22. Chapter 22 The Finish Line
Z ephyr’s number wasn’t heavy today, and her wrist only ached a little underneath the brace she wore. There were no butterflies in her stomach, nor bile in her throat. Only serenity. And a little overconfidence, but she saw nothing wrong with that.
Today was her race day, and for the first time in her career, Zephyr wasn’t doing it alone.
One of her crew snapped a temporary headset onto her head, testing the incoming audio and the microphone.
She’d swap over to the mic in her helmet later.
She was nearly ready, but her broom, new and beautiful and very expensive, had yet to arrive.
Her crew chief was late.
He pushed through the crowd, promising his attention to the rest later, and presented her with her broom. “It hasn’t left my sight. I’ve checked it twelve times. You’re safe.”
“I know I’m safe. You kept it in our bed last night. You were cuddling it. I thought you were trying to make me jealous.” She took her broom with a smile, admiring the redwood handle and pausing when her fingertips traced a few words burned into the wood. Words that hadn’t been there before.
“You found that already?” Neil rubbed his forehead and pulled down the brim of his ballcap. “My sixth beer made that seem like a good idea.”
“You always had nice handwriting,” she said.
He peeked at her with one bright, hopeful eye. “So, you do remember being Potions class partners.”
“It’s been coming back to me.” She couldn’t address the words he had carved for her, not without crying. My phoenix always rises. Instead, she opted for distraction. She smiled evilly. “You know what I can’t forget? That thing you did last night—”
Neil lunged forward and covered her mic with his fist. “Everyone can hear you!”
“I’m sure everyone could hear me last night, too, but you weren’t complaining then.”
Someone on the crew whined, “Turn off your damn mic!”
“Still having problems with your crew, McAllister?” a gruff voice called from the front of the pit. Zephyr recognized the racer as Kurt Ilmari. She had been a rookie during his last year before retirement. He had called her overrated in an interview once.
“Is this guy a problem?” Neil asked, resting a hand on her back.
“Kurt? No, he smack-talks everyone equally.” Zephyr raised a hand in Kurt’s direction. “Anyway, this race is for charity, so things shouldn’t be as intense as they usually are.”
Kurt called out, “No comeback? I guess you’ve been gone too long. I won’t worry about you then.”
“Eat my contrail, Kurt!” Zephyr cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “We’ll see how quippy you are when I kick your ass!”
“Good gods, Zephyr, this is for charity.” Neil grabbed her around her middle and dragged her away from a stunned Kurt.
She let him hold her upright while she cooled off. “Sorry. I’ve always been a little competitive—”
“A little?”
“But it’s worse today.”
Neil let her go gently. “It’s your first race since your accident. And your first time out in the public eye. We’ve been bunkering in the Hollow for six months now.”
Six months of peace and a little plotting.
With the most damning evidence against Jaxon obliterated, Zephyr had used her past connections to kill the only thing Jaxon truly loved—any hope of racing ever again.
When she had told Blackened Salt about what she suspected Jaxon had done to her broom, they hadn’t seemed surprised.
They fired her old pit chief immediately—a mutually beneficial move, as he had a myriad of complaints against him from his current racer.
Jaxon was blacklisted, and the news traveled fast .
Her revenge seemed too soft for what he deserved, but after Blackened Salt sent Levina a professional racing broom and a truck full of gear along with it, Zephyr decided she had wasted enough time on Jaxon Wendt.
Zephyr felt a hundred eyes on her, and she shuddered. “It’s strange to be back. Even if this isn’t an official race.”
“Are you okay?” His voice was soft and just for her.
“Yes,” she answered quickly and honestly. “I know where I’m going when this is over, so whatever the outcome…win or lose…I get to go home .”
He grinned. “You’ve finally come around to Pumpkin Hollow.”
“It helps when I’m going home with a fine piece of—”
“That’s enough of that .” Neil frowned at a gaggle of reporters and their flashing cameras. “Just concentrate on finishing—don’t giggle—and don’t worry about first place.”
“Oh, I’m getting first place.”
“Now you’re making me nervous. What happened to win or lose?”
She shrugged. “Things change.”
“It’s been two minutes.” He sighed. “I need you to remember that I’m a rookie at this.”
“But who could help me navigate the air better than a storm witch?”
“An air witch, probably.”
“But no one fills out coveralls like you do.”
Someone grumbled in Zephyr’s headset, “Get off the mic!”
Neil just shook his head. She had never known such a patient man. He said, “I’ll add that to my resume. Here, it’s almost time.” He handed her helmet over, watching her tug it on and adjust it. He held her still and kissed the top of her helmet. “Good luck.”
She smiled back at him, but knew she wouldn’t need luck today. She didn’t care about the finish line—just about the man who would be waiting for her return.
“I love you,” she said, her voice crackling with equal parts static and emotion.
“We love you, too,” her pit crew all chimed in.
Neil scowled. “Alright, everyone else get off this damn channel!” He held her hand, unnecessarily steadying her as she mounted her broom. “Zephyr, I love you. Come back to me. You’ve done it before. And thank the gods for that.”
HER VICTORY HAD COME WITH music, flashing cameras, reporters trying to chase her down, and a swearing Kurt.
Zephyr ignored it all, even the digital billboard that featured a very flattering photo of her.
Before any of that, she needed to find the calm voice that had guided her throughout the race.
The man who had never stopped waiting for her.
The steady man she couldn’t imagine racing, or living, without.
Neil walked out into the open, frowning up at the sky until he spotted her. His sudden smile was all the encouragement she needed. Zephyr flew to him, and when she was a few feet above him, she jumped off her broom.
“Zephyr, no!” Neil shouted, but he caught her anyway and swung her around in circles until she grew dizzy.
She wasn’t afraid to fall when she knew whose arms she was falling into.