Page 211 of Bend

Nothing could.

But it feels good to be happy about something without immediately punishing myself for it.

Then I remember not everyone is back yet.

My eyes go straight toward the course.

Reign comes in first, Lena already moving toward him before he has his helmet off. Revel follows not long after, throwing both arms up like he personally won the entire TT despite finishing nowhere near the front.

“Fourth!” he yells when he sees me. “Who the fuck let you be good at this too?”

“What can I say, I’m extremely talented.”

“More like extremely annoying.”

“Aw, someone sounds jealous.”

“Deeply.”

Then Draygon comes through.

The second he removes his helmet, his eyes find mine across the paddock.

That look hits differently than any celebration could.

I see the relief in his face before anything else, and I know mine probably looks exactly the same. He makes his way toward me, stopping close enough that his hand brushes briefly over my waist.

“You good?”

“Fourth.”

His eyebrows lift. “Seriously?”

“Mhmm I even beat Talon.”

That gets the faintest hint of a smile. “That might be more important to you than fourth.”

“It absolutely is.”

He leans in and presses a quick kiss against my temple before looking toward the course again.

We’re both waiting for the same person.

At first, I don’t panic.

The starts are staggered. People finish at different times. Timing updates aren’t always immediate, and I know all of that because I’ve spent enough time watching this fucking board to understand exactly how unreliable it can feel when you need information now.

Still, when another minute passes and Thorne’s number doesn’t update, the happiness from a few seconds ago begins draining out of me.

Andre moves closer to the screen.

Talon stops talking.

Sayshen lowers his water bottle.

Draygon shifts beside me until his arm is almost touching mine.

Nobody says anything.