Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A hand reached down, and I took it.

I didn’t realize until I was back on my feet that it belonged to the boy with the blue sequined suspenders.

If the girl was Isabella Lin, he must be her twin brother, Garrett. Their resemblance to their famous mother was unmistakable. They both had Sheila’s high cheekbones, her full lips, her shampoo-commercial hair. And they’d clearly inherited her skating talent as well.

Winning two consecutive gold medals was a rare feat, but Sheila Lin had accomplished something even rarer: managing to stay competitive after motherhood. The twins were born following her first Olympics. At her second, they had front row seats.

I knew Isabella and Garrett had followed in their mother’s footsteps, but I still thought of them as the little kids I’d seen on Sheila’s lap during the Calgary coverage. They were younger than Heath and me, though not by much: fifteen, and already competing at the senior level, skating circles around teams a decade older. Amazing what you can accomplish when you’re born with the best coach in the world.

“Are you hurt?” Heath asked, putting his arm around me.

I was still holding on to Garrett Lin’s hand. I dropped it, backing up and brushing ice off my leggings. “I’m fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me.”

Every skater is used to falling. I knew how to brace myself to absorb the impact and prevent injury, but I’d been too caught up in the moment, already down before I realized what was happening.

“I’m so sorry.” Garrett looked more upset than I was. “I didn’t—”

“Don’t apologize to them.”

Unlike Garrett, who was pushing six feet and still growing, his sister shared Sheila’s petite stature. Isabella barely came up to my chin, yet somehow she seemed to be staring down her nose at me.

“It was their fault,” she said.

Heath’s fingers tensed, digging in. A dull ache radiated from my shoulder.

“You ran into us, ” he said.

Isabella crossed her arms. “Our music was playing.”

“Whoever’s program music is playing gets the right of way during a practice session,” Garrett explained. His tone was kind, not even a hint of condescension. “But even so, we should have been paying more attention. Are you sure you’re okay? If you hit your head, or—”

“She’s fine.” Heath steered us toward the boards. With every stroke of my skates, the ache in my back spread, rooting deeper in my spine.

I couldn’t be injured. We were at the National Championships. We had three straight days of competition ahead. We’d worked so hard.

“What are you doing at Nationals, ” Isabella called after us, “if you don’t even know—”

“Bella.”

The voice was soft, even-toned. But both twins snapped to attention as if they’d been issued a military command. I followed their gaze, and there she was.

Sheila Lin.

She looked as stunning in person as she did in the photos on my bedroom wall. Her hair was shorter, precision-cut in a bob following the sharp line of her jaw. She wore all white: slim-fitting pants and a leather blazer as spotless as her daughter’s skates.

I was only a few feet away from the woman I’d idolized for as long as I could remember. And she’d witnessed me wiping out like a total amateur, almost taking her champion children down with me.

Heath didn’t even seem to notice Sheila’s presence. He led me off the ice and helped me sit down on a bench, then knelt to snap my blade guards back in place.

“What do you need?” he asked. “I can get you an ice pack. Or a medic, to check you out, make sure there’s no—”

“I’m fine,” I repeated. My hips felt stiff, a pulsing pain settling into the right socket. Movement should help. “Let me rest for a second, and we can get back out there.”

“I’m going to get the medic.”

He was gone before I could stop him. I knew it would make him feel better to do something, even though I was certain my pride was more bruised than my body.

The twins were at the boards now, heads bowed, consulting with Sheila. Probably talking about the ignorant girl who’d run into them because she didn’t know basic ice-sharing rules. I shut my eyes, determined to hold back the tears that threatened.

“Please tell me you did that on purpose.”

I looked up. It was the ponytailed guy I’d seen earlier. Close-up, he was so skinny he looked less like a nobleman and more like a freakishly tall Victorian urchin.

“What?” I said.

“Trying to take out the Lin Twins.” He plopped down next to me, a smirk twisting his pale face. “Please tell me you did it on purpose.”

“It was an accident. I wasn’t watching where I was going, and—”

“Too bad. You struck me as the type.”

“The ‘type’?” I couldn’t figure out whether he was making fun of me or not.

“The type who’ll do anything to win.” He stuck out his hand. “Ellis Dean.”

I took it. “Katarina Shaw.”

“Nice to meet you, Katarina Shaw.” He leaned closer, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Next time, aim for her toe pick. Then she’ll be the one eating ice.”

As if she’d somehow heard him from the other side of the rink, Isabella shot a glare in our direction. Ellis gave her a smile and a finger-waggling wave. She did not return either.

“Trust me,” he said through his teeth. “She deserves it.”

When Isabella’s glare settled on me, I didn’t bother with the pretense of a smile. I glared back, holding her gaze without blinking until my eyes started to burn.

Finally, she turned away, taking a sip from her Swarovski-encrusted water bottle.

My first victory over Bella Lin. I vowed it wouldn’t be my last.