Page 78 of Of Flame and Fury

Yes, I do.“I know.”

Coup waggled three fingers. “I can give you three pretty sound reasons why you shouldn’t. One:wild phoenixes. Two:wild phoenixes. And three… You don’t look well.”

Another wave of nerves rattled through her. She fidgeted with her leather sleeves. Kel couldn’t think of much worse than crossing paths with wild phoenixes—but what choice did she have?

“He means you lookterrible,” Dira amended.

“Thanks,” Kel said dryly, pulling her goggles on.

She didn’t bother refuting their insults. She’d been sleeping dreadfully since they’d arrived in Vohre, worrying about Savita and whatever was going on at Cristo Industries. But that same worry filled her with a burning fire that she knew would help her in the race.

Another siren blasted and Kel mounted Savita. Together, she and Coup hurried to guide Savita out of the tent and to the starting line. His crutches were gone, but he still limped slightly, and she knew bandages still cocooned most of his body while his skin stitched back together.

As the other Howlers wished Kel luck and fell back toward their tent, Coup lingered at Savita’s side. He reached up a hand to test thebuckles around Kel’s right ankle. She felt his fingers tighten around her boot.

“I’ll keep an eye on Sav’s vitals. Don’t get yourself killed, all right? The media loves our star-crossed romance too much.”

His voice had its usual teasing lilt, but the tight lines around his eyes made her stomach lift. “Hmm, it’s not so fun when your teammate risks their life, is it?”

A muscle in Coup’s jaw spasmed. “Just don’t do anything I would do, okay?”

Kel’s smile dimmed. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Coup so grave, no trace of amusement softening his features. Part of her wanted to reach out and smooth the crease between his brows. To wrap her arms around him in case this race ended as viciously as he seemed to think it might. But despite their kiss, they hadn’t voiced what it might have meant—to either of them.

Kel swallowed. “Okay.”

THIRTY-THREE

Kel gripped Savita’s reins tight, leather gloves cutting into her palms.

“All right, Sav,” she whispered. “Let’s get through this as quickly as possible.”

Savita shifted between her feet and grumbled. Kel squeezed her thighs around the saddle, still adjusting to the feel of it. It was so much more textured than the worn one she’d owned. She’d trained atop Sav as much as she could over the past few days, readjusting to her racing habits, adjusting to Rahn’s improved gear. But nothing could prepare her for what it was like to sit atop Savita at the starting line, surrounded by the phoenix sounds and metallic smells of the starting line.

She was flanked by two blood phoenixes, their riders sitting several meters higher than her. They tossed quick glances her way, expressions guarded behind helmets, goggles and leather masks. The world was tinted from behind her own tempered glass goggles. Though Savita’s heated feathers were sharper, her flames didn’t make Kel’s eyes sting. The sun’s glare didn’t faze her. The trackahead—a trampled path that veered around a corner too quickly—was muted, its brighter shades of green turned a darker hue.

“How’s everything, Kel?” Dira’s voice rang through Kel’s ear-comm. “Anything I need to keep an eye on?”

Kel took a deep breath, trying to loosen her throat. She knew her team was standing in their booth behind her. But she couldn’t bring herself to look back.

Whatever she might have replied with, she didn’t get a chance. From somewhere overhead, behind the towering stands, a sancter rifle fired.

Lightning filled the sky, and the race began.

Savita bent her great legs and spread her wings. Kel barely had to instruct her to fly; Savita knew what the sounds and sights meant—knew she had to shoot forward as fast as possible. She thrust her wings toward the ground and launched into the sky, higher than the larger blood phoenixes at her sides. Kel fell back in the saddle as Savita climbed, the sudden movement winding her. Pain lanced through her hips at the sudden jolt, her back colliding with the saddle seat. Tensing her core as Savita leveled out in the clear sky, Kel swapped her grip on the harness for the saddle pommel, keeping low and steady.

“Tamer,” Coup called through the comm. “Talk to me. What’s happening?”

Savita cried out, a primal sound that made Kel’s ears ring. Kel gripped the saddle pommel tighter and forced herself to take a steadier breath as wind whipped against her face.

“We’re all right,” Kel managed. “Just—adjusting.”

Kel traced a line up Sav’s neck with two fingers, instructing her to dip as they approached the edge of the clearing, where the forest grew denser. Wild red flames climbed to her right, clouding herperipherals. She remained steady, gaze ahead, knowing that even though they couldn’t see the track Dira would be able to guide her through her helmet’s camera. She trusted her team.

Another phoenix cried from Savita’s left, falling back as they blazed through the first line of trees. The roaring of the crowd dulled, replaced by crackling flames and wild shrieks and branches breaking. Sweat began to bead along Kel’s arms, the forest’s muggy heat already cocooning her.

Kel thought they were in the first handful of phoenixes to reach the forest’s edge, but she couldn’t be sure. The cleared track through Vohre Forest was barely wide enough to fit two phoenixes, let alone the twenty in today’s race.

She guided Sav around the first bend in the track. Even prepared, she barely held on to the saddle pommel as Sav tilted to the right. Sav’s wings brushed loose branches that whacked Kel across the cheek. As the canopy grew thicker, sunlight winked out like a candle flame. Red, orange and yellow foliage surrounded them, like an endless Sheathing Season, the perfect camouflage for wild phoenixes. Thorned leaves the length of Kel’s torso brushed against Savita’s wings. Instead of withering and retreating from Sav’s heat, Kel swore the vines and branches reached closer.

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