AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He saw the fear flicker in her eyes before she pushed it down, and he stroked her cheek, running his fingertips down her neck. “Easy, Ruby. Just play. No pain.”
The next song started up, and she drifted away from him, but he held her hand as she backed up at speed, and then he moved around her to move with her. “You are really good.”
“So I was told.”
“You never went international?”
“No, they were always waiting for me at the outskirts of the city.” She shuddered. “Pasty bastards.”
“The Elite?”
“Yeah. I thought they would stop when I was an adult, but they always show up when I get near the border.”
“Border?”
“I made a wrap around the city when I first got here. It keeps them out, but someone has started boosting it and making it wider.” She smiled. “And stronger. I need to find her one day.”
“Her?”
“Yeah. Her energy is like mine. It’s kind of like a solid crystal rainbow.”
Her body moved with his, and he was having trouble focusing. Heat was radiating from her, and he wasn’t even touching it.Fuck.
The music slowed, and they slowly halted.
He mimed giving the patchwork pixie the orb she was supposed to get from the trolls, and Ruby smiled and took the invisible globe. When the next song came on, she glided back to the forest only she could see.
He knew the choreography and kept out of her way, but the entire production unfolded in her movements. Her familiarity was obvious.
Marshall was in the stands, and there was a glint from his phone. The teammates coming for troll practice were also watching and gathered by the entrance to the ice.
The dancing and spinning with the pixie party was funny as she carefully held the gift from the trolls. There was the moment when she dropped the gift after being jostled. It was the magic needed to keep the pixies alive, and they had destroyed it.
He watched the guys suddenly rush the ice for the patchwork pixie’s return to the troll realm, where the power was buried.
She begged silently, and they laughed and swung her from one of them to the other while he lurked behind and watched. It was just acting, but his heart broke as she reached out for him with both hands as the other trolls pulled her away. This was the point where her patchwork started to come away. She scrambled away as her light began to glow out of the patchwork.
Rayden’s jaw dropped as he realized that this was her story, made understandable for anyone. Always hiding herself, asking for help and having those around her carelessly destroying her hope and, therefore, their hope. Written by a child, it was incredibly sad that she just wished to be able to be herself.
He listened to the cue for the light of the aurora to play over her and her wondering face as she got up and glided toward the trolls, who removed the patchwork pieces until she would be standing in soft and glowing pastels. They parted, and she stood nervous but straight. Then, Rayden took her hand, and the new glow was starting where their hands connected. They glided to a halt in the centre of the arena, and the music stopped. There was a sharp whistle. Damn. He was getting lost in her eyes. He smiled. It was an amazing place to be.
They skated back to the entrance where the actual cast of the show was lined up to start.
* * * *
The coach muttered, “Don’t fuck around on our time, Rayden. We are down a pixie, and playing isn’t a great way to get this disaster under control. Miss, you are here on reserved time.”
Ruby snorted. “Geez, coach. What crawled up your ass and died? You used to be so cheerful and a perfect delight at six in the morning. Guess you got old.”
She left the ice and headed for her coat and bag.
She was about to unlace the new skates when she heard a strangled, “Ruby?”
She looked up to see Coach Durrant standing in front of her. “Hey, you remembered! Congratulations! Not so old after all.”
The coach stared. “Really. Ruby. You are on the ice?”
“Yeah. I can’t leave the city, but I can still skate. I just had no reason or place to do it when you blackballed me.”
