CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
‘What happened?’ Josie stared me down across the table we were sharing.
The library at the ranch was long and narrow with windows all along one side, facing into the jungle.
There was a heavy desk, fabric armchairs and two tables, the smaller of which we chose for the strategy lessons.
Maybe it was habit after only having had small spaces to study in previously, or maybe I felt that Josie could better protect me from all the formidable-looking books that stared at me from the other three walls, but Josie had me move the desk next to the double doors that led to the porch outside.
She said the fresh air stimulated my brain.
‘Hm?’ I carried on looking over the sheet Josie had given me – a map of one of the earlier circuits I’d missed racing on this season.
The most efficient path – the racing line – had been highlighted, along with minimum and maximum speeds.
There were a lot of annotations in Josie’s neat but tiny handwriting.
‘Lena, it took me less than ten minutes of knowing you to realize you hate reading, so stop faking. You’ve not even asked about Gottyk yet today.
I would have assumed you were sick, but every time you hear Theo’s name you look like you need to use the bathroom.
So I’m theorizing that something happened. ’
My forehead hit the dark wood tabletop, ripping through the paper I hadn’t been studying. ‘Ugh.’
Silence, but I could feel the hair on the back of my neck prickle, the telltale sign that my strategist, friend and all around know-it-all was still waiting for her answer.
I lifted myself up, barely, slumped on my elbows and half-sprawled across the study material. ‘There was a weird moment.’
Josie’s eyes narrowed, creasing in the corners as she let herself indulge in a tight smile. ‘Tell me.’
The edges of the ripped paper fluttered as I sighed heavily. ‘I don’t know. While we’ve been hanging out it’s been—’ I waved a hand in the air. ‘Different. I’m just very aware of … how aware I am. Of him.’
Her slender brows rose.
‘No!’ I shot back at her. ‘Stop taking flying leaps. There’s nowhere for you to go.
He’s a flirt … whatever. He gets into my personal space all the time.
The weirdness is that for a split second,’ – I pinched my finger and thumb together, trying desperately to emphasize how fleeting the feelings had been. – ‘I didn’t hate it.’
Josie tossed her glossy straight hair over a shoulder. ‘Congratulations, Lena, you’re human like the rest of us. An attractive person showed you some attention and it stirred up your loins.’
I recoiled. ‘Don’t say loins.’
‘But you don’t have a problem with acknowledging Theo is attractive? This is more serious than I thought.’ She neatened her own notes, keeping them away from me.
Josie may have been a fast thinker, but she was too slow to dodge the ball of paper I threw at her head. It bounced off on to the floor, never to be studied again.
‘I thought the purpose of having a friend was to have her be nice to me.’ I grimaced, wallowing in self-pity.
‘We’re past that stage now,’ she said, completely unbothered. ‘Now we’re committed to this friendship there’s an open licence on mocking each other mercilessly. Feel free to do it back – you’ll just have to find a flaw to make fun of first. Good luck.’
That’s why she’d had no problem embarrassing me in front of Bach over drinks the other night then. My mouth opened and hung there in the breeze while my brain tried to rake up any dirt on Josie in return. Nothing came to mind, so I just groaned instead. ‘You’re so frustrating.’
‘I think that’s what your problem is, by the way.’
I rubbed at my face. At least she’d come to the same conclusion as I had. The last thing I wanted was for her to assume it was feelings.
‘You’re frustrated. As far as I know you’ve not hooked up with anyone since you started racing. You need to let off some steam. Everything building up inside of you needs an outlet.’
‘I haven’t, no, but I’ve been taking care of myself. I’ve not exactly had the time to find someone between racing, keeping and pretending to be two people.’
‘Doing it yourself and having someone else do it for you has a very different effect.’
I grimaced. ‘You’re not going to give me the statistics for this, are you?’
‘No … I don’t have them to hand. I will say though that there’s a reason I call on Jas for some fun during the race season. If you’re getting all weak-kneed over Theo, then do something about it.’
‘I’m not going to fuck Theo.’ I sat up straight for the first time during the lesson, serious.
Josie’s sigh gave the impression of a thousand years of suffering as she pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘I’m telling you to find someone else, Lena. Get your needs taken care of and you shouldn’t lose your head – or otherwise – when he flirts with you.’
‘Oh.’ I relaxed back against the chair. ‘Yeah, that’s what I was going to say too.’
