Page 53 of Of Flame and Fury

Something small and reluctant sparked to life at the sight of the tools. A startling wetness stung Kel’s eyes.

On the back of the name tag, Cristo had written:

Rahn mentioned you enjoy carving and embossing. It reminded me of the designs I used to sketch, before all of this began. Enjoy.

Kel clung to the kit for the rest of the night, spreading the tools out around her as the Howlers piled into their unit’s lounge room. Dira clutched a guitar maintenance kit and a stunning ruby necklacethat—from Rahn’s hopeful expression—Rahn must have selected. Coup tore into an armored jacket signed by Mott Rodeto—a long-dead CAPR legend—and a box set of horror films, which Kel was surprised to discover he loved. Rahn held up a container of decadent pastries and a new technician tool kit. Bekn carefully unwrapped an enveloped card and a small silver box with what looked like the latest tele-comm model inside.

The Howlers refused to let Kel peel herself away until nightfall, long after their celebrations had ended and they’d huddled together on their small chaise lounge, drinking and watching Coup’s horror movies. Pressed far too tightly against Coup, Kel couldn’t help but notice how he laughed after every jump scare, eyes shining with morbid delight.

Once the others had called it a night, Kel took the chance to sneak from their rooms, and eventually she found herself winding through Cristo’s white labyrinth, trying to remember the damn way to Savita’s enclosure. She’d walked the path dozens of times now, and still, every identical twist and turn felt like navigating Savita through clouds.

Finally, Savita’s private aviary appeared around a bend to the left. Kel opened the entrance with her security pass, placed her new carving kit on the ground, pulled on her gloves, and breathed in the smoke and damp moss.Thiswas her home.

A beat later, Savita descended from her overhead perch. Her copper talons glinted in the softening light and shadows pooled beneath her darker, burgundy feathers. The firebird let out a low rumble and landed in a clearing beside Kel.

Kel laughed. “Miss me already?”

In response, Savita ducked her head. Kel lowered her own, pressing against her phoenix’s beak. A moment later, Savita reared back.Her gaze searched Kel before she spread her wings to take flight again.

Something cracked inside Kel as Savita vanished, but she tried not to dwell on it. Kel moved back to the entrance and reached for the tablet bolted to the wall. If Kel couldn’t be close to Savita, perhaps checking Savita’s vitals from the race might ease her mind. Sav’s temperature had only increased at the end of the race, but it had still flared high enough to warrant Kel’s concern.

Kel typed her login details onto the touch screen but the usual white display of tables and graphs refused to appear. Her login details were incorrect. She rubbed her eyes and tried again.

INVALID LOGIN.

Kel’s fingers curled into a fist. She tried once, twice, three times, but it was no use.

Why was she locked out?

She grabbed her tele-comm and typed in her login details. The device was connected to the same account; they all linked back to Savita’s collar. The tele-comm app didn’t offer as many readings as Cristo’s tablet did, but she could still see that Savita’s vitals appeared normal.Toonormal.

Kel glanced up at Savita’s hulking silhouette. Anyone from today’s race would know that these readings were a lie. By the end, Savita’s flames had eclipsed her body, shrouding Coup in waves of heat. She had no idea how he’d withstood it.

Those kinds of flames weren’t anxious bursts or abnormalities. Sav’s vitals should have reflected that.

Kel tried to log in to the tablet again, and cursed under her breath. She heard Savita land once more and approach her.

“Why would they deny me access, Sav?” Kel whispered.

Kel slowed her breathing, ironing the wrinkles in her thoughts, trying to soothe the itchy nerves beneath her skin. If she marched into Cristo’s office, would he apologize and restore her access?

Or was there more to it?

After what she’d seen—the dorky shirts and reassurances—she no longer believed that Cristo wanted to steal Savita from her. He had an entire team of specialists monitoring Savita’s biology and behavior, but she knew he still valued her insights—at least she hoped he did. Was it truly just a glitch in the system?

Whatever was going on, Kel didn’t need the readings from Savita’s collar. Her father had taught her to read a phoenix’s vitals by hand.

Kel turned to see Savita behind her, watching her curiously. She reached out a hand.

“Please, stay still,” Kel coaxed.

Savita’s head twitched, but she didn’t fly away again. That was a good start.

Kel walked to Savita’s side and touched the base of her left wing. The feathers were no warmer than usual.

She traveled along Savita’s body and began to whistle the same lullaby she’d sung to the collarless phoenix in Fieror. Savita seemed to relax at the sound, and Kel jumped back to avoid being squashed as Savitathwonkedto the ground in a heap.

Kel groaned. “Just give me a few minutes.”

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