Page 162 of Puck & Her Blades

He’s talking about Asher’s soul.

And I’m lucky enough to always be able to feel it inside me.

I never dreamed that this was what a true pack bond meant.

“Help me.” I turn to Cygnus.

It’s time to throw off this costume and stop being invisible once and for all.

It’s time to fly.

Cygnus helps to strip the puck mascot off me for the last time. I lean on him as I wriggle myself out of the huge puck. It pulls over my head.

Cygnus spent yesterday adapting the furry tights with pretend skates that hang comically over my feet, so that I can unzip them and take them off without removing my real skates.

The fans nearby are pointing at me now.

I hear yells and chants of Ice.

The long buried performer in me wakes up and purrs.

I’m no longer invisible.

Zev’s clever online PR campaign has made my true identity well known. A buzz of excitement is sweeping through the hyped up crowd. The cameras are zooming in on me. The large screen above the arena is showing a picture of me now.

The woman behind the mascot revealed.

I’m wearing the costume that Cygnus has also been making for me since Boxing Day, which is the snowflake one that I’m most famous for.

My hair is pulled into a shimmering bun, and my outfit is like winter sprung to life.

My dress is silver like my eyes and is threaded with snowflakes.

I’ve spent over a year feeling lost and shattered.

Finally, I’m myself again.

Yet that’s not true because I’m stronger than I ever was. I realize now that I’ve actually spent my whole life pretending, whether that I wasn’t the same as other Omegas, that I didn’t need to learn about dynamics, that I could escape the fate of other Omegas, or that if I only practiced hard enough and won gold for my parents, then I’d have finally been able to fill the hollow void inside.

Yet none of that was true.

I know it now.

I’m done pretending.

I won’t hide behind my family name, talent, or even a costume.

It’s time to show the world who I am.

Ice, Ice, Ice.

The audience are chanting my name.

My chest is tight.

“You’ve got this.” Cygnus pulls me in for a tender kiss. “Dance for me, treasure. Dance for yourself.”

I give a determined nod.

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