‘Although …’ Josie neatened my note papers, squaring the corners. ‘Having one night to get it out of your system could also work. Given how competitive you two are it could get interesting.’
I took the statistics sheets from her and held them up to my face. ‘What were you saying about lap deltas?’
She laughed, her voice ringing pleasantly in the open-aired room while I stared at the numbers, hoping any of them would replace the involuntary images appearing in my brain. What could have happened in the steam room, towels long forgotten in the corner as we tested each other’s stamina …
Yes, I definitely needed to find someone else to deal with my problem.
I stepped off the train on to the platform. The sun was hot, the heat bounced off the ground and back up into my already sweaty body. The air was clear, at least, and I could hear the happy cries of children and drakes alike echoing up from the track we’d just arrived at.
‘I’m not complaining, not one bit – but you do remember I asked you to help me with the popularity stuff, not racing, right?’
I leaned on the railing separating the station from the racetrack, my skin tingling against the hot metal.
The last time I’d been here I’d had to climb one of the rungs to see over the top.
Down below I could see the goofy silhouettes of the drakes – wingless relatives of dragons with strong wide legs and a long thick tail for excellent balance.
The talons on the lesser cousins were fierce, able to grip and climb any surface, all while hauling around a human on their back.
They were racing around a shallow basin, with dirt tracks cut into it, all overlapping one another. It was chaos. It was where it all started.
Theo joined me, his bronze arms flexing as he leaned on the railing. ‘You’ve got to think like a politician,’ he said. ‘Kiss a few babies, you know?’
I frowned. ‘What?’
He rolled his eyes, pushing his curls out of his face in case I missed it. ‘We’re here to give back. Spend some time with kids who dream of flying.’
‘That’s actually a really good idea.’ My heart warmed. Getting to train with Bach as an adult was exciting enough – I would have exploded if I’d met him as a kid.
‘I know.’ He batted my arm. ‘Let’s go.’
As we entered the track headquarters I couldn’t help but notice it had been through a few upgrades in the past decade.
Everything was more sleek, though it hadn’t sacrificed its charm.
The floors were still wood – the same blonde wood as in the Vaspre house – but it was fresher and smoother.
The windows were bigger, letting in more natural light to the massive space, wrapping all the way around to the viewing platform that jutted out over the edge of the basin.
There was a lot more purple as part of the decor. Robust purple sofas in the waiting area. Purple under lighting at the edges of the ceiling.
‘Is this a Bring your Friend to Work Day? Why is everything screaming Ballenir?’
Theo’s brows curved upwards, looking touched. He did his best to put the same feeling into his words. ‘You think we’re friends?’
I punched his arm.
He chuckled. ‘They set up a sponsorship with the track. We scout for juniors here to join the trainee programme.’
‘Oh.’ That was surprisingly generous for a Volitant team.
‘Why are you surprised? They started scouting from the Wyvern Cup in our last year – this is an extension of the same thing.’
‘Thanks for the reminder.’ It’s not like I could forget the one chance I’d had to get into Volitant.
‘Theo!’ A very enthusiastic man came speed-walking towards us, brandishing lanyards.
‘Be nice,’ Theo muttered under his breath, holding on to my elbow like I was about to launch myself at the stranger.
It was an overreaction, I wasn’t feral. Sure, I had to constantly temper my urge to hit Theo, but he was a special case.
‘Ben! How are you, man?’ Theo greeted the very smiley Ben with a firm handshake, returning the smile with added dimples.
‘So good, especially now you’re both here.’ He looped the coloured cords over our heads, letting the cards on the end dangle.
Mine had my name on, along with the track logo – all in Ballenir purple. It was odd to be in another team’s colours. I looked to my side and saw Theo’s version. It was odd to be matching with him again too.
‘We’ve got a group. They’re all about eight to twelve, and they’re here for a track day. So be as inspiring as possible and please, please, no swearing.’ As fast as he’d arrived, Ben shuffled away.
Theo nudged me into following.
As we walked down to the track proper, I looked around for anyone other than the staff, kids and guardians. ‘How will anyone even know I’m here. Doesn’t it kind of defeat the point?’
Theo shook his head. ‘Don’t worry about it, word will get out.’
‘How?’
He grinned. ‘You’re about to see.’
A gaggle of children dressed in tiny race suits spotted us. Exclamations burst from them as they ran at us. In an instant I was surrounded. Some of them only came up to my shoulder, others nearly matched my height. They talked at top speed over one another.