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“Then it’d look like we’re just copying them,” Jasper said grimly. “No one’s ever properly landedanyother throw quad jump, so I’m not sure there’s anything else we could switch to either.”
Niko pursed his lips. “It is a different form too—you haven’t done a throw Salchow at all before now. Have you ever done a regular quad?”
“No,” I admitted.
“I’m not sure we could get there in just five weeks, then. And it wouldn’t do you any good trying for something you won’t achieve and ruining your routine over it. That’s why quad throws are rarely done by anyone.”
My hands balled at my sides. “We can’t just give up. Those two could pull the throw off at the actual competition just as well as they did in that training video, and then we’d be screwed. What about the rest of our routine? There’s got to be something. We’ve found other areas to ramp up the difficulty and the spectacle before.”
Silence fell over our group. My stomach started to sink, but then Niko raised his head with an unusual firmness that spoke of total determination.
“There is one addition we could try that will make you stand out. You’re solid with your death spiral and your lifts. You’d get more points if you went straight from one to the other. We’d need to rearrange the existing choreography a little, but only shifting a few moves around.”
My pulse hiccupped. “Right from the spiral into a lift?” Iwasconfident at both, but I was also fully aware that the death spiral got its name for a reason. It was one of the most dangerous moves we performed. As were the lifts.
They awarded big points for linking the two—but only because it was so freaking difficult.
Niko nodded in acknowledgment, but his eyes gleamed brighter as he gained enthusiasm for the idea. “It isn’t often done either, but it’s absolutely possible. It’s also a better balance of points to difficulty than any other option I can think of. And you already have both pieces. With the time we have, I’m sure you could get there.”
My mouth had gone dry. There was getting there in practice and then nailing it perfectly in front of the judges. The former was a lot easier than the latter. If we failed during a performance, it could ruin the whole thing, just like Niko had said about the quad. Even attempting it could cost us any decent placement at all.
And that was assuming we didn’t end up with a major injury on our hands before we even got to the competition.
But hadn’t I just said that we had to give this our all? What was I here for if I wasn’t willing to take that risk?
It wasn’t any more dangerous than facing off with my mother’s gunmen, that was for sure.
Jasper was watching me. “What do you think, Lou? You’re the one in the most precarious position for both moves.”
I squared my shoulders. “Let’s give it a shot. What do we have to lose?”
Dios mío, let us not have to find out the answer to that question.
Emi let out a whoop and bobbed on her feet in excitement.
Niko waved us onto the ice. “Do some practice of the original spiral to make sure you’re feeling totally confident in it. Think about how you’d need to adjust the exit to switch from it into a lift. I’m going to talk with one of my coach friends to see if she has any tips before we get right into it.
We ran through the spiral we were used to several times until I was dizzy. My brain kept cycling through the motion even when we were standing still. Niko motioned us over and gave us some suggestions about how to angle our bodies in the exit and quickly hit the right position for the lift.
Then we moved back into the middle of the rink. Quentin paused his practice to prop himself against the boards and watch.
I drew myself up straight and pretended my heart wasn’t racing at a million miles an hour. We could do this. It was two things we’d already done, just pushed closer together. Piece of cake.
Maybe there weren’t tons of pairs who’d pulled it off before, but a decent number had. I saw no reason we couldn’t make ourselves one more.
We launched into the death spiral, my head whipping over the ice. Jasper’s hand gripped mine as firmly as ever.
I counted out the beats, felt the shift as we transitioned into the exit, turned my body a little differently—
And stumbled before Jasper even had time to reach for me, let alone propel me into the air.
“Shit,” I muttered as I caught my balance with my hand on the ice.
Niko applauded from the stands. “That was great for your first try. I can already see how it’ll come together. Keep at it!”
The next two attempts had my temper fraying. No matter how much I focused on the new position, some part of my body wouldn’t quite adapt.
On our fourth try, a spurt of anger honed my attention even more. I whirled around, landed in Jasper’s grasp, and launched myself upward with his added propulsion.
