Page 38 of Shining Through

This part was a little hazy. “Palace intrigue.”

“Okay. Palace intrigue.”

“Before Antigone can stop them, her evil generals wage a surprise attack on the king’s nation. He’s about to go into battle, but Antigone won’t rest until she tells him she loves him. She rushes to the battlefield, and he promises he’ll return to her when it’s over. And then, he kisses her.”

“Then what happens?”

“He dies what else? Antigone searches the battlefield for his body so she can bury him. Her generals catch her, and she’s sentenced to death for treason. Only she hangs herself first.”

“That’s terrible! Why do they have to die?”

“You’ve listened to my program music! It doesn’t scream happy ending. Besides, those mushy Hollywood endings are bullshit, anyway. Everyone knows that.”

The brightness in his eyes dimmed. “Why do you say so?”

“Look at your parents. Look at every one of Fiona’s guys and every one of Samara’s. I may not have much first-hand experience with relationships, but I’m smart enough to know they always end with tears and moving vans. I’ll pass thanks. And I assume none of your relationships have lasted.”

“Well,-—”

She cut him off. If there was some shining example of true love in his past, she didn’t want to know. “Besides, I’m only rewriting the back story, not the entire program. Peter would have a fit!”

He looked a little sad and shook his head. Maybe he felt deprived, for not being able to reminisce about his glorious romance. Too bad. “You are right,” he said. “When will I see this new Antigone?”

“Now, if you want.”

She skated out to center ice, but instead of going to the sound booth, Daniil followed her. She turned, puzzled by the strange look on his face. “Can you go cue up my music?”

“Yes. But first, I want to give you something that will help you get into character.”

“Oh?”

And suddenly, he took her in his arms, and his mouth enveloped hers in a deep kiss that rolled her emotions and shattered her defenses. He fisted his hand in her hair and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. She closed her eyes and clutched the hard muscles of his shoulders as the dream images were replaced by the real life thrill of kissing Daniil. This was what she longed for. This was who she wanted to be, a woman free to experience passion with the man of her dreams. It was beautiful, intoxicating, and she didn’t want it to end.

But then it did, and when Daniil pulled back, his eyes were cold and hard. “Put some of that into your tragic love story.”

Without another word, he skated off.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

TUESDAY MORNING DANIIL, HIS COACHES,and Yelena Baryatinskaya, Lake Shosha’s top ladies singles skater, went to meet with a reporter from a Canadian sports network. Daniil would have preferred to spend the time practicing, or sleeping. But it was better than thinking about how he and Tabitha had left things Sunday night.

He’d kissed her out of spite, a reaction to what she’d said about how true love and happy endings were bullshit. That her response had turned him on only stoked his anger. Anger directed less toward her, and more at himself. They’d barely spoken in the cab. Back at the hotel, he’d holed up in his cave and licked his wounds.

The light of day had brought him to his senses. She’d made it clear her first night in Vancouver she wasn’t interested in him romantically. What happened in Chicago stayed there. Caught up in his hopes that something might develop between them, he’d conveniently forgotten.

To Tabitha, love equaled heartbreak, and following your passions led to disaster. She didn’t want to suffer the way her mom and sister had. He’d tried to show her he was different. When he’d tried to give her hope, she’d cut him off, not interested in hearing it.

What did he know, anyway? He had a terrible reputation and was the son of a man whose reputation was worse. She disapproved of him taking Nikolai’s money, but what choice did he have? No sponsor would touch him. The Federation would be just as happy to see him quit. She seemed to think it was an easy decision, but she didn’t have a clue.

He had a skating competition to win. Best to concentrate on that.

“Why do we have to do this?” said Yelena, as they approached the room where the reporter and her camera crew waited. “The Western press only wants to portray us as villains, or twist our words to imply we are all drug cheats.”

“Competing while Russian is risky business,” Daniil said, only half-joking.

Anton, who’d been in a bad mood all week, glared. Daniil was used to everyone thinking the worst of him, but Yelena wasn’t. Back home, she was adored by fans and celebrated as a role model. Here, she was a stranger with a hard to pronounce name and a poor command of English, who was going up against the local favorites.

Anton stopped walking and put a hand on Yelena’s shoulder. “You are not a drug cheat. You are one of the world’s best figure skaters; you are talented and work hard. No one can take that from you.”

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