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I rubbed my hand over my face. “This whole situation is fucked up. Now we’ve got the Harvester breathing down our necks because of that lunatic’s stupid lies. And Sheeran wouldn’t even listen to me!”
“Haggard does like tormenting you every way he can.” Rafael grimaced. “If I can figure out where he’s holing up in town… but that won’t stop Sheeran from gunning for you.”
I looked at the apartment building coming into view up ahead, but it didn’t offer any comfort. Nowhere in the city felt safe now.
How was I going to compete tomorrow with this new threat hanging over me? With one of the Devil’s Dozen expecting me to take off the second he’d snapped his fingers?
“I can’t just run,” I said even as the idea crossed my mind. “I came all this way—I’m so close—and I’d totally let down Jasper and Niko.”
“Your life is more important,” Rafael said.
“Skatingismy life.” My hands clenched. “I can’t let myself down either. We’ll figure it out. We managed to deal with that gang back in Hobb Creek.”
Rafael hummed in his deep baritone. “I don’t know, Lou. These guys are a pretty big leap above those idiots.”
I lifted my chin. “I know they are. But so are we.”
FIFTEEN
Luciana
Jasper grippedthe top of the boards as we watched the pair before our free skate whirl across the ice. “Those two are pretty good. Costumes aren’t as nice as ours, though.”
He shot me a wry grin that made me laugh. It was easier to be relaxed after yesterday’s short program performance, which we’d swept through to receive high marks. Going into the free skate, we were practically tied with two other pairs for the top spot.
Even the fact that one of those pairs was Quentin and Jess hadn’t gotten Jasper down. Hell, if there was one area we should be able to beat the two of them without breaking a sweat, it was in the artistry I knew our routine exuded.
I ran my hand down the sea-green fabric of the skating dress Jasper had custom made for this performance. It shimmered under the brilliance of the arena’s fluorescent lights.
The rink where the qualifying competition was being held was even larger and grander than the one we’d been practicing in. Despite having spent yesterday here already, my breath still caught when I took the space in.
“They are pretty amazing,” I said to Jasper, giving my hips a little shimmy so the short silky skirt rippled over them. “You captured the oceanic vibe that fits the flow of the music so well. We’re going to look like mer-people soaring through waves.”
Jasper outright beamed, a more open smile than I usually got from him. “That’s exactly what I was going for.” He looked me up and down, and his gaze turned sly. “And that color looks amazing on you.”
I tapped him on the chest. “You look pretty damn stunning too, partner.”
The color set off the gray-green in his eyes, and the fit showed off his brawny physique to impressive effect. He looked like the spitting image of Atlantean royalty, something melancholic yet hopeful all at the same time.
“I expect to hear at least one collective gasp while you’re out there,” Niko informed us, giving both of our shoulders a squeeze. “Probably two or three.”
I glanced up to where his sister perched eagerly in the stands. “Or Emi will cheer loud enough to drown everyone else out anyway.”
It’d taken her several minutes to calm down from her exclaiming over yesterday’s performance. The memory brought another smile to my lips.
The pair before us struck their ending pose, and my pulse hiccupped. It was almost time.
But there was no room for insecurity. I was going to finish this, my first fully professional competition. The girl from Austin who’d been told over and over again that she wasn’t good enough couldn’t exist any longer. I had to leave her in the past and claim my future.
The judges conferred and passed over their score. Behind the glass of the press box, the announcer moved closer to his microphone. He announced the number—in the low nineties, good but not great—and then cleared his throat. “Our next pair will be Luna Garcia and Jasper St. Pierre.”
I let out my nerves in one quavering breath and stepped onto the ice with Jasper. Niko gave us a confident smile and a thumbs up, assurance shining in his dark brown eyes.
Up in the stands, Emi whooped and cheered as we found our positions. I closed my eyes, imagining that I was here on the ice of our regular rink, that I was just about to skate for pleasure with my favorite people surrounding me.
When my eyes opened and found Jasper’s steady gaze, I felt much better. All of Niko’s confidence and Emi’s enthusiasm found its way into my heart, and there was no doubt that my partner was just as dedicated to this moment as I was.
The music started. Jasper and I pushed off across the rink side by side with wide sweeps of our legs. From my peripheral vision, I caught the way my flowy sleeves billowed in the breeze my skating created—they fluttered and rippled with every lift and dip of my arms as if I were underwater, performing an aquatic dance for the visual pleasure of my viewers.
