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THIRTY-ONE

W hen Kel and Coup gathered Dira and Bekn, d é j à vu punched Kel in the gut.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Bekn said, his voice like gravel. “Don’t give me that face—you know I’d help if I could.”

Kel wanted to shake Bekn, to wake him up. “Savita is nearing a rebirth. How can you just stand there when Sav could be next?”

Bekn rubbed his face and paced along the length of the small room. She’d forced the Howlers into her sleeping quarters, not daring to lead them back to The Prism and draw attention.

“Of course I care about Savita,” Bekn snapped. “But I care about you more. Neither you nor Coup should be trying to take on a billion-cere business in your spare time. You should be enjoying your work and exploring the city. Maybe even pick up your schooling again, like Dira has.”

Kel swiveled toward Dira, who sat perched on the edge of her bed. The winger shrugged sheepishly.

“Bekn is right, Kel,” Dira said, slowly. “If Savita is in danger, we need to get her out—but there could be thousands of reasons for those ashes.”

Disbelief sent a chill down Kel’s spine. Just this morning Dira had been on her side. What could have changed since—

Then she realized. “You told Rahn.”

Dira folded her arms. “Only enough to work out if we can trust Cristo. Rahn says that Cristo’s doing everything he can to preserve phoenix numbers—both tamed and wild. Why would he spend billions on conservation if he just wants to kill them?”

Kel didn’t have an answer. All she knew was she had a headache and the thought of Savita far, far away from Vohre was like a soothing balm.

“We have more immediate concerns, anyway,” Bekn said. “There’s another race coming up in a few days. Cristo thinks we need a presence. It’s rumored to be Vohre’s biggest race of the year.”

Kel’s pulse leaped into her throat.

“What?” she stammered. “Coup isn’t ready to race, and even if we could find a substitute rider, it would take too long for Sav to let them ride her.”

Bekn chewed his lower lip. “You’ve raced Sav on occasion, right, Kel?”

Kel blinked, slowly. “Yes—but Sav’s too close to a rebirth. We can’t risk taking her out of the compound right now.”

“And Varra hasn’t had time to train,” Coup cut in, jaw clenched. “She needs practice before we throw her into a storm like that.”

“Why would Cristo even risk Sav leaving the compound if she’s nearing a rebirth?” Dira added.

Bekn made a pained expression. “I’m sure he has his reasons. He wouldn’t ask this if it wasn’t safe. And we don’t even need to place. We just need a presence, and it will be good to keep up media attention and prove to the council that Savita isn’t a threat.” Bekn turned to Kel. “Just think on it.”

Kel opened her mouth. No sound came out. She’d assembled her team, hoping they’d help protect Sav. Instead, she discovered that Cristo wanted to strap her to a phoenix nearing a rebirth.

She felt defeated already. Against riders who trained every day, she stood no chance of placing, especially against a race rumored to be the grandest of the season.

She didn’t give Bekn an answer. As he and Dira filed out of her room, Kel wracked her brain for a way to make them stay. She was all too aware of Coup still sitting behind her in an armchair, annoyingly quiet for the first time in his life.

“Don’t say I’m overreacting,” she croaked. She didn’t think she could take hearing it from him, too.

“For once I think your melodrama is warranted,” Coup said. A tired smile lifted his cheeks. “I think you’re right. The others do, too, even if they don’t want to admit it.”

Kel blinked away unexpected tears. “You’ll help me find out what’s going on?”

Coup waggled his eyebrows. “I couldn’t deprive you of my investigative skills.”

His words sent her heart falling through her ribs.

She didn’t know what had changed between them so suddenly—but as Coup’s features widened into their usual easy, teasing grin, something strange warmed her.

From calming Savita at races to trusting her suspicions, Coup refused to let her keep him at a safe distance.

Even Dira had respected Kel’s wariness. But Coup had either ignored Kel’s walls, or taken a sledgehammer to them. She’d had no choice but to let him in.

Over the next few days, Kel had to admit that their teamwork off the track was just as frustratingly efficient as it was on the track.

Coup helped her work where he could, and she forced him through his physical therapy every afternoon.

Just as Dira had over the past week, Coup stayed by her side in Savita’s enclosure each night.

She’d demanded that he sleep in his bed, to rest his leg and burns, but unless she physically hauled him from the aviary, she couldn’t make him leave.

So they lay together in the muggy dark, Savita curled at their feet like a huge house cat. The phoenix doted on Coup just as she did Kel, and for the first time, Kel watched them with no jealousy.

Side by side, they spoke of everything but their kiss.

The memory of it snuck into her dreams and ghosted across her skin, exciting and terrifying, as if she’d been caught in a storm.

She didn’t know if Coup felt the same charge between them, and she didn’t dare to ask.

But where their barbed words used to feel easy, familiar, they now felt brittle.

Something lingered beneath them, waiting to break.

Still, each night, they stole more bricks from the old, serrated walls between them to build the bones of something new.

Every night they returned to the aviary and saw nothing but empty shadows. Kel even dragged Dira and Bekn to The Prism one afternoon—but the room had been cleaned. If Coup hadn’t seen the remains too, Kel might have truly convinced herself she’d imagined it.

