Page 144 of Tailwind

‘They gave you—’ Her voice was hoarse. ‘They gave you more. Lena, the Volitant team have the whole rule book out. They’re not letting it happen.’

‘But we won.’ I felt so weak, my arms trembled as I felt my grip on her arms lessen.

‘They took it away, Lena.’

The gravity of the situation started to sink in. ‘How many more?’

There was silence between us for a long, horrible moment.

‘Five,’ she said.

‘Another five seconds.’ I scrambled to do the calculations in my head. My heart sank. ‘Second, then. Maybe third.’

It wasn’t what I wanted. It wasn’t what I needed. Hough had said she wanted a winner. I was still on the podium in the top three, but that wasn’t in the contract.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Five more penalties.’

Something inside me snapped.

‘For what?’ I whipped around, searching the crowd for the right person to yell at. I spotted him. ‘This isn’t over, Josie. Let’s go.’

I shouldered my way through the crowd, going toward the Victrolia team where Abel Gallin, Chair of Volitant Chroma, was congratulating Ellas.

‘Hey!’ I yelled at him. He kept his back turned, even as the crowd offered me pats on the back, more tentative now they saw the thunder rolling on my face. ‘Gallin!’

Ellas saw me first, a frown already on his face. Gallin glanced over his shoulder then turned back to the champion. He wasn’t interested.

‘Five more penalties? Really? Does that put me where you want me? Out of your way?’ I was right behind him now, my eyes barely level with his shoulders.

‘If you want to appeal Volitant’s decision, Miss Paldon, you can do so via your team liaison.’ He barely acknowledged me as he spoke, but it caught the attention of Ellas.

‘You got another penalty?’ Post-race was the only time his perfect image was disturbed. His hair was at odds with itself, not knowing which direction to pick. Still, it didn’t lessen the intimidating effect of his steady eyes as he asked me the question.

‘Five more. Throwing me off the podium entirely.’ My chest heaved up and down. My body was preparing for another post-race fight, but I couldn’t do that here. No one would hire me if I punched Abel Gallin.

The casting crews around us clamoured for answers. The density of people grew tighter. I reached out behind me, Josie was still there. She gave my arm a squeeze.

‘Lena didn’t break any rules. Using the gap isn’t restricted. There are no rules against it in the book and there isn’t anything else she’s done to warrant that kind of penalty.’ I set my jaw, more determined now Josie had found her voice.

Gallin raised his hands, palms out towards us. My anger heightened. ‘Girls, please. If you have an issue with the decisions made by the Volitant ruling body, make an appeal. I know this is your first race, so I will forgive your inappropriate insistence, but this is what the process is for. Take it to your team liaison.’

I could feel it happening again. The fire that kept me going, the one that fuelled my racing and my will to fight … it was burning out. I’d thrown everything into the race and they were smothering what was left of me afterwards.

‘We can appeal. They can’t do this.’ Josie whispered into my ear, but I could hear her faltering too.

The crowd shifted as the winning riders went to the podium. The short stage had been erected by the finish line, with three red-carpeted steps for the winners to stand on. Ellas put a hand on Theo’s shoulder, speaking to him as they went up. Quinn was being shepherded forward, his dark red brows knitted together in confusion.

Theo looked out towards me. I ducked my head down. I didn’t want him to see me withering. I didn’t even want to watch the celebrations, but I couldn’t move. Josie was still reeling rule adjustments and regulations for appeals, stuck in a loop of outrage.

The music began, drawing the crowd in and letting the fans at home know the awards were starting.

‘Welcome to the final podium of the season!’ Cooke strode on to the dais, arms wide with his mic tucked into the flower on his lapel. ‘Please join me in celebrating our Sky Pillar race winners.’

‘I have to get out of here,’ I said to Josie. Emotion was threatening to overwhelm me and I could see the casters and media crews starting to search for someone – me.

We ducked out of the crowd, avoiding the stairs up and heading to the base of the Sky Pillar. I could feel eyes following us as we did. It wouldn’t be long before I became the centre of attention again. For all the wrong reasons … again.

The cool dim of the interior of the pillar wrapped around me as we entered. A moment of reprieve from the circus outside. The crumbling walls cast warped shadows as they blocked the windows. We could make our way up to Kiestral headquarters through here and stay away from the media.