Page 39 of Master of My Heart

She shook her head and looked up at him. “Please, Martin. Let me finish. Just give me a few minutes to catch my breath. I’m fine. Really.”

He frowned, but finally nodded in agreement. “You’re a remarkable girl.” He stood, walking away.

Jayson rubbed her back gently.

“I didn’t think I’d moved so much.”

“You didn’t,” he said softly. “She did. You were perfectly in place and she let you take the blame. If I know Martin, she just lost her chance to join the company.”

“Oh, Jayson, I don’t want to be the reason for her—”

Jayson shook his head. “I told you, Martin doesn’t like attitude. If you screw up, own up to it.”

Kyle appeared next to her and handed her a bottle of water.

“Thanks, Kyle,” she said gratefully and took a long sip.

Sabrina moved to stand, Jayson helping her up. She put her hands on her hips and walked in a circle, stretching her ribs. The pain had subsided dramatically. All the beatings from Khyan and Ramon finally resulted in something good. She laughed aloud.

“What are you laughing at?” Jayson looked amazed.

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “Just a random thought.”

“I want to take a look at your ribs as soon as we’re done here.”

“Okay.” She put her hands above her head to stretch. She cringed a little, but it felt much better.

“Sabrina, you don’t have to do this. This is just some extra stuff,” Jayson insisted.

“Really, Jayson. I can do this.” She gave him a pleading look. “I need to do this.” She needed to prove to herself she could still dance.

“I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”

“I’m fine. It’s feeling a lot better.” The throbbing had subsided immensely. She leaned from side to side. He frowned at her. “I’m a fast healer,” she added with a shrug. Well, she used to be. She was thankful that the pain had gone away. Unless that meant she was becoming Immortal again. She closed her eyes and shuddered. She didn’t want to think about that right now.

Martin looked at Sabrina and raised his eyebrows. She nodded.

She took one more swig of water and handed the bottle to Jayson. He gave her a gentle hug and strode away, jumping down from the stage.

She moved her body carefully, seeing if it still hurt, and Martin clapped his hands. He adjusted their rows so that they were even more spread out than before. He wasn’t taking any chances.

Number 43 shot her a dirty look as the music began.

Sabrina felt the twinge in her side as she spun around, but pushed it aside and concentrated on staying in place. She made it through all sixteen turns and ended with a double pirouette.

When the music ended, she bent down and put her hands on her knees, panting as her side throbbed. When she glanced up, she saw Jayson beaming at her. She smiled weakly before hanging her head and trying to breathe away the pain.

It worked.

A little.

Martin walked onto the stage again.

“Thank you all for your time today and for putting so much effort into your dance career. We have difficult decisions to make. We’ll post the results...” He turned to the audience, “... and Nutcracker castings, in the studio where they were posted yesterday. Give us about an hour. Thank you again.”

Jayson hopped up onto the stage as the other dancers packed their things and left. He grabbed a chair from the wings and motioned for Sabrina to sit down.

“Can I check your ribs?” he asked, kneeling down next to her chair. Sabrina nodded and he started gently probing her side. “You did fantastic, Sabrina. I see why Martin wanted to make sure you had a place to stay last night.”

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