Page 72 of Soulless Rivalry

Then, the craziest thing happened. The corner of her mouth twitched before she caught herself. Korolova took a step back and nodded her head once, firmly.

“Good.”

Then she turned around and walked to the exit. Right before she opened the door, she turned to look at me over her shoulder. “Elyssa?”

“Yes?”

“Do as you please in your little prank war with my son but the next time you involve drugs and risk tinting his school record, I’ll kill you.”

And then she was gone. I exhaled and slumped against the wall behind me, relief washing all over me.

By the timeI made it back to my seat, the fourth and last act had already started. Katarina was back on stage, dancing and hypnotizing everyone in the public, as she had since the show started.

But something was off and I could see it on her face.

Gone was the serene, almost blissful expression.

Now, pain marred her beautiful features, tears welled in her eyes as she danced to the rhythm of the music. A silent tear rolled down her cheek but she couldn’t wipe it away. She continued moving perfectly but I couldn’t feel her passion anymore.

“Something is wrong,” Briar whispered, sitting up straight and watching Katarina with hawk-eyed scrutiny.

“What? She’s dancing beautifully, just like before,” Mia answered, clueless.

“No. Her feet aren’t placed properly, she’s in pain. There’s something in her shoes.”

Briar was frowning, upset that she knew something was wrong but couldn’t do anything about it.

Grabbing my phone, I fired a text to Konstantin.

Me: Briar said there’s something wrong with your sister. She’s in pain, something in her shoes.

I watched silently as he checked his phone, reading my message before frowning and locking it again. Discreetly, he leaned towards his brother Dominik and whispered something only he could hear.

They both got up and disappeared behind the scenes.

“Oh my God.”

My attention was brought back to Briar to see her clutch a hand against her mouth, staring at the stage in horror. A collective gasp resounded from the public but the music never stopped. Looking over at Katarina, my heart lurched in my throat when I noticed a deep shade of red slowly seeping into the fabric of her white ballet shoes and spreading around.

She was bleeding.

“Someone put glass shards in her shoes,” Briar whispered, shock causing her voice to waver.

Whispers broke out in the public, so much so that they drowned out the music.

And Katarina never stopped dancing.

Her family members were on their feet, her mother looking simultaneously worried out of her mind and furious. Even the new addition to the Korolov name, Dominik’s fiancée, seemed upset and worried about what was happening.

And Katarina never stopped dancing.

Mikhail was being held back by Roman and Alexei, but he looked seconds away from rushing up the stage and grabbing his twin sister to stop her suffering.

And Katarina never stopped dancing.

“Somebody stop this goddamn show!” an angry voice barked, bringing my attention to it.

Atticus Benetti was on his feet, looking like he was seconds away from losing it. Viola’s mother looked mortified, not at the sight of her daughter’s classmate suffering, but because Atticus had clearly taken a stance in front of many family representatives. He had just defended a Korolov.

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