CH181

CH181
Images surged in my eyes. I caught sight of Reese, the brightness of the lights, the rush of the wind sent me tumbling through the memory of being dropped, the sickening rush of air, the slam of ice. I squeezed my eyes shut, but instead of panic, a vision filled my mind. The rink fell away, replaced by a wide, untamed plain under a sky the color of storm clouds. Lukas was there, carrying me in his arms, running full tilt across the wilderness. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving, but his grip was unyielding.
“We’ll make it,” he promised, voice hoarse but certain.
“To where?” I tried to ask, but the wind stole the words.
The horizon was endless, and I didn’t know what waited at the edge. Was I hurt? I had no idea, but the sense of security that filled me pushed the fear away. The image dissolved, leaving me with nothing but peace.
“Thirty seconds coming up,” Coach Avery’s voice yanked me back to the rink. "Bring her down, but keep moving, in five, four, three, two--- Now."
Without hesitation, Lukas transitioned, lowering me mid-glide. For a split second, my stomach dropped. It felt a bit like falling from how fast I came down. Then, with a smooth shift in his hold, he turned me into his arms, one hand catching the back of my thighs, the other braced at my waist. My arms instinctively looped around his neck as he settled my legs on his leg, dipping to what felt like half his height, like we were dancing. One arm stretched behind him, the other around my waist, anchoring me against his chest.
From the sidelines, one of the Boston Skate girls whistled. “Hell yeah, Viking thighs!”
Lukas’s ears flushed crimson, his jaw tightening. My laugh burst out of me as he held me like I weighed nothing.
Coach Avery cheered. “That’s it! Very smooth, Lukas. Hold.”
My breath caught as I realized that this was the hold before the compound lift he was worried about. It was the shift in the prince when he fully starts to fall for Odile, which would be just after my costume change.
Lukas didn’t let go. His gaze was soft as he spoke.
“I'm sorry,” he said, the strain of honesty roughening his words. “I only brought it up because if I—” his throat worked, “—if I disappear again… if Reese pulls me out of this time, or worse, I don’t want you left stranded midair. I don’t want you hurt because of me. And because you don’t fully trust me yet.”
My chest squeezed tight. “That’s not true.”
His eyes met mine, sharp and unflinching.
I swallowed hard, and I released my arms, arching back the way Madame Lila had made me so many times. I hoped it looked as romantic and as dangerous as it felt. My heart was racing, but it wasn't because I was afraid he would drop me.
I closed my eyes and let him carry me, hoping he understood that I trusted him unconditionally.
"Lift again in ten…"
I opened my eyes and met his gaze.
“You'd never let me fall."
His lips twitched, and he shook his head. "No, I won't."
“You're going to get her on your back without stopping. No flourish, just keep it clean if you've got the strength for it."
"How much does he think I weigh?" I asked, pouting.
Lukas smirked. "How weak does he think I am?"
His grip tightened a little, slowly bringing me upright. My breath caught and I counted down to the shift. We had done this in the dance studio before, but this was the first time we'd try it on the ice.
My skates didn't even whisper across the ice. He brought his arm around me, skating half a pace to keep momentum. He pushed me up, his balance solid beneath me. I shifted, angling my weight to catch myself, using my legs to do most of the work.
A blur of motion at the edge of my vision caught my attention. My heart lurched as a skater cut too close. His skates are hissing and throwing up ice. Lukas swore under his breath, swerving hard to avoid a collision. For one breathless second, gravity wrenched me sideways, my stomach lurching as the world tilted.
I thought I was going to go flying, tumbling into the boards, but Lukas moved like water. In a blink, he turned opposite the way I was going, missing the other skater and clamping down on my thigh, with just enough force to keep me close. My body acted on instinct, using the momentum to swing around, barely touching the ice before securing myself on his back, my knees clenched around his torso, my arms on his shoulders. I clutched at his shoulders, knuckles white as I fought to hold in the scream clawing up my throat.
And still, he skated on with powerful strides, as if nothing had gone wrong.
From somewhere behind us came a rushed voice: “Sorry! Sorry about that!”
Lukas didn’t even look back. “All good,” he said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline I could feel pounding through me.
“Nice!” Coach Avery clapped. "Nice save. You're developing a good instinct."
I forced myself to loosen my grip a fraction, my breathing ragged, heart hammering like it wanted to break free. He looked back at me. He had the faintest curl at the corner of his mouth.
"You alright?"
I nodded. "Just fine."
It was a lie, but I sounded convinced.
My pulse refused to settle, even after Lukas let us glide forward. I was still clinging to him, my breath stuttering in my chest, the adrenaline sharp and hot in my veins. That could have gone so wrong.
I eased my grip a little more. The memory of being dropped fizzled out, eaten away by that thrum of him running with me in his arms over the vast plain, carrying me as if he’d do it across ice, across fire, across whatever abyss threatened to swallow us.
“Lukas,” I said as he leaned into a turn, avoiding someone. “If you think it’s best to downgrade the lift…” My throat tightened, but I pushed through. “Then we’ll downgrade it. I trust your judgment.”
He reached up to squeeze my hand briefly.
"For now.”
My brow furrowed. “For now?”
"Downgrade for now, at least, on the ice.” My heart eased. “When the time’s right, we’ll take on the full thing."
I nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."