Page 59 of Of Flame and Fury

Rahn’s lips twisted. “Definitely not. There will be something waiting up there for Coup and Savita.” Rahn squinted out at the track. “Wait—can you see that?”

Every Howler followed Rahn’s gaze. Even Savita, scraping her talons in excitement, glanced up.

“I can’t see anything. Just the stars,” Kel said.

“Yes!” Rahn chirped. “No—there, to the right. Between those two brighter stars. See the glimmering?”

Dira scrunched her nose. “The… moon?”

Rahn gave Dira a look. “Belowthat. At first, it just looks like more stars. But there are different colors to them. See?”

The technician pointed to a thicker patchwork of stars. Kel stepped closer to the track’s edge, staring at the smeared fog. Tiny, glittering spots flecked the mist, like colored gems in a gray tapestry.

The warning sirens—signaling the race’s imminent start—rang before the Howlers could decipher the colored lights, sharper and closer than starlight.

Kel guided Sav to the dim starting line, where the Howlers surrounded the phoenix in a careful constellation of their own. Fluorescent lights illuminated the stands, making it harder to spot anything amiss overhead. Kel’s eyes roamed the crowd, circling the track in sky-high rows of metal seats. There, in a raised stand, not too far from their own booth, she saw Cristo. He was standing, surveying the crowd.

Kel couldn’t make out much of him at this distance, just his blue blazer and pearly smile. Rahn beamed, waving both hands toward their employer. Cristo returned her enthusiasm before turning to a younger girl at his side. About Kel’s age, the girl mirrored his wide grin.

“Flames, Varra.” Coup pulled her focus. “The race hasn’t even started yet, and I can tell you’re looking for things to go wrong.”

Kel reached over and checked the buckles around Coup’s right leg. “Just stay low until we can figure out what CAPR’s planning.”

Coup sighed. “If brooding could make money, we wouldn’t need Cristo to back the team. Stop worrying. Winging it worked for us last time.”

Kel shifted around to his left leg and tightened his ankle buckles. Unease fluttered through her, doubts buzzing through her skull, so she wasn’t sure what made her lift her gaze to Coup’s and mimic his usual, teasing lilt. “Go on then, rider. Prove me wrong. Impress me for once.”

Coup blinked. “And how would you suggest I do that?”

Kel gave a small, satisfied shrug. “The media says you’re wooing me, but so far I haven’t seen many romantic declarations.”

“And phoenix racing screams romance to you?”

Kel tugged another leg buckle tight. “More than a staged stroll through a conservation center.”

Coup’s lips twisted into a lopsided smirk, before he lowered his goggles into place. “All right, tamer. This win is for you.”

Something coiled in Kel’s gut. She lowered her head as heat crept up her neck, giving Coup’s buckles one last tug before turning away.

Kel had barely climbed up to the Howlers’ booth when the sancter rifle flared across the sky like lightning. She whirled around just as a roaring gale reached her, sending her staggering back into Bekn.

Powerful winds swept across the crowd as thirty phoenixes launched into the sky. The thin, metal railing dividing the track and the stands shook. Hats and scarves flew into the sky, and the force of the fiery winds made it hard to suck in air, though the crowd still managed plenty of cheers as the phoenixes began their race.

Coup and Savita shot forward as if launched from a slingshot, painting a trail of fire through the stars. In mere seconds, he’d hurtled into fourth place.

“Keep an eye out for any obstacles,” Dira cautioned.

Rahn and Bekn stayed a few paces back, while Dira and Kel stood with their faces almost pressed against the sky-high metal railing. Could things really be so simple?

As if reading Kel’s mind, Dira added, “If there’s really no danger, the bigger phoenixes will make some to get ahead. Watch out for any overhead attacks.”

Coup muttered an agreement, voice muffled by a nearby phoenix’s shriek. The sound reached Kel’s ears a moment before crackling through the comms.

Coup stayed low in the saddle, helping Savita’s speed. The track would eventually loop back to the crowds, but Kel didn’t know how much she’d be able to see through the darkness, even with the help of the crowd’s overhead screens.

“There’s a cinder phoenix coming up beneath you,” Dira said. “Let him pass. He’s moving too fast and growing too hot for it to be sustainable.”

Moments later, a blazing phoenix shot past. Smaller and perfect for a race of speed, the cinder phoenix knocked Savita and Coup back to fifth place. Though he remained steady, Kel could imagine the daggers that Coup shot at the rider now ahead of him.

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