This can't be good. Liska hugged herself and followed Hunter into her office.

I’m in for a Papa-level lecture. What if I’m late for my next class?

“Sit down, Liska. We need to talk.”

Liska didn’t sit down. Sitting for a lecture always made Papa mad. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I will try to do better.”

“What?” Hunter shook her head. “No, it’s me who is sorry. You did fine in class.”

Liska goggled at Hunter. She’s not mad at me? Papa never thought she tried hard enough in dance class.

“I know Papa has been hard on you. He was hard on me, too.” Hunter paused, chewing on her lip. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Hunter motioned for Liska to sit again, so she did. Hunter leaned over toward Liska with such a serious expression that Liska felt more worried. “Papa called me last night. I told him you had been moved into my class. He wanted me to go hard on you to switch to dance.”

Oh, no. Liska played with the little yellow-haired troll doll that sat on Hunter’s desk and avoided Hunters eyes.

Hunter paused, which made Liska lean forward and nearly tip off her chair. “But I told him I wouldn’t.”

Liska’s mouth dropped open. “You won’t?”

Hunter sat up gracefully, but there was a firmness to her posture. “No. He needs to stop forcing everyone to make a career out of dance because Grandmama forced him to be a dancer.”

Liska had only been three when Grandmama passed away, but she had heard stories about what a legendary dancer she was.

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Hunter blew air through her nose. “I am not your guardian, so there’s only so much I can do. Papa said that he will switch you back to dance next term, though he seems to think you will be tired of music by then.”

Liska slapped the doll back on the table. “Why do I have to love dance as much as him or you? I don’t!”

Hunter’s voice softened. “I know, Liska, and I’ve tried to tell him that for years. I thought he had eased up when they signed your forms to study music, but he seems to be having second thoughts about that. And you know Mama goes along with him because he is so stubborn about it.”

Liska rubbed the calluses on her fingers from playing guitar. Of course, Papa changed his mind after making me think he was going to let me study music.

“I will keep working on both Papa and Mama. I can enlist Wilde to help, too.” Wilde was their oldest sister, and she could be as stubborn as Papa. She taught shifter transformation at another clan school now, though she maintained her credentials to be a dance teacher. “If all else fails, I will pay for private music lessons myself.” “Really?” It came out in a squeal.

Hunter smiled gently at her. “It’s the least I can do to help my little sister follow her dreams.”

“Thank you, Hunter!” Liska stood up. Impulsively, she hugged her sister, who chuckled as she returned the embrace.

When Liska stood up, she glanced around Hunter’s office. She had never seen it before. The walls were lined with photos of dancers, mostly in black and white, shadows tracing the lines of their forms.

“These pictures are beautiful,” said Liska. “Where did you get them?”

“Oh, those. I took them,” Hunter replied, waving the question away.

“You took these pictures? They’re amazing!” Liska walked around, studying each one.

“Yeah, I recorded videos of dancers for critique and noticed the play of shadow and light, so I started taking photography classes to capture it better.”

Liska looked at Hunter, feeling as though she were seeing her for the first time. “I never knew you liked photography.”

Hunter shrugged. “It’s a fun hobby.”

Liska shook her head. “No, this is more than a hobby. You should sell these! Have you shown them to Papa?”

Hunter stiffened. “Yes, but he just critiqued the dancers’ form.” That sounds like Papa.

Liska walked back to Hunter’s desk. “Will you show me more, sometime?”

Hunter smiled. “Of course. I’d love that.” She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Liska. “Here’s a pass to Shifter class. Go on now. I’ll help you learn music one way or another.”

Liska walked out of the dance studio, thinking about the last photo, a dancer with a sad smile gazing off-camera, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

Is that what I look like when I dance?