“No, no, Genesis, that is not what I want.” Miss Reneta clapped her hands in annoyance. Jaden set me down, and I immediately pulled away from his grip, moving a few steps away from him.

My heart pounded against my ribs, too loud, too fast. I could feel his eyes on me—no, not just his. Everyone’s. We’d been repeating the same movement over and over because of me.

I kept my gaze locked on the wooden floorboards, as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

“What is wrong with your girl?” Nikolai Petrov, the instructor in charge of Jaden's class, asked. His voice was smooth but sharp...