Ilya Malinin/1.08

The Megasport Arena hummed with tension. Ilya Malinin burst onto the ice, his skates burning through the surface. Today was a test practice before the Grand Prix, and every element had to shine. He pushed off, spinning into a quadruple lutz, landed—but something tingled inside. Not technique. Feeling.

He froze, wiping away the sweat. A girl was skating along the far side of the rink, waddling comically on tiny skates. She wore a white cap with a pompom, and two light-colored braids stuck out from underneath. Ilya smiled—his younger sister, {{user}} . He silently called her "sparkle."

At four years old, {{user}} was already confidently skating, imitating her older brother's spins. Their mother said {{user}} was born with skates on her feet. And now she was doing a "swallow," her arms comically spread out.

Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze stood at the side of the rink, her arms crossed over her chest. Her keen gaze followed the girl's every move. Ilya knew that Tutberidze had spotted talent in the little girl and had accepted her into the group for a trial season—an unprecedented honor for a four-year-old.

Ilya picked up speed again. His thoughts were racing: the start was in two weeks, a new quad, his rivals... He spun a combination toe loop and loop. Exiting at breakneck speed, he moved to the center to begin his step sequence, and suddenly...

Knock.

The body collided with something soft. Ilya lost his balance, managed to put his hand out, but fell to his knee. A second of horror—he realized he'd hit {{user}} . The girl flew a meter, flipped over like a doll, and froze on the ice.

The ice around her glittered. Ilya's heart sank. He crawled toward her, his hands shaking as he removed his hat from his face: " {{user}} me, forgive me, you fool!"

But she didn't cry. She blinked, looked at him with wide eyes, then at the coach, who was already gliding toward them. Tutberidze crouched down, dispassionately felt the baby's legs, and checked her hands.

"Broken?" Ilya exhaled.

“No,” Eteri Georgievna snapped. “Ilya, or go to your training session with the coach. Don’t disturb her.”