Chapter 1
one
Zhuri
My front door swings open, and Isla marches into my apartment on a warpath, pink hair flowing wildly behind her.
“What the fuck is this shit?” she yells, joining Elisabet and me in the living room where we’re already commiserating.
“I’m just as surprised as you,” I sigh.
“We’ve spent our entire careers as Dragons,” Bet says sadly. “I’m not ready to give that up.”
Isla plops down on the floor beside us, and we all sink against the sofa at our backs.
This was going to be my eleventh season as a Dragon. I entered the WHL draft after my freshman year of college and got drafted first overall, the only black woman to ever be drafted that high. And now we’re expected to just be okay with negating everything we’ve done as women to play with the men?
I know Bet and Isla share my feelings.
Elisabet Almr was drafted the year after me, coming into the league at eighteen straight from her home in Iceland. We took Isla Morin two years after that, and she was just shy of nineteen when she played her first pro game.
The three of us have spent our entire careers as Denver Dragons, and now that’s just gone.
It’s a hard pill to swallow.
“Maybe this will be a good thing,” I state softly.
Bet chuckles. “That’s our Z. Always trying to put a positive spin on things.”
“I have to try something. This situation sucks.”
“No kidding,” Isla groans. “Who knows if I’ll even make the Comets. You two were our captain and alternate captain, so I know you’ll both be there. What’s going to happen if I don’t? What will happen to my career? I can’t give up hockey.”
“Take a breath, babe,” Bet says, rubbing Isla’s back softly.
I chime in now. “You’re a first-line center, Icy. You’re going to be on the team.”
“I don’t think I can believe that until I actually hear it from Sean.”
Bet and I are going to have to keep her head up for these next few days. Isla’s anxiety can spiral into an endless abyss, and we need to keep her out of the darkness.
“Who do we think the men will be?” Bet asks, trying to steer the conversation off Isla.
“Definitely Sidney,” I reply. “He’s the best defender on the Lizards.”
Isla looks at me cautiously. “You know Cameron will be on the Comets, too, right?”
Cameron.
Cameron fucking Kovacic.
We spent our entire freshman year at the University of Michigan butting heads. We may never have played on the same team, but we shared the same rink, so we ran into each other far too often.
On the ice, he was a nightmare for Jack, my ex-boyfriend. Jack told me all about Cameron before I met him, so I knew exactly what to expect when he came up to me at that frat party.
Jack ended up being a dick who broke up with me when he went pro because he wanted someone “more his speed,” never mind the fact that I went pro the same year. I’d wonder if Jack was wrong about Cameron, but Cameron never did anything to prove otherwise. He absolutely hated Jack and, by proxy, me.
The feeling was mutual.
I hardly had to see him until he was traded to the Lizards from the New York Tyrants a couple of years ago. Now, I always see him at the rink we share, and absence certainly did not make the heart grow fonder.
“I try to forget about Cameron,” I grumble.
“You’re going to need to remember, dúlla mín.” Bet rests her head on my shoulder. “He’s the Lizards’ captain. He’s going to be on the Comets.”
“Just another fucking reason to hate this,” I sigh.
My phone vibrates, and I pick it up to find a text from my sister.
Nia
Hey, Z
Zhuri
What’s up, Ni?
Nia
Just want to see what’s going on
You’ve been quiet since the Eclipse won the Cup last week
Zhuri
Believe me, that is the least of my worries right now
Nia
What does that mean?
Zhuri
I don’t know if I can say anything yet
But Sean is holding a press conference on Friday
News will for sure be out then
Nia
I’m not liking how this sounds
Zhuri
It’s just… different
I don’t really know what else to say
Nia
Are you okay?
Zhuri
Physically? Yes
Mentally? I have no idea
Nia
You’re not getting traded, are you?
We already uprooted to Denver when you were drafted
Zhuri
I’m not getting traded
Also, you were literally an adult when I got drafted
You could have stayed in Minneapolis
Nia
I wasn’t going to miss seeing my baby sister play
Zhuri
You’re literally two years older than me…
Nia
Semantics
Now, tell me what’s going on
Zhuri
I can’t, Nia
You’ll find out if you watch the press conference
Nia
Fiiiiine
Zhuri
Give Nova a kiss for me
Nia
Z, your niece is twelve
If I give her a kiss, she might decapitate me
Zhuri
You’re the worst
Nia
Love you, baby sister
I set my phone down and press the palms of my hands over my eyes.
In just one hour, everything in my career has changed, and as optimistic as I always try to be, I’m nervous right now…