Read Online Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black - Free Book Online

the whole curly mess with hairspray.
    Steffie coughed and swatted the misty cloud away with her hand.
    “It only makes sense,” TJ continued. “I heard she’s one of the best dancers at school. And it can’t hurt that she’s dating Zep.”
    “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Vanessa said, stuffing the toe boxes of her shoes with lamb’s wool. “If Josef were going to cast Anna as the Firebird, he would already have done it, like he did with Zep. So there’s still a chance.”
    Steffie gave Vanessa a quizzical look. “How is it that you’re so calm?”
    Vanessa bit her lip. “What do you mean?”
    “You show up twenty minutes after everyone else, with barely any time to get ready, and you’re still totally cool. I mean, class starts in, like, ten minutes, and even though I just told you that Josef might be visiting, you’ve barely even broken in your shoes. Aren’t you nervous at all?”
    Vanessa shrugged. “I’m just going to do my best, and see how it goes.”
    Steffie let out an incredulous laugh. “I don’t get you, but I envy you.”
    “You shouldn’t,” Vanessa said under her breath, but no one seemed to hear her. She gently peeled away the corner of the bandage on her foot. The cut beneath was red and scabbed. Wincing, Vanessa dabbed on a bit of ointment, replaced the gauze, and gently slipped her foot into her pointe shoe.
    “I heard that a girl named Chloë was supposed to dance the role of the Firebird,” TJ said.
    “Why isn’t she now?” Vanessa asked.
    TJ began tying her ribbons. “She went missing over the summer. Just before school started.”
    Vanessa’s back went rigid. “Like, she ran away?”
    “I’m not sure,” TJ said. “I’m sorry, Vanessa. I forgot—”
    “It’s okay. It happened. You don’t have to pretend like it didn’t.” Vanessa stared at her pointe shoe, imagining her sister’s initials scrawled into the soles. “Margaret was supposed to play the Firebird, too.”
    “Everyone says it’s a really hard role,” Steffie murmured. “They probably just felt too much pressure.”
    Vanessa nodded, yet she couldn’t help but wonder. Was it a coincidence that two girls cast as the lead in
The Firebird
went missing? Maybe there was something strange about the
Firebird
ballet; maybe it was cursed. But as soon as the thought entered her head, she shook it off.
The Firebird
was renowned as a difficult dance. She dipped the toe of her right foot in the box of pale-brown rosin, rubbing it into the smooth sole of her shoe until it was rough enough to grip the waxed floor, then switching to the heel, and finally to her left foot. Steffie, Elly, and TJ did the same, barely speaking until a whistle blew from outside the studio, signaling the start of class.
    Hilda was standing at the front of the studio when they filed out of the dressing room, her lips held in a tight frown. “Please line up in front of the mirror.”
    Vanessa filed in behind Elly and TJ, who both looked nervous as they took their places. Across the room, Blaine waved at her in the mirror. He gave Vanessa a wink and inched closer to the cute boy standing in front of him.
    Hilda walked to the corner of the room and turned on the music, a long somber note on the cello. Pacing behind them, she began to dictate commands. “Fifth position. Grand plié. Now relevé!”
    With the rest of the class, Vanessa lifted herself onto her toes, the bones of her feet stinging beneath her weight. But she held steady, her face not betraying so much as a wince while she waited for Hilda’s direction.
    The music wasn’t anything she recognized. It was spare and dark, but the notes kept slowing down and then speeding up, collapsing in on themselves until Vanessa thought the sounds were going to burst into chaos. Hilda clapped her hand against her thigh, following its arrhythmic beat. Vanessa glanced at Steffie in the mirror and gave her a befuddled look. They had never been taught to dance to a tempo with no set time. Vanessa