18 #4
Asta wiped the kiss from her lips with her thumb.
She caught Hummer’s eye over Nat’s shoulder.
He stared at her with a chilling focus. At least she wasn’t in Nat’s heat tomorrow, she told herself by way of comfort.
Whatever it was that he wanted from her, it would have to wait at least one more day.
Asta looked around for Felix. He was gone.
The other officials stood from the table and made for the door, but Tess Curie pointed at Asta and crooked her finger to call her over.
Asta’s anxiety, so recently relieved, surged back, stabbing at her stomach.
What must Tess Curie think of her? Disrespectful.
Careless. Not worthy of racing in the same track where she had won her title.
‘I’ll wait for you outside,’ Gem said as Asta stood to obey her summons.
The room was emptying quickly, and soon it was just Tess and Asta there together.
Asta didn’t know what to say. Between the turmoil of the past few hours and the fact that she was now standing in front of her hero, Asta felt like her brain was going numb.
Unfortunately, her numbness did not extend to her injuries, and she swayed against the pain.
‘You lied to us, girlie.’ Tess wagged her finger at Asta. ‘All that crap about “why would you risk it”. You did, didn’t you? You risked it all.’
Asta didn’t say anything. Her throat was suddenly as dry as dragon scales.
‘I know your type. “Dare you,” they say, and whoosh’ – she made her hand a dragon and sailed it through the air – ‘off you go.’
Tess leaned her forearms on the table and looked up at Asta through narrowed eyes. The noise from the track was intensifying. There were cheers audible now. The drakes must be coming out on to the track to warm up for the second semifinal race of the day.
‘I like you,’ Tess said.
Asta was stunned. ‘You do? Why?’
Tess threw herself back in her chair and cackled. Her mouth was open so wide that Asta got a full view of the arch of her teeth.
Tess wiped her eyes and sighed. ‘Fair point, girlie, fair point. Why, indeed? You do seem like a bit of a dummy. Street racing . . .’ She waved her hand like she was swatting a fly. ‘Silverscale wasn’t enough excitement for you?’
A startled laugh escaped Asta’s throat. ‘Nothing’s enough.’
Tess nodded, as if Asta had just spoken some great truth. ‘I’m dumb like that, too,’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘So: I like you, and I’m like you.’
Asta did not feel worthy of such words. ‘But, Ms. Curie, you’re amazing.’
‘Ah,’ Tess bleated, waving at the imaginary fly again, ‘I’m old is what I am. And that means I get to tell young people things. That’s the rule. And since you and your little smoochy girlfriend are obeying the rules now, you gotta listen.’
‘She’s not my girlfriend.’
‘I don’t give a dragon’s raunchy ass. Shut up and listen to me.
You did what you needed to do to get yourself here.
That meant hitching your wagon to the Bruces.
Fine. Folks around here might judge you for that, but I don’t.
The Bruces weren’t always so bad, you know.
I mean, they were always bad, but they weren’t bad-bad.
Tru and I go way back. She’s a dusty old bitch with half her screws loose, but she’s alright.
’ Tess crossed her arms over her chest. ‘But you mind yourself around Hummer. After what I saw out there on the track yesterday, you’re not going to need him much longer to get where you’re going.
You got eyes on you now, babycakes – the right people are noticing.
You just gotta get through to the end without ticking off that old coot. You got it?’
‘I’m trying,’ Asta said. Torque had told her to give Hummer what he wanted, whatever it was. Now Tess Curie was telling her the same. Keep him happy. Then get away. That was the plan, from here on out.
‘Don’t try. Do it.’ Tess scratched at her chin thoughtfully. ‘And win. You hear me? That prize is yours for the taking. Go get it.’
Asta straightened her stance in defiance of her aching body. ‘I will.’ She fought back the urge to throw her arms around the old woman’s neck.
Tess leaned to the side and slapped one of her buttocks soundly a few times, as if trying to return circulation to it. ‘Too much sitting. I’m going to go take a nap on one of them fancy beds. You be good.’ She moaned as she pushed herself to her feet.
‘I will,’ Asta said again.
She followed Tess out of the room and found Gem waiting, as promised, in the hall.
‘What did she want?’ Gem asked when Tess had tottered out of earshot.
‘She wants me to win,’ Asta said. ‘And to be careful.’
‘That’s what I’ve been saying all along.’ Gem looked after Tess resentfully. ‘You going to listen to her?’
‘That’s Tess Curie,’ Asta said. ‘I’d jump over the moon if she told me to.’
They made their way back outside and into the drizzle of the gray afternoon. As soon as they stepped outside, the air exploded with cheering from the track. Above the roar of the crowd, the starting horn sounded, and the earth shook with the pounding footfalls of the drakes.