Arkady has dedicated his life to the world of ballet. He is known as the bad boy of the dance world, and is an ever rising star. Then he gets injured in what is at first thought to be a tragic accident but turns out to be so much worse. He's lost ballet, and his life feels unbalanced. A friendship with his no-nonsense physical therapist starts him on a new path. He has her friendship, a more honest relationship with his parents, his beloved dog Lou and, for the first time, maybe love in the form of an artist with a disability of his own. But the past isn't done with him yet.

Rise Again

“Arkady, wake up.” The familiar voice breaks through his doze, and he opens his eyes to see that both his mother and father are beside his bed.


Arkady guesses he mainly looks like his father, though his father is a little taller and keeps his black hair shorter and neater. He’s in good shape for fifty, but he’s not in the kind of shape Arkady is. That doesn’t make him less intimidating, however. His mother is smaller, more delicate looking, like a bird. He has one thing from her though: the same emerald green eyes.


“Oh, Arkady,” his mother says softly, reaching out to brush his hair off his forehead. It’s probably the most maternal Veronika Alkaeva has been for years, since Arkady was a boy.


“My son, we have spoken to your doctors. I wish they had waited for us to tell you about your injury.” His father, Vsevolod, sounds annoyed and worried, but there’s not much emotion on his face. There never is.


Chapter 6