As they hurried from Sav’s aviary four mornings later, Kel whispered, “Do you think they knew we found the ash?”

Coup looked down the empty hall before replying. “Maybe. But I doubt Cristo’s team cares what two seventeen-year-olds know. If they did, they’d have kicked us out of here by now.”

Kel nodded. “If the scientists don’t show up again, where else can we look for—”

“Look for what?”

The pair spun around. Kel’s stomach dropped.

Cristo strolled forward, hands clasped at the front of his blue blazer. His black hair fell in short, unruly waves around his face. The small heels of his brown shoes clicked as he moved closer, making Kel think of Savita’s talons hitting stone.

Kel swallowed. She’d lurked outside his empty office a dozen times over the past week, tempted to confront him over what she’d found, and now he stumbled upon her?

“We were looking for you, actually. We… We wanted to know when we might be able to take Savita out of the aviary. To an outdoor practice track.”

Cristo cleared his throat. “Of course, but that might have to wait. I was actually looking for you, Kelyn. To ask something of you.”

Kel blinked. “What is it?”

“I’m hoping you all have considered participating in the upcoming race. I know nothing of the track details, but a few inside sources have told me it’ll be the biggest race of the season. It’s crucial that the Howlers are there.”

Kel inched forward. “I don’t know. Coup’s still injured, and I haven’t raced in almost a year.”

“It’s your decision, but it’s important that we take quick action to dispel the growing rumors around Savita’s… nature.”

Cristo’s eyes went to Coup, his crutches, then back to Kel. She felt her face redden.

Kel dug her nails into her palms. She had to protect Savita—by whatever means necessary.

“I’ll do it,” Kel muttered.

“What?” Coup cut in.

Kel ignored him.

“Perfect,” Cristo said, a calm smile pursing his lips.

Coup turned to Kel. “Don’t you think—”

“But I’ll need full access to Savita’s vitals to prepare for the race.”

Cristo’s brows rose slightly, and that was all the confirmation she needed. It was no glitch in the system—he’d intentionally cut her out.

“I am sorry for that,” Cristo said after a beat, running a hand through his dark locks. “Please trust me—it was in your best interest to restrict your access.”

Kel’s nostrils flared. “I’m her tamer. How could it possibly be in my best interest?”

“Your safety is a higher priority to me than your obligations as a tamer,” Cristo said smoothly.

Kel’s nails dug deeper into her palms. “But you’re fine with me racing her?”

Cristo sighed. “As I’m sure you’ve suspected, Kelyn, Savita is nearing a rebirth.”

Kel kept her face blank as icy disbelief filled her. A part of her had still hoped Cristo hadn’t lied to her, hadn’t known.

Cristo continued, “I worried that you’d interfere with how we wish to handle her rebirth.”

“And how is that?” Coup demanded.

“Carefully,” Cristo said quickly. “It’s a dangerous process, and it’s best if you let my team help her through the transition. I am sorry, Kelyn. I was trying to protect you.”

The sincerity in his voice shocked Kel more than anything he’d said, and for a moment she hesitated. But she had to trust her instincts. She stepped toward Cristo. “What is your process ?”

If Cristo wanted to control Savita’s rebirth, why would he send Savita into another race?

Cristo gestured behind them, to The Prism .

“We’ll place Savita in a safe environment, where her rebirth won’t hurt anyone.

But there’s still an unavoidable element of risk.

That’s why I wished for only the most qualified on my team to have access to Savita’s vitals.

I was going to tell you—but I didn’t want you to worry about Savita, as well as everything else.

” His eyes flickered to Coup, then back to Kel.

“I’ll make sure that your access is restored, and you can see all past records. You have my word.”

If you race.

She didn’t know if Cristo had left the words to hang in the air, or if she’d imagined them. Either way, they rang through her ears like temple bells: inescapable and unending.

“Okay. Count me in.”

Cristo nodded solemnly. Then he disappeared down the empty corridor, leaving Kel and Coup to collect the new truths splattered across the walls.

“What the hell, Varra!” Coup said, his voice uneven, as if trying to find the right words. “The tamer I knew in Fieror never would have agreed to something this reckless.”

“What choice do I have?” she threw back, struggling to keep her voice low. “Savita’s life’s on the line. Nothing else matters.”

Coup was right—something fiery and painful had changed her since they’d arrived in Vohre: a renewed desperation to save Savita.

But that same fire refused to let her overthink her decision.

Cristo was right, too. If she didn’t agree to the race, Savita’s dangerous reputation would only grow, and Cristo still had equal ownership of Savita.

“I’ve got this,” Kel added, warmed by the concern in Coup’s eyes. “I’ve raced Sav occasionally when we were in between riders.”

“I’m coming with the Howlers,” Coup said, lips pressed into a flat line. “Even if it’s just to fill in your brooding shoes and keep you from doing anything rash.”

“I bet you didn’t think you’d ever be saying that to me ,” she said.

“I mean it, tamer,” he said, refusing to return her teasing. “Stay safe.”

Kel nodded, her lips twitching up. “I’ll try my best, Coupers.”