearly like seeing our bond come to life. Emma had never been more beautiful to me than she was at that moment, dancing over the ice beneath her.
I held my breath as Emma took her first jump, but she landed it with no problems. A bunch of my friends let out exclamations of triumph, but I waved them off, so Emma wouldn’t hear us. She needed to concentrate.
Emma flew into one jump, and the next, and the next. All were landed with expert tenderness, like Milonna herself was reaching down and placing Emma back on the ice every time she leapt into the air.
I felt Emma’s excitement and joy ebbing at the corners of our bond. She was barely restrained, free in a way that indicated her soul had left her body and she was lifting herself over the ice. She flung her body into her elements with an expert artistry, and when Emma did her famous layback spin, Amantha gave a cry of victory.
I thought her program was nearly over, but Emma amazed us all when she soared into the air again. She’d thrown in an extra triple in the last thirty seconds, and landed it with ease. That gave her a huge boost of points!
Emma completed her final spin, and the music came to an abrupt halt. By this time, my chest was fit to bursting.
As Emma finished and flung her arms into the air for her ending pose, the crowd erupted. The stadium got to its feet and applauded loudly, giving her a standing ovation. As Emma waved to the crowd, I felt a surge of pride.
A perfect program. That’d been the best skate of her life. I felt on edge as she joined Lady Magdalina in the kiss-and-cry as we waited for her results to appear. I let the block on our bond drop now, and her emotions hurtled into me, so powerful it nearly knocked me over. Emma was experiencing an adrenaline rush, a strong wave of emotion that made me wish to break down and weep.
The crowd gasped in shock as numbers appeared on the screen, and my whole body glowed. 164.80. An incredible score— and enough for gold. That was, if Gabby and the other skater didn’t surpass her. Emma’s face was knitted with anxiety as she watched the rest of the event beside Lady Magdalina in the skater’s quarter.
Gabby looked positively green as she took the ice. She looked to Elijah for reassurance, and he gave her a brisk nod, though it didn’t appear to affect her countenance. She took her starting pose, and Theo leaned over to me.
“She’s shaking,” Theo whispered, and I realized he was right. I hadn’t seen someone look so nervous before— not since the King’s Contest, or since Odette had taken that terrible fall the night of the ballet.
