Liora’s POV

“Liora get up” I heard my coach scream before I slipped.

My body rolled before I could stop it and my skates scraped against a surface. I suddenly became afraid and I tried to stop myself but…

“Ah!”

I crashed onto the ice. The music in the background suddenly stopped playing and no one moved for a while then the entire room was filled with noise.

“Get an ambulance”

“She fell, is she okay?”

“Somebody help her”

My eyes were shut and my body was in so much pain. Every part of my body hurts so much but my leg was the worst.

“Liora”

My coach rushed and stood beside me “Don’t move, stay still”

“I’m fine” I whispered

“You’re clearly not fine, Liora”

“I...I can get up”

I tried to move but in that moment, the pain felt even worse so I cried out and laid back down.

“Okay okay don’t move, just stay still” my coach said

I could hear the voices of people around but it seemed a bit distant. The lights around me seemed blurrier than it was supposed to.

“Coach I’m here but please can I finish?”

She stared at me like I had just said the most unreasonable thing ever.

“No”

“But....”

“It doesn’t matter “

Her words made me feel somehow because it really mattered. It was final performance of the competition and I had looked forward to it. Every morning of trainings, every bruised knees and every painful workout had led to this so I couldn’t just remain on the floor.

“I need to finish” I whispered

“No Liora you need to stay until the medical team arrives”

My head rose and I looked towards the scoreboard and my name was still right up there LIORA BELL and for years seeing my name there had made me feel proud and know my efforts weren’t wasted. I had imagined my name appearing there after every competition now everything felt more like a goodbye.

All I could think of now was how everything was suddenly disappearing. The sound of footsteps approached and two medical personnel rushed in with a stretcher.

“Please, can you tell us where it hurts?”

“M...my leg “ I stuttered

“Which leg?”

“My right”

“Can you slightly move your toes?”

“Yes” I tried

“Okay don’t try to move any other part yet”

As I was being examined, I looked towards the audience. Hundreds, thousands of people were staring at me. Some looked worried, shocked and some were already holding their phones wanting to record. I wanted to disappear but I had never been afraid of an audience in fact I had performed in front of thousands of people.

For the first time in my life, i didn’t feel like a skater but as a girl who has fallen and somehow I just knew everything was about to change.

Three days later, I stared at my wrapped leg covered with a white cast. The doctor had spoken for almost an hour but I could barely remember what I had heard.

I only remembered one sentence and that was “you need to stay off ice for a while “

My mind kept replaying the fall, the screeching sounds and the pain.

Those words hit me deeply. I stared at my skating boots close to my wardrobe and they were still covered in little pieces of ice but I had loved those boots because they had carried me through endless practices, competitions and even falls.

It didn’t look like mine anymore, it looked like it belonged to someone else.

My room door opened and my mum walked in with a tray of food in her hands.

“You haven’t eaten?”

“I don’t feel like, not hungry “

“You keep saying that, you need to eat sweetheart“

“I’ll eat later I guess...”

She placed the tray close to me and sat beside me then she reached over and held my hands.

“The doctor said you will recover”

“I know that but when?”

“And you’ll skate again “

I looked at her “you don’t know that yet “

“Hmmm”

“Mum I might not...”

“Don’t say that”

“And what if it’s true?”

She didn’t answer immediately and that scared me so much more. My mum was someone who told me I could do everything but now that she couldn’t answer maybe she was afraid too. I quickly looked away before she could see the tears in my eyes.

“I worked too hard for all these to happen” I whispered

“I know”

“I was so close”

“I know”

“And I don’t even know if I’ll ever compete again “ My mother hugged me tightly and allowed me to cry on her shoulder.

For the first time since the fall, I stopped pretending like I wasn’t scared. I was terrified because my whole career was built on that ice and what scared me the most was that I didn’t know what would come next.

A knock sounded on my room door. It was my coach then my mum pulled away and wiped her tears from her cheeks.

“Come in” she said trying to sound as normal as possible

The door opened and my coach just stood there then I noticed the serious look on her face.

“Coach?” I asked surprised

She stepped in and closed the door while my mum stood up.

“Is everything okay?” My coach looked at me then at my cast then back at me.

“Liora, there’s something I need to talk you about “

“what’s that?” I suddenly became afraid

“I got a call from the academy this morning “

I frowned. “Was it about my injury?”

“No” she walked closer

“They want you back”

I laughed “back where?”

“The rink of course”

I stared at her “b...but you know I can’t skate, look at my leg“

“I know”

“So why do they want me back?”

Her expression changed “They have offered you a chance to compete again “

I shook my head “that’s not possible “

“It shouldn’t be”

“I know Liora “

“So what are you talking about?”

She took a deep breath “ there’s an available position though “

“What position?”

We looked at each other “A partner”

“Huh a partner for who?”

She didn’t answer immediately then she looked at me and said... “Nikolai Voss”

My heart froze because the name alone lowkey scared me. Nikolai Voss was known for his flawless routines and his obsessions with perfection but it wasn’t just his talent that made people afraid of him but his attitude.

“There’s only one problem btw “

“What?”

“He doesn’t want you’’

I stared at her “why?’’

Everyone at the academy knew Nikolai Voss as the undefeated Ice Prince, the skater who never lost and the one no one dared to challenge.

“And he wants me to be his partner?”

“No, he doesn’t want you around him”

I stared at her “Then why tell me all these?”

My coach looked at me “Because tomorrow you’re meeting him”