Chapter 26 The Ice Burns
I didn’t sleep that night. Not really. My mind raced with images I couldn’t erase. Kylen leaning into Lilibeth, her fingers brushing his arm, the way he laughed like I had never existed. Adrian passing me without a glance. The hallway, the lounge, the endless sting of it all.
By morning, I felt fragile. Hollow. Angry. And yet… I couldn’t stay away.
The rink had always been my sanctuary. Or at least, it used to be. Today, stepping onto the ice felt like stepping into a battlefield. I saw him immediately. Kylen. Sharp, focused, dangerous. Lilibeth trailing behind him, laughing softly, brushing her hand against his shoulder like she owned him.
I should have turned around. I should have walked away. But I stayed. Because I had to see it for myself. Had to feel the full weight of it.
Then I saw him.
Adrian. The new student.
He glided onto the ice with effortless confidence, puck at his stick, eyes scanning, every movement precise, like he had been born to dominate this space. Every boy in the room reacted—some nudged each other, some whispered, all watching. Even Kylen’s jaw tightened just slightly as he observed him. Subtle, almost imperceptible—but I saw it.
Lilibeth didn’t notice Adrian at first. Her focus was on Kylen, pulling him closer, brushing fingers across his arm, leaning in as if the world around them didn’t exist. And my chest twisted. Every laugh they shared, every soft glance, felt like it was designed to hurt me.
Practice began.
The rink was chaos. Skates sliced ice, sticks clashed, players shouted instructions, coaches barked orders. And Adrian… Adrian moved like he owned it all. Fast, skilled, confident. And he was pushing Kylen, subtly, without even touching him. Every pass, every shot, every maneuver seemed designed to test him.
Kylen responded. Faster, harder, angrier. His hits were sharper, his movements precise. But Adrian didn’t back down. Not once. And the tension between the two of them… it was electric.
I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
And then it happened.
Adrian glanced at me. Just a brief flicker, just long enough to make my heart skip, my stomach twist. It was teasing, confident, and something more—something I couldn’t name. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to feel betrayed. But I couldn’t. Because my focus was on Kylen and Lilibeth.
Lilibeth leaned into him again, whispering something I couldn’t hear. Kylen’s head tilted, jaw tightening, and his hands flexed around his stick. That subtle tension—anger, frustration, desire—I recognized it immediately. But he didn’t pull away. He didn’t tell her to stop.
I felt my chest tighten so hard it hurt to breathe.
“Lenora?” Tessa’s voice came quietly from the edge of the stands.
I shook my head. “Don’t,” I whispered.
But I couldn’t stop staring. Couldn’t stop feeling.
Kylen moved past me as if I weren’t there. Lilibeth clung to him just slightly, not obvious, but enough. Enough to make my blood boil, enough to make me feel like I was screaming silently.
Adrian skated past again, faster this time, almost colliding with me as I leaned forward, unable to stop myself. He didn’t apologize, didn’t even glance my way, and yet something about that small, confident movement made my pulse spike.
I hated him. And yet… I didn’t. Not really.
Because the real betrayal was Kylen. My Kylen. Letting Lilibeth touch him, laugh with him, move into his space. The Kylen who had whispered my name, laughed with me, held me close—now letting her claim what should have been ours.
Practice ended. Exhaustion hit me like a brick wall, but I stayed seated on the bench, watching.
Kylen left first, shoulders stiff, jaw tight. Lilibeth followed, arm brushing his casually. And Adrian lingered, tossing the puck from hand to hand, catching my gaze again before finally skating out. That smirk. That teasing, confident smirk. My stomach twisted.
I felt tears rise, hot and bitter, but I refused to let them fall. Not now. Not here.
I clenched my fists. Every muscle in my body ached. I wanted to scream, to run, to throw myself at him, to demand answers.
But I didn’t.
Because I knew.
He wouldn’t give them.
Not now. Not ever.
I finally stood, staggering slightly from exhaustion and emotion. Tessa followed silently, keeping a careful distance.
“They’re… just… so close,” I whispered.
“Yes,” she said softly. “It’s painful. But you have to be careful. Don’t let yourself get hurt more than you already are.”
“I can’t help it,” I admitted. “I can’t stay away. I can’t… I can’t just watch them like this and do nothing.”
Tessa said nothing. She understood. She always did.
Outside, the cold air hit me like a whip, stinging lungs, burning skin. I drew a deep breath and tried to steady myself.
The tension, the betrayal, the heat of jealousy—it all burned inside me. And yet, there was a spark. Something deep and dangerous that said I wasn’t finished. I wouldn’t stay broken forever.
Not while Kylen was around.
Not while Lilibeth flaunted him.
Not while Adrian walked past like I didn’t exist.
Because I would find my place again.
And if I had to fight for it, scream for it, bleed for it… I would.
The ice had already begun to burn.
And so had I.