Chapter 23

Ariel's POV The rink smelled the same as it always did—cold metal, sharpened steel, sweat ground into rubber mats—but something about her was wrong the moment she stepped onto the ice. I noticed it before she even touched the puck. Her shoulders were tense, her posture slightly off, like she was carrying weight that didn’t belong to her. She skated fast—she always did—but her movements lacked their usual sharpness. Her turns were a fraction slower. Her breathing came heavier, sooner than it should have. The coach’s whistle cut through the air. “One week,” he announced. “One week until the regional match. I’ll be watching every drill, every scrimmage. Spots are earned, not given.” A murmur rippled through the team. She should have shone. She was the new blood, the rising star, the one everyone had been watching since the day she joined. But during the internal selection scrimmage, she missed a pass she would normally catch blindfolded. Her shot skimmed the post instead of slamming home.