Gabby’s music started up, and she bobbled the first edge she took. My eyebrows rose in surprise. Gabby surged into her first jump, but the moment she popped into the air, she came back down again.
Several of us gasped. Odette’s mouth dropped open, and Delmare’s eyes widened in shock. Across from us, Elijah looked nonplussed. Gabby tried another jump, and slammed into the boards. It made a loud sound, and she got up, pushing herself up off the ice to try again.
The rest of Gabby’s performance was horrible. She even fell out of aspin.It was like once she failed, she couldn’t keep it together. Tears shone in her eyes as the Queen of Malovia struggled to land a single element, and couldn’t. Even her footwork was sloppy and uncoordinated— it was like Gabby was going through the motions, and was so nervous she couldn’t snap herself out of it.
The music ended. The rink only provided polite applause. Gabby was humiliated, head hanging as she got off the ice. Elijah looked red-faced and furious. He kicked his chair and stomped off before the event was even over.
I nearly felt bad for her. It was her last skate before she retired, and she’d ruined it.
But it wasn’t like she didn’t deserve it. The gods provided justice in some very odd ways, and I was sure this was at least a small part of their vengeance for everything she and my cousin had done.
The Russian was skating last. She did well, and I thought for a terrible moment she might surpass Emma’s score, until she fell on the last two jumps in her program. As her score appeared on the screen, the results were clear.
Emma had placed first. The two Russians had taken the silver and gold. Gabby, due to her disastrous performance, was so far down the leaderboard her name didn’t even show on the placings.
My friends and I erupted into cheers and applause. Lady Magdalina hugged Emma tightly, like she was her own daughter. The podium was brought onto the ice, and Emma took the highest stand. A shining gold medal was looped around her neck, and she placed a hand over it, expression awed like she couldn’t believe it was real. Tears streaked down Emma’s cheeks as the Malovian anthem was played throughout the rink, and the Malovian national flag was lowered from the ceiling, beside two Russian emblems.
Tears glistened in my eyes, too. She had achieved her dream. Everything was within her reach, now. She’d proved herself at the most difficult competition in the continent, and now, all she had left to conquer was the competition that most could only wish for— the Olympic gold.
“Ethan!” Emma squealed as she ran out of the locker room to greet me. I swept her up in my arms and lifted her off of her feet, the gold medal around her neck glinting in the light.
“You’re going to theOlympics, Emma!” I spun her around. She squeezed me tightly and kissed me, tears still drying on her face. “I’m unbelievably proud of you.”
Emma was incredible— one of the top contenders in her sport. Next year, she’d go head-to-head with the greatest skaters from all over the world, and possibly win the gold. I couldn’t put into words how thrilled I was for her.
The moment I put her down, everyone swarmed in to give her a hug. Arthur and Finlay insisted on raising Emma up on their shoulders and carrying her throughout the rink like a queen, which attracted dubious attention, but I knew better than to try and stop them. Emma’s smile was so bright, her eyes so gleeful, I wanted her to experience the fullness of the moment, before it was all over.
“Okay, this deserves a celebration,” Stefan said. “Anyone who’s sober tonight is gonna have to deal with me. We need to celebrate Emma and Jasper’s win! They’re going to the Olympics, people!”
There was a resounding cheer around us. I put my arm around Emma, and we laughed as we left the arena and walked back to the hotel. There was so much chatter and excitement around us as we crossed the city.
When we got back to the suite, Stefan began opening champagne bottles. Jasper immediately dove in, wanting a break after being so strict before the competition. As the fae around us began drinking and Theo turned on the music, I pulled Emma aside into our private room, closing the door behind us.
“You were gorgeous today.” I leaned down, and kissed her. She moaned as my tongue greeted her own, and her body sank against mine.
“Thank you for being so supportive,” she whispered back. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Nonsense. You did that all on your own,” I said. “But youdoneed my help in getting those clothes off, so I can ravish you.”
Emma giggled against my mouth. “Ethan! Everyone’s out there!”
“I don’t care. Let them hear.”
Emma and I continued kissing, fumbling with buttons and pieces of clothing. As we fell on the bed, Emma began yanking at the button on my pants, and my breaths grew ragged. Since she’d gotten on the ice, all I’d wanted was to be inside her, and every moment until then felt like pure torture. I needed her to give me some relief, some ecstasy amongst the magic she had made.
Just before she got my pants off, Emma’s phone vibrated. She grabbed it from the nightstand and turned it over, eyes narrowing as she looked at the text.
“What is it?” I asked, wishing whoever it was would go away, so I could enjoy my mate.
“It’s Lady Magdalina,” Emma said, gaze crowing curious. “She’s in the hotel lobby. She wants to speak with me at once.”
“About what?”
“She probably wants to go over my program. We didn’t get any time after I finished.”
“Can’t it wait? You should take time to appreciate your win,” I said.
“I shouldn’t deny her. You know Lady Magdalina doesn’t take no for an answer.”
