Asta looked at the clock. ‘I’m up,’ she said, and swung her legs out of bed.
She had barely gotten dressed and put her hair into a long braid when the knock came on the door. Asta found Allie Vorajee standing on the sidewalk outside, their cheeks pink with the cold morning.
‘Come on in,’ Asta said. After the near-tie with Basma, Gem had fielded a dozen requests for interviews, but Asta was insistent: she would only talk to Allie at theTower Review. If Asta did end up sabotaging Felix and getting caught, at least Allie would have an exclusive interview with the villain of the century. Something like that could make a career. Someone ought to come out of this mess ahead.
Allie bustled through the door, their nervous energy filling the room like butterflies. ‘This is really nice,’ they said, glancing from one end of the suite and back again with rapid, jerky twists of the head. ‘It’s so funny, though, how the color scheme is so drab, right? Black and gray, black and gray. Would it kill them to use a little color? Oh! But the flowers are nice.’ They darted over to the counter and greeted Gem and Yixin. ‘Hi, I’m Allie Vorajee, theTower.’ They held up their badge. ‘Are you Gem?’
Gem shook their hand. ‘That’s me.’
Yixin took her turn. ‘Wang Yixin– Dragon Medical.’
‘Oh, wow!’ Allie said, moving over and shaking Yixin’s hand. ‘That must be such a cool job. I’d love to do a story on it. Can I give you my card?’
‘You want to interviewme?’ Yixin was delighted.
‘Please say yes. It would be so much fun. I could follow you around during a race.’
Yixin clapped her hands. ‘I can show you the big needles we use for suturing. Dragon skin is very tough.’
‘Big needles are perfect!’ Allie whirled on one heel. ‘Now, where do you want to be, Asta?’
Asta was caught off guard at the speed with which the conversation shifted back to her. She directed Allie to the chairs by the door, and Allie busied themself with setting up their recorder on the glass side table and fetching their notebook and pen out of a canvas bag.
‘We’re heading out, Asta,’ Gem said before another gush of chatter poured forth from Allie. ‘Somebodywants a corndog at this ungodly hour.’ He jabbed a thumb at Yixin.
Yixin attempted a look of innocence. ‘They keep selling out before I get one. Not today.’
‘See you at the drake finals?’ Gem asked Asta, his hand bracing the half-opened door.
‘I’m not sure. I might just hang out here, study the course, get my head clear.’
‘Okay. You know how to find me.’ And Gem and Yixin slipped out the door with a wave.
Allie was ready. They turned their bright face up to Asta and gestured to the other chair, as if Asta was the guest.
‘So, Asta,’ Allie began, ‘tell me everything. How did you get your start?’
Asta told Allie about growing up in Medley– the creek and the lightning bugs, the old oak in the upper fields, the chores she tried to get out of by any possible means.
‘And Felix Seraphin was your neighbor?’
‘The Seraphins set up a stud farm on the property across the road when I was thirteen. It was the first time I had ever seen a dragon in real life. Up until then, I had only read about them in books or seen them on TV. My family are farmers. Always have been. They don’t think much of dragons. A waste of good farmland, my dad would say.’
‘That’s so interesting! So they don’t approve?’
Asta thought of their last conversation– the way they had talked so lovingly about Leif but had only warnings for her.
‘They’re good people. They try to be supportive. Dragon racing just doesn’t make any sense to them.’
‘So why do you think you ended up a racer and not. . . something else?’ Allie looked at Asta with an eager expression, their pen poised to take notes.
‘When I’m riding,’ Asta said, ‘thereisnothing else. It’s just me and Carmine and the track.’ At the mention of his name, Carmine poked his head through the hatch, startling Allie into a laugh. ‘Hey, buddy. I’m talking about you.’ Carmine churred, and Asta continued. ‘Every course is different, so I’m in constant conversation with Carmine. We have our own language, almost. Whatever comes at us, we figure it out together.’
‘You really have to trust each other,’ Allie said.
Asta paused. ‘Yes, we trust each other. Isn’t that right?’ she asked Carmine. The dragon sneezed. ‘Bless you.’
‘So,’ Allie said, smiling. ‘The Grand Prix! How has your experience at Silverscale differed from previous tournaments?’
