Chapter One: The Zero-Degree Line

With eleven seconds left, Shen Yan heard the ice crack. The sound did not come from beneath his skates. Twenty thousand fans were stamping inside Aurora Center, their drums and chanting making the roof tremble. Skate blades cut the rink with the shriek of breaking glass. Yet the crack was inside his skull, intimate and almost silent. The scoreboard showed Frost Harbor Aurora tied 2–2 with the Harbor City Whales. Opening night. At twenty-nine, after years as a backup, Shen finally had a crease that belonged to him. The Whales had pulled their goaltender. Six black jerseys flooded Aurora's zone. Captain Gao Ye dropped to block a shot. The puck struck his pad and kicked toward the right side of the net. Shen pushed across—and saw a blue line.