Page 202 of Bend

Talon and Sayshen follow.

Then the rest of us.

Wolfe’s mother hugs Andre, then Talon and Sayshen. She holds Reign longer than I expect, presses one hand against the side of Revel’s face when he can’t seem to find anything to say, and when she reaches Thorne, he goes completely rigid.

For half a second, I think he might step back.

She doesn’t give him the chance.

She wraps both arms around him, and Thorne closes his eyes.

Draygon stands beside him with one hand resting against the middle of his back until the hug ends.

Then she turns toward me.

Her eyes search my face.

“Echo?”

My throat tightens. “Yeah.”

She stares at me for another second, and there’s something almost knowing in her expression.

“He talked about you.”

I don’t have anything clever for that. No joke. No sarcastic little shield.

“Oh.”

Brilliant.

She reaches for me and pulls me into a hug before I can find anything better.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“So am I.”

Her voice breaks against my shoulder, and I hold her tighter.

When she steps back, she keeps both hands around mine.

“He was happy here.”

That nearly does me in.

I blink hard. “He made us happy too.”

Her mouth trembles, and neither of us tries to keep talking.

The organizers are doing a tribute before the first starts. We’ve known about it since yesterday, but knowing and standing here while the screens are being prepared are two completely different things.

By the time the riders are supposed to start final prep, nobody looks like they want to get near a motorcycle.

Talon stands beside the transporter with his arms folded. Sayshen’s helmet is still on the bench. Reign hasn’t zipped his leathers. Revel is sitting on a tire-warmer case with his forearms resting on his thighs, while Draygon leans against the wall and Thorne hasn’t even picked up his gloves.

Andre looks at all of them for a long moment.

Finally, Talon says what everyone is thinking.