Page 56 of Of Flame and Fury

Bekn rolled his eyes, earning a round of laughter from the table.

“Is that what was in the card Cristo got you?” Coup asked Bekn. “A coupon for desserts? I couldn’t see what was inside.”

Bekn’s cheeks flushed.

Dira folded her arms, leaning across the table. “What was it?”

She turned to Rahn, who lifted her hands. “I actually have no clue. Canen picked Bekn’s gift.”

They all leaned forward, staring at their mitigator.

A minute passed before Bekn sighed. “He got me a voucher to a local health resort. He thinks I need to… relax.”

The table erupted with fits of laughter. Kel struggled to breathe around giggles.

“It’s a compliment,” Bekn said. “He thinks I’m a hard worker.”

Rahn chuckled. “IfCanen, a self-made billionaire, thinks you’re overworking, you might want to take his advice.”

The other four Howlers laughed again, drowning out the other voices nearby.

Warmth raced through Kel. She hoped Bekn did use the voucher. On an island with combusting birds and fire magic, stress didn’t usually end well.

“Ha. Ha.” Bekn clapped slowly. “Yes, let’s all mock the only legal adult here.”

When that only summoned more laughter, he cleared his throat and turned to Rahn. “You agreed with Cristo that our last race was tame by Vohre’s standards. I’ve done some research, but it’s not the same as having seen the races in person. What are they like?”

Rahn’s forehead creased. “We can’t prepare any more than we have, so what’s the point in worrying?”

“Come on,” Dira drawled. She looped her arm beneath Rahn’s. “What have Vohre’s other tracks really been like?”

Rahn looked up at Dira. She scrunched her nose, before relenting. “Vohre’s races are all about creating danger under the guise of art. There was this one track—it was beautiful—made of sky-high mirrors, like a maze. If the phoenixes collided with any false ends, they’d break through the mirror and fly into jagged metal walls.”

Dira’s eyes widened, and Coup and Bekn exchanged a look with raised eyebrows.

Oblivious, Rahn went on, “There was another race where CAPR forced phoenixes’ wings to be tied down so they couldn’t fly. Theground was broken up into islands they had to jump between. If they fell… the drop was over two hundred meters.”

Kel’s stomach hollowed as Rahn continued, “In another race, CAPR simulated a freezing blizzard. The phoenixes were unused to the temperature drop, so most overcompensated and fried their riders.”

Bekn raised a hand. “Okay. New team verdict. It’s a terrible idea to learn specifics.” He turned toward the other Howlers. “There’s a reason three times as many riders die in Vohre’s races. These are the races televised across Salta. We just have to give audiences a show, and we’ll be fine.”

Bekn’s voice was uneven, as if his words were to convince himself, too.

Ignoring Bekn, Dira said, “For the mirror maze—if Sav stayed close enough to a wall, and she grew hot enough, we might be able to tell which routes were open paths. The mirrors would fog up.”

Dira’s words spun cogs in Kel’s mind. She glanced down at a split in the faded table, imagining the ants crawling along it had fiery wings. “For the island track—Sav’s not the strongest, but she’s fast. If we waited to see what path the other phoenixes used first, Sav could jump between the islands quick enough.”

Coup nodded. “Or we could provoke another phoenix into attacking. If we angled and timed it right, their talons could slice right through the bindings holding Savita’s wings. She could fly straight to the finish line.”

Against her will, Kel was impressed.

The Howlers’ voices overlapped, brainstorming ways they could best the terrains. Even Bekn tossed forward a few reluctant ideas. As an open fire warmed her back, Kel marveled at how much had changed in just a few weeks. She couldn’t deny that the five ofthem worked well together. Though her chest still ached when she thought of Oska and Rube, and Coup’s arrogance still made her cheeks burn, these Howlers simplyfit. Their minds attacked CAPR in different ways. Different strategies and ideas that somehow wove together into a tapestry instead of a collision.

They each dug back into their plates, returning to the table with second helpings. Kel drifted in and out of their conversation. She tried to keep her mind away from the compound, from Savita, where she couldn’t do anything, and couldn’t—

Rahn’s laughter pulled Kel from her thoughts. Facing Dira, Rahn said, “I love that you have no problem feeding Savita slabs of raw meat with your bare hands, but won’t eat a strip of meat yourself.”

Dira licked sauce from her thumb. “Feeding Sav keeps her from looking atmelike a snack. I’m just outsourcing my carnivorous habits.”

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