Chapter Twenty

Daniel

The puck drops, Bell wins the faceoff against Fredlund of the Ice Wolves, and she heads to their end. But they’re on her flank. Quickly, she drops the puck back to our defense and Evans picks it up. He one-shots it to me and I stick it. Then I’m off. The rest of the Ice Wolves are so caught up blocking Tremblay and Bell, they don’t even notice me.

Which is perfect.

I put on a burst of speed and head straight at their goalie. I pull back my stick and shoot the puck. That beautiful red light beams and the crowd goes wild. My team comes toward me, embracing me in a giant hug.

We’re winning 4 – 1, with only two minutes left in the second period. If we can keep this momentum up in the third, then I’d say we have a home-opening win in the bag.

I look to the front row to see Ma beaming, wearing her Falcons jersey. I smile back at her…then notice she’s looking past me. At the bench. At Coach Zabinski. My life is over.

The last two minutes of play go by without incident and the buzzer signals intermission. We skate off the ice and head into the change room. I avoid Madison’s gaze as I walk past her. We’ve been home for more than a month and I think I’ve said two words to her. At first, she tried to get me to talk whenever she saw me. But I think she’s finally gotten the hint. We’ve finally entered a comfortable routine of ignoring each other.

I can’t talk to her. Not if I want to avoid getting my heart ripped open over and over again.

It’s fine. It’s best this way. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

“Hey Sacachelli,” Coach says, “you’ve got a visitor in the hall.”

A visitor? Who would want to see me?

I shrug and head out into the hall, where I’m met with a seven-foot rock-shaped man with sunglasses.

“I mean, I know we had a connection in Eldonia,” I say, “but to fly across the ocean just to see me? Hey, man, I’m touched.”

Dwayne Boulder doesn’t laugh. But out from behind his massive body steps the Queen of Eldonia. Ruler of a small nation. First female monarch of my country. My sister, Evangeline.

“Eva!” I scoop her up in a hug so big, it lifts her off her feet. “What are you doing here?”

She falls back down on her pumps and adjusts a stray curl. “I came to see your first game. I couldn’t get here for the first period, but I saw your goal. You play fairly well, Dan-Dan.”

Fairly well? From the Queen of Eldonia, I’ll take that as high praise. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” She smiles. “A queen can take time off now and then to fly across the world for a hockey game, can’t she?”

“I hope so.” I beam at her. “How’s life in Eldonia? Does Eldredge miss me?”

“Very busy. But Mama is helping me adjust. I’m not taking over full leadership until after I finish my schooling, so at least, I can ease into it.” She rocks back and forth on her feet excitedly. “And Eldy can’t wait for you to come back next summer. I think he wants to learn how to play hockey. He said he had a splendid time being the referee.”

“I’ll play with him, but only if you’re my center.”

“I don’t know what that means, but it can’t be good.” She laughs, but then her face turns serious. “How’s Madison?”

I inhale sharply and avoid her gaze. “We…we haven’t really talked.”

Eva makes a small sound in the back of her throat that could mean anything, but I’m leaning toward disappointment. Eva doesn’t bond with very many people, but I know she enjoyed Madison’s company.

“Wasn’t her audition today?”

I think of that scrap of paper. September 9th at 6:30pm. That’s today…in half an hour! So what is Madison still doing here?

“Yeah, it is,” I mutter. “But she’s here. I don’t get it. That audition was so important to her.”

“Maybe it’s not the most important thing to her…anymore.”

“What do you mean?” I say, hearing anger creep into my voice. “She literally ruined our friendship over that audition. That’s obviously the only reason she pretended to be my girlfriend.”

“Did you ever consider she might not have been faking it?” Eva stares me down. “I saw the way you two were together. No one, not even Madison, is that good an actress.”

“I don’t know what you—”

“If you don’t believe me, just think about what she did for you in Eldonia. How she found a way to make everything right. I don’t think she did that for the audition. And if she had, wouldn’t she be there right now?”

“So you’re saying…” My mind feels like a piece of paper catching fire.

“She did it for you, Daniel,” Eva says. “Because she loves you.”

I stare at her dumbfounded. Maybe that moment in the gardens, when she told me she loved me…maybe that hadn’t been an act after all.

“Eva,” I say, “I gotta go.”

“You bloody well do, Dan-Dan.” She laughs and goes up on her toes to kiss me on the cheek. “Madison saved our kingdom. Now it’s your turn to be her knight in shining—” She stares at me. “—jersey?”

I ruffle her hair, much to her indignation, then rush through the change room to the coach’s office.

It’s finally my turn to have a plan.

I tell Coach first. He’s not pleased, but he agrees with a reluctant grumble, muttering something about this being his one and only exception for ex-kings.

I go to my captain next, tell him what I have to do. I expect him to flip his shit, but Tremblay just shrugs. “I think we can handle Freddy and his goons without you slowing us down. Besides, even if the last period sucks…”

“One bad period doesn’t equal a bad game,” we say at the same time.

Tremblay gives me a slap on the back. Then I leave the change room.

I have to find Madison.

…

Madison

I stand in the trainer’s office, tidying up the bandages. Tyler Evans had taken a nasty puck to the face earlier, but I had patched him up.

A twinge of bittersweet sadness shoots through me. This will be my last season patching up my hockey boys.

Next year, after graduation, I’m off to Juilliard, if I can get in.

I can’t say Eomma and Appa were delighted by my decision, but they did agree that it was my choice to make. That I was to be trusted with my own decisions.

For once, I finally feel that way too.

My chest still feels heavy, and has, ever since that last day in Eldonia. I wonder to myself…have all the things I’ve learned made the trip worth it?

Losing him?

