Page 27

NINETEEN

“ T his way!” Kel shouted.

Jumping to the ground, Kel led her crew through the dense crowd.

Gold flags hung in rows overhead, and commentators with voice-comms screamed over thunderous music.

From raised stands, spectators waved posters of Coup’s and Kel’s faces inside hand-drawn hearts.

The sun poured down in heavy waves. All Kel could smell was sweat and smoke.

She glanced back at her team. There was no fear on their faces. Nothing but wide grins and flushed cheeks.

Spectators and reporters were meant to remain in the raised stands, as the ground was reserved for racing teams. Still, some cameras flashed at their sides.

A nearby reporter turned toward the Howlers, trying to draw her and Coup’s attention, but Kel breezed past. News of their entry into today’s race had spread like fire.

Cristo claimed to be bombarded with requests for interviews with Cendor’s latest power couple .

Dira had taunted her for hours after they’d seen that particular headline.

Savita raked her talons against the moist ground, feathers ruffled in agitation. Kel’s arms strained against Sav’s harness.

“Not much further,” Kel crooned, trying to keep the growing tension from her voice. “I know it’s a new place. New smells, new chaos. Just…” Kel grunted as Sav released an agitated grumble. “Wait until you’re on the track to let off some steam.”

If Sav understood Kel’s plea, she ignored her tamer, folding and unfolding her wings, forcing other scattered CAPR teams to give her a wide berth. The other Howlers meandered ahead, unaware of Sav’s stubborn flailing.

Kel grunted again, trying to keep Sav’s head down. Though Sav was used to CAPR tracks, the current crowd was at least twice as big as any of Fieror’s, the noise like crashing waves.

Savita lashed out toward Kel as another nearby flurry of cameras flashed. Kel jumped to the right and narrowly avoided Savita’s knifelike beak. Before Kel could grumble another plea, a pair of hands appeared to help tighten Sav’s harness.

“Is she always like this before races?” Coup huffed, as they guided Sav forward.

Coup was dressed in his new riding uniform, goggles on his head like a glass crown. His shoulder pressed against Kel’s and warmth shot down her arm, making her fingers tingle. She tried to ignore his nearness, as a sudden influx of cameras flashed overhead. Her mouth went dry.

Kel didn’t reply until Sav—reluctantly—shuffled toward their tent. “She’s just excited. And overwhelmed.”

She kept her focus glued to her phoenix.

In the two weeks since their romantic stroll through the conservation center, it had been a relief to sink into their new normal.

Arguing with Coup over safety precautions and new maneuvers, with no need to reignite any bitter or confusing emotions for cameras.

Though memories of the park flashed through her mind more than she’d have liked, today’s race had provided the perfect distraction—even if a new media parade shouted for photos of them coupled up.

As they neared their tent, Kel spotted the track’s railing. Other phoenixes began to line up, hovering below the low netting.

By the time Coup and Kel caught up to the others, she could see the track in its entirety.

“ Ashes ,” Dira mumbled.

“Fuck!” Bekn gaped.

Water. It was full of water .

“I’ve never seen a track like this,” Dira said, panic lacing her words. “No phoenix will be used to this much water. It’s practically a river!”

Kel swallowed a hard lump. Phoenixes hated water. A small fountain on a track was one thing. But a river? Phoenixes couldn’t swim. Water battled against their very nature.

Rahn shuffled closer to Dira. “How will the phoenixes react? Will they be scared or angry?”

“It’ll make them destructive,” Kel said, not missing the wince on Rahn’s face. She turned to the other Howlers. “We’re not racing unless we figure out how CAPR’s expecting us to navigate the track.”

Kel’s stomach swooped as she imagined Coup struggling to unbuckle himself to avoid any frightened phoenix attacks. Savita was fast enough, magic enough, to survive, but Coup…

The rider’s mouth fell open in a mock look of surprise. “Would you believe it—there’s four other members of this team. We’re already here, Varra. We’re not backing out now.”

Any fear Kel felt for him vanished. “You’d rather we throw Sav into a race without a strategy?”

“Let me think!” Dira exploded. “We’re missing something. There’s a lot riding on our performance in our first Vohre race. Whether or not he knew what the terrain would be, Cristo wouldn’t throw us into an unwinnable race.”

Suddenly, a light flared in Kel’s mind.

She dashed inside their team’s tent and found the nearest wooden pole. She quickly unbound the rope holding it in place and, with gritted teeth, yanked the pole from the ground. The tent tilted slightly with one fewer leg, but it didn’t fall.

Kel hurried back to the track’s short railing, ignoring her friends’ confused frowns. On her toes, she leaned over the railing and lowered the pole down, down, until it met the water. Then she kept going.

Just when she thought she’d lose her balance and tumble forward, the pole thudded against the ground. She exhaled and, after a few seconds, pulled it out of the water.

There was a clear line across the pole, about halfway up its length. “Does anyone have a pen?”

Wordlessly, Rahn pulled one from her pocket. Kel drew a line on the wood, marking the water’s depth. “It’s only about a meter deep. There isn’t enough room for anything too dangerous to be lurking.”

So this was a race about strategy—not speed.

Her team let out a collective breath.

“Nothing says high stakes like murky sewage water,” Bekn deadpanned.

Kel looked around and noticed a handful of other teams facing the same dilemma.

A few were investigating the water with tent poles and measuring tapes.

Two were frozen in confusion. Another three were standing in circles with their chins high, red-faced and screaming about the race’s conditions at the nearest CAPR officials.

Kel ushered the Howlers inside their tent, tying Savita’s harness to a nearby post and instructing her to wait.

Inside, Kel turned to Rahn and Dira. “It’s like the simulation we ran a few days ago, with sand covering the ground and the overhead netting.

Savita knew we’d buried objects in the sand, but she couldn’t see what. We had to guide her around them.”

“But this isn’t sand,” Coup argued. “It’s water . And the net isn’t high enough for Sav to fly above the water if any other phoenixes block her flight pattern.”

Kel bit her lip. “If you can distract her from the water while you guide her, we might have a chance. A lot of these phoenixes lived in the wild before they were tamed. Wild phoenixes know to fear the water, because they’ve flown over Salta’s oceans—full of krakens, hydras, and other beasts.

But Savita doesn’t even know creatures like that exist. That is our advantage. ”

The words left a bitter aftertaste in Kel’s mouth. This race required them to profit off phoenixes’ inherent fears. The knowledge gnawed at that seed of guilt buried deep in her gut. A seed she’d need to bury even deeper to win this race.

Coup closed his mouth. After a long moment, he nodded.

Dira, Rahn and Bekn exchanged looks. If they didn’t place in this race, the momentum they’d gained would evaporate, and they’d have to explain themselves to Cristo.

But Kel knew Savita could do this. This track was about trust. Not many phoenixes trusted their riders to navigate them over murky waters. But Savita—whether Kel liked it or not—trusted Coup.

“Okay,” Bekn whispered, after a heavy silence. “Let’s win this.”