Page 106 of Tailwind

Bach chuckled. ‘I should have noticed when it was you flying. Looking back it’s obvious that Gottyk trusts you. Dragons don’t act like that around just anyone.’

A bubble of warmth expanded in my chest. I may have been craving approval for my racing, but no compliment would ever hit as hard as this. Bonding with dragons, wyverns and drakes was more complex than most people knew. When I explained that, their eyes tended to glaze over. Having Bach notice … well, it was nearly as good as the approval from the dragons themselves.

‘It helps that you raised him from hatchling age, I think.’ Josie’s eyes were fixed on the middle distance, somewhere across the courtyard of the ranch. ‘I wonder if it’s ever been studied – having a rider stay with the same dragon from egg to racing.’

‘Not studied,’ answered Bach. ‘But that’s the way it used to be in Volitant Forge. In the early years of the sport rich riders hatched their own eggs and raised them to race. Then it became—’ He held up his hands and blew out his cheeks. ‘The sport is too big for it now.’

‘They didn’t use keepers?’ I’d known about the beginnings of Volitant, of course, but I’d assumed the people wealthy enough to race were also too wealthy to do the hard work themselves.

‘Some did, sure. It wasn’t uncommon for the dragons to be personally looked after though. It’s why so many of the rules and safety measures came in, as the riders actually cared about the dragons back then. Before the barriers, before the banning of rider-on-rider fighting and the introduction of time limits, they had to risk the health of the dragon for the win.’ He took a swig of his beer. ‘Volitant was so much better back then.’

Josie laughed. ‘I swear every Volitant fan – Forge, Chroma, any team – always says that. The one unifying opinion of the sport: it was better when I was a kid.’

‘Aw, come on. I know we can be jaded over the dragonshit policies and corporate greed of it, but modern Volitant is still great. Fans love it too.’ For me, the unifying love for Volitant were the dragons, the racing. The rules may have changed, but the core was still there.

‘Okay, Lena, then answer this.’ Josie shifted in her chair, facing me head on. ‘What was the greatest year for racing?’

‘Oh, that’s a good question.’ Bach was cheery, it was so strange to see this less serious side of him.

I pursed my lips at Josie. ‘Knowing the greatest year for racing is different from thinking it will never be beaten by future generations.’

Her eyes lit up. ‘You think the best Volitant season in history will be beaten in the future?’

‘No.’ I sighed. She already knew I didn’t believe that. ‘The 3260 Decennial was the peak of racing. Hands down, no debate, end of every Volitant discussion.’

‘Ah.’ Bach seemed surprised. ‘No, it was definitely forty-six. The year Writter used the tunnel shortcut at Sky Pillar – the guy was insane.’

‘What?’ I slammed my beer back on to the table. Foam spurted from the top. ‘How can you not agree? You were there!’

His thick blond brows knitted together, he even stroked his bearded chin. How he had anything to think about or consider was beyond me. The answer was obvious.

‘Was that with Ascil?’

Josie cackled as I tried not to have a seizure over him questioning which dragon he’d flown.

‘Ah, Lena,’ – She wiped a tear from her cheek. –‘I thought you were going to pick the other Decennial … you know, since you’re in Damina pyjamas.’

My chin jutted out as I flexed my jaw. I couldn’t punch her arm in front of Bach, though I really, really wanted to.

‘Wow, I’ve not seen those in a long time.’ Bach stared at me, noticing my blue shorts and shirt for the first time.

I gave up on hiding and let my legs down so he could better see the goofy-looking print of his old dragon. Not even his beard and bushy brows could hide the deepening smile lines as the nostalgia hit him.

‘Ah, she loved those. I used to bring her merchandise to the aviary. She would bury it in her bedding like it was an egg.’ He got a faraway look in his eyes and ran a hand over his face. ‘I’ve not thought about that in ages.’

My throat felt thick. Suddenly I felt awful – I was wearing a reminder of a lost friend of Bach’s. I was having a hard enough time being away from Gottyk even knowing he was being looked after. If he’d followed the Pull and someone showed me a picture of him I’d start a fight, no questions asked.

Bach reclined in his chair, shoulders relaxed as he absently ripped the label off his beer. ‘I’ll tell Vepari about it. She’ll like this.’

The way he talked about his dragons was so sincere. It was why I’d grown to admire him so much. Sure, the racing was incredible, but off the circuit Bach showed respect to everyone – especially his dragons. I might not have agreed with him on the best era of racing, but it was true that the bond between rider and dragon had become less important in Volitant.

‘When you’re back,’ said Josie, ‘we’ll get them to put Gottyk on some pyjamas.’

‘When we’re back,’ I corrected. ‘That adorable dragon will outsell all the others.’

Bach raised his bottle over the table. ‘To the dragons.’

Josie and I joined him.