Built on smoke and mirrors

Chapter 4

I tied my skates as I looked out onto the ice the next day. The evening with Kol did not put me in the best mood to skate. With him not having a job, I would probably have to find something in town, too. Maybe Renae would hire me.

The fear of not affording the small house we had put skating in the back of my mind. I shouldn't waste my time here. I should be looking for a job. But yet, I was here, unable to tear myself away from it.

I stood up and skated forward. The ice was smoother today. Kol must have dumped some water on it yesterday.

Anger, frustration, fear, all the emotions caused me to push harder, faster. Skating was my escape. It wasn't a fix, but for a moment, it allowed me to focus on something else.

I did a spin, then checked out of it as tears from heightened emotions and the cold ran down my face.

"We will be ok," I told myself as I set up to do a jump. I just needed to tell myself that constantly and maybe we would be alright.

Before long, I was landing larger jumps with more power than normal. The longer I skated, the less I thought about how Kol lost his job and more about how I would land a triple jump this year.

I landed a jump mom called a Double Axle and nearly fell to the ground when someone started to clap excitedly.

I stopped skating to see a man dressed in a long black coat and a fir trimmed hat. His eyes trained on me as he put his hands back into his pockets to shield him from the cold. He was a Talent Seeker.

"Well done. That was beautiful," he said to me as he stood at the edge of the pond.

There was excitement in his eyes, which made my stomach flip. I wasn't sure how long he watched me, but I knew he saw enough. I was exactly what he was looking for.

"Who brought you here?" I asked, knowing that they never left town hall without a compelling reason. Everyone knew I wasn't interested in being sought out by the Talent Seekers. So who told them I would be here?

"How long have you been skating?"

"I'm not interested in going to the Motherwealth," I replied as I skated to my boots on the side of the pond, calling it quits.

"You haven't even heard the offer. The Motherwealth has everything you want to be truly the best athlete you can be."

"Not interested."

He sighed as he walked closer, which made my muscles tense up. Besides Mr. Green, I don't think I had ever been so close to a Motherwealth person. "Why don't we talk about it at town hall? I can really sweeten the deal."

My parents told me time and time again not to trust people from the Motherwealth except for Mr. Green. I believed them. There was something about the Talent Seekers that made me feel sick every time I was near them.

"I told you, I am not interested. I am from Hell, and I will stay here in Hell," I said as I stuffed one of my skates into my bag.

"But Telvi..." he sighed.

My eyes snapped up to meet his. So he knew my name... That had to mean someone told him about me. But who was that?

He was silent for a moment until he opened his mouth again. "What if I told you we will eliminate your house taxes, water, and electricity costs?"

I eyed him for a moment before tending to my other skate. I wouldn't lie, that was temping, especially since that was where most of our money went to. "Not interested."

He sighed again as he tapped his foot against the edge of the ice. "You're a Solace kid, right?"

I nodded as I put the second skate in my bag.