Page 22 of Hyperspeed
Aspark ignited beneath my ribs, burning me from the inside out. Maybe it was Rev’s insinuation that he could beat me. Or maybe it was the urge to prove myself, despite having done that for the last three years.
Either way, I wasn’t about to back down now.
“You wanna race, rookie?” I cocked my head, mouth stretching into a wolflike grin.
Rev just stared, face expressionless, but the challenge in his dark eyes was clear. When he hesitated, I wondered if he’d crumble under the weight of his bravado.
Then he smirked. All confidence, none of it earned. And it irritated me, because while I knew it was a mask, it lit up his androgynous features. Ones I’d only seen scrunched into a scowl.
“Why not?” He put on his helmet and lifted the visor, revealing dark voids that threatened to suffocate me if I wasn’t careful. “Hope you’re not a sore loser, Mercer.”
I pushed away from the wall, closing the distance until we were chest to chest. Rev had to crane his head back to meet my gaze.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Just don’t cry when I lap you,” I retorted. We stared at each other for a beat, tension thick as tar between us. “Track’s clear. Let’s see what you’ve got,rookie.”
Without waiting for a reply, I turned on my heel and marched towards my vehicle, ignoring Sam’s questioning stare from the pit wall as I climbed inside.
Time to remind Revvak Arathiel who he was up against.
“Five laps. First one to cross the line wins.”
“Confirmed,” Rev replied over the radio.
We sat on the starting grid, waiting for the signal. Sam and Ailor had asked what I was up to, but I couldn’t explainwhyI planned to race the newest rookie around Horizon Rings, just that I was.
So instead of explaining, I switched off the comms and prayed I wouldn’t get into too much trouble. I wasn’t sure what Rev had told Zenith, but that wasn’t my problem. I was just certain that we had to get it out of our systems.
Whatitwas, I wasn’t sure. Competition? Ego? All I knew was that I was determined to win. And if it put Rev in his place in the process? That was a whole other victory.
Again, I knew I was being a dick. Psych evaluation still to come.
The five red lights illuminated one by one, pulling my attention back to the matter at hand. When they disappeared, Rev and I shot forward, neck and neck down the straight. The first corner loomed, and I slammed on the brakes early.
But Rev didn’t. He waited until the last second before cutting the turn tight. The move made my stomach drop, and I fought to catch up.
He zipped through the first ring with smooth precision. A few turns later, I edged past him, feeling the rush of the lead, but he stuck to my tail, almost bumper to bumper, and I gritted my teeth in frustration.
On lap three, I tried Rev’s late-braking trick. I failed miserably, my turn too sharp, and gravity tugged at the vehicle, pulling me close to the edge of the track. My heart beat against my ribcage, panic turning to vexation when Rev surged past, cool and steady. I recovered—barely—and returned to the racing line, cursing my arrogance as the gap between us increased.
But on the penultimate lap, something shifted. I wasn’t just chasing the win anymore. No, I was chasing Rev. Pushing harder, taking risks I never would have before. His lead didn’t bother me as much anymore. How could it when the chase was sothrilling?
Adrenaline mixed with the blood in my veins, driving me to dig deeper, to up my game.
Stars, I hadn’t felt like this in a while.
“Enjoying my exhaust fumes, Mercer?” Rev asked.
And instead of getting annoyed, I laughed.
Rev pulled further ahead when we entered the last lap. This little competition wasn’t going the way I’d planned, but I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed racing by his side. His out-of-the-box decisions caused me to think on my feet and try something new.
Sure, he still irritated me. But he wasgoodat what he did.
“A real race is ten times the length of this, rookie. Five laps doesn’t prove you’re built for longevity.” I fired off the words, more reflex than fury.
On the final straight, I gave one last push, attempting to overtake Rev at the last second, but it was impossible. His vehicle narrowed to reduce solar wind resistance, leaving me wide-eyed as he stormed down the track.
Half a second later, my vehicle crossed the line.
