My princess was full of joy, and she was coming to me.
I could hold out.
Tipping my head back, I scanned the sea of humans—interspersed with huge orc hockey players in tuxedos—as the first bars of the song Joshua had picked out for us began. All these humans were here to see an orc attempt figure skating?
Well, okay. Let’s fucking do this.
I started the way Lila had started every single practice: a lap. Just a lap, getting my edges under me, feeling the ice. The crowd settled as I moved, and I heard a few murmurs—probably wondering if this was it, if Kardok the Wicked was just going to skate in circles until they demanded their money back.
I came out of the turn and shifted to my back edges, crossing over, the way we’d drilled a hundred times. Simple. Clean. The kind of thing Lila had made me do until it was automatic. My arms came up without thinking—Joshua had told me a hundred times,arms up, Kardok, you look like you’re about to hit someone—and I felt theslight shift in my balance that told me I was doing it right.
A sound from the crowd. Not polite. Surprised.
Good.
I glanced at Joshua, who was making the kind of frantic circular motion with his hand that meantkeep going, for the love of everything holy, keep going.So I kept going.
The spread eagle was something I’d stumbled into by accident three weeks ago, both feet turned out, gliding in a wide arc with my arms extended, and Lila had gone so still watching it that I’d done it again just to see her face.
Hockey skates weren’t made for it, but apparently my hips were more flexible than either of us had expected, and she’d looked at me like I’d done something extraordinary, which meant I’d been practicing it during scrimmage warmups ever since.
I did it now. The arc carried me around the far end of the rink, arms wide, and I heard the crowd go all quiet, as if they were paying careful attention.
I came out of it into a two-foot spin—both blades on the ice, rotating on the spot, the one she’d taught me first because it didn’t require a toe pick and because, as she’d put it,even hockey skates can do this, there’s no excuse.
I wasn’t fast. I wasn’t elegant, not in the way my princess was.
But I was controlled.
I wascontrolled, and I came out of it facing the crowd without wobbling, and apparently that was enough,because someone started clapping and then I heard the whooping of my teammates.
Joshua had buried his face in his hands. I couldn’t tell if this was approval or despair. Probably both.
I could feel Lila drawing closer. Soon we’d be together, and the joy she was projecting made my chest feel light.
Or maybe it washope.
I did a slow back edge down the length of the rink, one arm out, chin up, the posture she’d drilled into me until it stopped feeling ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong; an orc gliding around backwards with his arm flung out? I absolutelylookedridiculous, but at least I didn’tfeelit, not anymore.
Because I was doing it for my Mate.
MyKteerpulsed, warm and certain, somewhere beneath my sternum.
She was close now. I could feel it.
I glanced at Joshua, who had lowered his hands and was staring at something beyond my shoulder with an expression I recognized: relief, so profound it looked like prayer.
I didn’t turn around.
I didn’t need to.
Lila was here.
MyKteerthrummed with satisfaction, and I didn’t bother hiding my grin. I know we were supposed to be pretending we weren’t bonded—at least for tonight—butI couldn’t help myself, not when I felt the sheerjoyradiating from my Mate.
She came onto the ice the way she did everything: elegant and graceful and beautiful, smiling at me as if I were the only male in the world.
Maybe, if the gods were generous, I was.
