But he hesitates because the first ring has already swung wide on to face us and so he has missed the best point to anticipate the jump. His lack of confidence is a knife pinning his foot to the floor.
I spring past him and onto the first ring. Hooking fingers along the curve I shove off with my foot and launch myself to the next ring before Kalliarkos has even left the platform. I’m no longer breathing hard; I’m flying. He is not halfway along as I scramble up the ladder and grab the victor’s ribbon at the top of the tower. The feel of the cloth in my hand never gets old, even on the practice court.
This is how it should be.
This is what I live for.
17
Grinning seems like a child’s cheap boast but I can’t help it. By the way the spectators are staring I can tell I have surprised them.
Kalliarkos reaches the ladder and with a hand on the lowest rung calls up, “You didn’t even hesitate! How do you do that?”
His face is so open and welcoming. I like his eyes, the way they flare, how dark they are, the thick curl of his eyelashes. There is a smudge on his cheek I would wipe clean in a comradely way if he were an ordinary adversary, but I never could touch a lord like him.
Once my heart has stopped pounding, I climb down. “You have to take enough time to study the rhythm and the pattern, not just plunge in. Once you decide, you can’t hesitate.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” He laughs as if he doesn’t care that I’ve beaten him. “You have it all in your head already. Now you just have to teach me.”
A bird has been trapped inside my heart, wings beating. “I guess now that I’m here there’s nothing to stop us from working together every day if you want.”
Then I hate myself, remembering my mother and sisters.
“Are you all right?” His brows draw down in concern.
I look around but we’re still alone. “It was a shock to leave my family.”
He leans against the ladder like we have all day to gossip. “Do you really have three sisters and no brothers? What’s to become of them?”
“I don’t know,” I mutter as my jubilation shatters into dread. Yet it astounds me that he even thought to ask about them.
“Being here is a great opportunity for you. I can give you news about your father’s campaign. Any prize money you earn you can give to your family.”