We’ve been home more than a month. Daniel won’t pick up my calls, respond to my texts, or even acknowledge my presence when we’re in the same room. Hayden says he’s just “recovering from all that prince biz”, but I know the truth. I betrayed Daniel’s trust, and he hates me for it.

His friendship was the highest price I’ll ever pay.

Instinctively, my hand goes to my pocket and fiddles with the tiny piece of paper in there.

The audition information. It’s today. My one shot of getting a part on ‘100 Years Fallen’.

I crumble the paper in my hand and toss it to the floor.

I didn’t earn that audition—it was given to me for lying to someone I love. There’s no way I can go.

Suddenly, the door flings open. I expect to see Alice or maybe Coach Zabinski wondering where I am.

Instead, I see Daniel Sacachelli, clutching the keys to the trainer’s office. He’s still dressed in his Falcons uniform, and his face is red and sweaty. But instead of skates, he’s wearing sneakers.

“Daniel?”

“What are you doing?” he yells. “Come on, Myong!”

“Huh?” But before I can think, Daniel grabs my arm and yanks me up.

“You got a monologue prepared? Do the one from “Titanic”. Young Rose, not Old Rose. I love that one.”

“Daniel!” I snatch my hand away from him. “What are you doing?”

He smirks. “Taking you to your audition.”

My heart skips a beat. “What? No, I’m not going.”

He grabs my hand again and pulls me toward the door. “Yes, YOU ARE.”

“It starts in twenty minutes. I don’t even have time to get there!”

Daniel turns and grins at me like a wolf. “Good thing I brought my bike.”

Everything is happening so fast. We run down the hall, and the team pokes their heads out of the locker room.

“Good luck, Madison!” Hayden calls.

Alice yells, “Break a leg!”

“Don’t kill my trainer on that death trap of yours, Sacachelli!” Coach Z roars from somewhere deep in the locker room.

Then we’re outside, running through the parking lot to Daniel’s motorcycle.

“What about the game?” I finally get a chance to ask.

“What? You don’t think the guys can handle a three-goal lead without me? I’m flattered.” He shoves a helmet in my hands.

Then, just like we used to do, he jumps on the bike and I get on behind him, my arms wrapped around his chest, my body flush to his. “I don’t believe it,” I say.

The engine roars to life. “Yeah, well, me neither,” he adds.

Then we’re off! Daniel guns the bike, weaving in and out of traffic like we’re in a Grand Theft Auto game. But I don’t close my eyes. I lean my face back and smile, letting the wind run over me as if it could cleanse me of all the guilt from the summer.

Daniel screeches to a stop in front of the building, then checks his watch. “Three minutes early. I’m amazing.”

Suddenly, now that we’re here, my body feels like lead. I can barely untangle my arms from Daniel’s waist. “I-I don’t know.” I stand on shaky legs.

“Madison.” He spins his leg over the bike so he’s facing me. “Listen to me. You’re always doing something to help others. Last year, you helped Alice and the team. This summer, you helped me and Eva. Now it’s your turn to do something for yourself.”

“B-but…I didn’t tell you about the audition. And you were so mad at me…”

“Yeah,” Daniel says, and throws a hand behind his head. “I can be a real asshole sometimes. Without you telling me what’s right or wrong, it can be hard to know what to do. And…it took me a while to figure it out.”

I smile. “I guess I should go in.”

Leaning on his bike like that, he reminds me of James Dean…if James Dean wore a hockey uniform instead of a leather jacket. “Make it matter, Myong.”

…

An hour later, I step out of the building. Daniel’s waiting for me, still leaning on his bike. I notice that somehow he’s done his hair, and I can only imagine he keeps an emergency kit of combs and gel somewhere on his bike.

“Well?” he says, dashing forward.

I look up shyly. “I got a callback.”

“WHOO HOO!” He grabs me and spins me around. I throw my arms around his neck and laugh.

Then suddenly, we’re so close—my body tight against his, my hands on the nape of his neck. His dark gaze is soft and intense all at once.

“Thank you, Daniel.”

“No,” he says. “Thank you…for showing me what’s important. And saving my ass more than once in Eldonia. I’m sorry I was so mad. It wasn’t that I hated you. Or even that you lied about the audition. I guess I didn’t understand why a girl like you would want a mess like me…so I turned my back on you, just to give me time to make sense of it all. You’re my best friend, and you deserve this. And I mean that, really.”

I know I should let go. But there’s this heat between us, this warmth like a flame coming alive. “Daniel, I think I should tell you something.”

“What’s that?” He doesn’t pull away.

“I suggested pretending to be your girlfriend because…” I look up at him, smiling. “Because it’s the part I wanted to play. I’ve wanted to play it for a long time, actually.”

His hands come up to graze the back of my neck. “Prince or hockey player, I never thought I was good enough for you.”

“Daniel,” I say, raising myself up on my toes. “You’re the Jack to my Rose. The Noah to my Allie. The Choi Han-kyul to my Go Eun-chan. The Edward to my Bella—”

“You are aware I don’t sparkle?”

“Then you clearly haven’t seen the glare your hair gives off in the sun.” Suddenly I’m laughing, and my chest feels light. “The point is…you’re my Daniel. And I don’t feel quite like Madison without you.”

Daniel pulls my face close to his, and our lips meet. “Who needs royalty?” he whispers.

I smile against his lips. “You’ll always be a prince to me.”

My hockey prince.

…

But wait! The game isn’t over yet!

Daniel’s little sister, Eva, is back in town.

Will she go back and marry some Eldonian noble…or will she, like Alice and Madison, lose her heart to a hockey player?

Find out in Just One of the Falcons, available late 2018.

Here’s a sneak peek…