Page 73 of Soulless Rivalry

Katarina finished her choreography, her ballet shoes now totally doused in crimson, silent tears drenching her face as she did her best not to let her agony peek through.

The music came to an end, and the curtains closed, hiding her from view.

We were all too shocked to applaud, deafening silence was stretching around us.

The violence of what we’d just watched was stifling, we were all still trying to wrap our heads around it when Briar spoke quietly, and put all the pieces together.

“Somebody sabotaged her.”

KONSTANTIN

Katarina was quietly sobbing by the time the curtains fell. Mikhail rushed through the side wings, all but throwing himself on the floor to hug his twin.

I crouched in front of her, trying my best not to hurt her as I took off her shoes. She howled in agony, clutching Mikhail’s arm as tears streamed down her face.

In the distance, I could hear my parents argue with her dance teacher and Dean Taylor who both tried to pacify them.

Anger like I rarely experienced coursed through my veins when I saw the state of her bandaged feet. Blood everywhere.

Glass. Someone fucking filled her shoes with it.

And it sliced right through the gap between her toes—it was a carnage.

My eyes fell on Mikhail who stared silently, almost stoically, at our sister’s foot in my hand.

I knew right then that he would stop at nothing to make whoever did that to her pay.

And I would be right there alongside him.

ELYSSA

The news was all over the school: Katarina Korolova had been sabotaged and left the school to recover, both physically and mentally. Nobody knew when or if she’d be back, but rumors were growing.

I did my best to ignore them, waiting to meet up with Konstantin to have more news. He too had left to support his sister, but he told me he should be back tonight along with all of his siblings except Mikhail.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for Katarina, and what happened to her further proved my theory correct: someone sabotaged her, just like they’d sabotaged Briar.

One dancer injuring herself could be a coincidence, but two? Two was a pattern.

And something in my heart screamed that I knew who was responsible for that, but again, I didn’t have any proof.

I sighed deeply as I dropped onto my bed.

This being the last day of class before exam week and then Christmas break, I was exhausted. I still had all weekend to study, but I felt overwhelmed. Too many things were happening at once. We hadn’t heard of any more murders or disappearances happening with girls from the village, butquestions about The Order were still bothering me, keeping me awake at night. Then the whole thing that happened yesterday, Briar seeming even more depressed than before, Mia obsessing over Dominik’s fiancée and spending all her free time Googling her… everything was too much.

And Konstantin wasn’t here.

I hadn’t realized it until then, but he had become my escape. The one person I could turn to when I needed to empty my mind.

Putting the thought aside, I started studying for exams. I was pretty much caught up on everything but I liked the temporary distraction it provided. I skipped dinner, engrossed in my notes and the soft raining sounds I’d put as background.

I didn’t realize how much time had passed until a knock on my door pulled me out of the trance I’d fallen into. My eyes widened a little in surprise when I saw the time on the clock near my bed: a little over eleven at night.

I’d come back to my dorm a little before eight.

The fact that I had inadvertently skipped dinner had my stomach rumbling. There was no way I would be able to hold on until breakfast tomorrow to eat.

Another knock echoed and I got up, giddiness blossoming in my stomach at the thought it could be Konstantin, but all my hopes were squashed when I saw Mia standing there instead.

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