Chapter 4

The glass Ivy dropped shattered across the backstage floor.

Judge Carter never took her eyes off me.

"Who taught you that final sequence?"

I forced myself upright despite the pain shooting through my ankle.

"No one."

I met her gaze.

"I created it."

"Seven years ago."

Quiet whispers spread across the judging panel.

Judge Carter frowned.

"What was the piece called?"

"Returning Bird."

Her head snapped up.

"That’s impossible."

"The original creator of Returning Bird disappeared from the competition circuit seven years ago."

I looked straight at her.

"She didn't disappear."

"She was trapped in a kitchen for seven years."