I gave them a tiny wave. “Goodnight.” Then I sped the rest of the way upstairs and collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Tomorrow wasn’t about feelings. Tomorrow was about Manshu. About vengeance. About making him pay for what he’d done to me.
As sleep finally dragged me under, the last thought curling through my mind made a slow smile spread across my face.
Maybe becoming a monster like Calix’s grandfathers wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
23
OLIVIA
“Remember, you need to stay hidden until the announcer starts,” Rack said from the driver’s seat, his eyes flicking to me again in the mirror. “Not a second earlier.”
I nodded automatically, distracted by the outside world as it passed us by.
The city outside looked wrong now. Not wrong in shape, but wrong in detail.
Every crack in the pavement stood out sharper than before. Rust stains bled down brick walls in ugly streaks. Trash piled in alley corners carried sour, rotting smells strong enough to coat the back of my throat. Even the flickering neon signs buzzed loudly enough to make my ears twitch.
My nose wrinkled before I could stop it. How did I used to live here? How did I walk these streets every day and think this was normal? Even noble?
“Olivia.” Calix’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts, low and careful.
I folded my arms tighter around myself and dropped my eyes to the floorboard, unable to keep staring outside.
“Via.” That name instantly snapped my head sideways to where Calix was watching me.
His brows had drawn together so tightly they almost touched, and one hand was absently rubbing his chest like he was trying to calm something there. “Are you sure you can do this?”
The question hit harder than it should have, and I swallowed hard.
Stop it, Olivia. You aren’t human anymore. You’re stronger now. Faster. There’s a monster under your skin waiting to survive. Use her.
I dragged in a breath and forced my shoulders down.
“Yes,” I said, hearing the edge settle into my voice as anger curled beneath my ribs, warm and familiar. “I’m ready.”
The plan was simple.
They’d drop me off near the back entrance by the Track’s underground garages while they pulled up front where the crowd waited. Rack and Calix would bait Manshu publicly, riling him up enough so he wasn’t thinking straight, and when he turned to face that crowd as his name was called, I would be there.
Then I’d lure him into the underground garage beneath the bleachers, where Rack and Calix would be waiting, ready to corner him, take the weapon, and make him talk.
Simple, right? But every few seconds, Rack’s eyes jumped back to the rearview mirror again. He kept checking on me like I was going to disappear on him.
“It’s going to be fine,” I said finally, trying to ease the tightness pulling across his face. “If something feels wrong, I’ll run back home. Easy.”
“Yeah,” he muttered, but the way his fingers tightened around the steering wheel said he didn’t believe that for a second.
Beside me, Calix stayed quiet. Too quiet.
He sat with one elbow braced against the window, thumb slowly dragging over his lower lip while his gaze bounced between Rack and me. His face had gone smooth and unreadable, which I was beginning to learn was Boss Winstale mode.
The car rolled to a stop near the side entrance, and I opened my door once the locks clicked. I already had one foot outside when fingers suddenly wrapped around my arm.
“Please,” Calix choked out, his voice splintering apart halfway through the word. His throat worked hard before he forced the rest out. “Please… just be careful.”
His fingers flexed around my arm like he didn’t want to let go. “And if anything feels wrong,anything, just run.”
