Page 41 of Tailwind

‘Excuse me?’ My hands curled into fists.

His dimples appeared. ‘We were both in the same race just now, and I say this with all intended offence – you were shit.’

I lurched forward, but my legs lagged behind my brain. What was going to be an intimidating swagger followed by a right hook turned into a trip and fall directly into Theo. He caught me by the shoulders.

The citrus scent filled my senses.

His curls fell forward, brushing against my forehead. A wholly unwelcome heat flushed my cheeks. I pushed away from him, steadying myself and looking anywhere else.

Hatred continued to boil inside me, not just at Theo, but at everything that had happened. Crashing in the race. That he knew my secret. That he thought he was gracious to keep it. That he’d found me collapsed on the stairs.

Gottyk huffed a breath at me, blowing back my sweat-soaked hair. A sense of helplessness washed over me, far too familiar thanks to the past week. I clamped my jaw as hard as possible, rejecting the emotion that had followed.

‘So—’ He braved being the first one to break the silence. ‘We agree to work together off circuit, so we can go hard in the races?’

I twitched into a glare. ‘Work together? Doing what?’

He nodded. ‘We used to do it all the time. Or have you forgotten?’

I hadn’t. My childhood memories were loose, refusing to be stuffed away since our run-in at the Kiestral circuit.

Me and Theo training together pre- and post-races. Reaction challenges, cardio training and strength building. Quizzing each other on Volitant history, mentally running through the circuit layouts we’d be flying on the upcoming weekends and memorizing our opponents’ racing styles.

‘No.’ I flexed my hands, trying to get the feeling back in my fingertips. I could manage pretending to be Thorne, but being around Theo again … My hands began to feel cold and sweaty at the thought of it.

‘We both know you only reach your potential when you’re competing with me.’ His grin widened, knowing exactly what he was doing.

Every nerve in my body lit up with the urge to fight. He knew exactly how to push me, how to put pressure on my weak points. I hated it. I hated him.

‘But I’m not the same without you either.’ He shrugged, like he hadn’t just admitted something I thought him incapable of.

My head buzzed with shock. The day we’d met at eight years old we’d each claimed to be the best, then had spent the next ten years trying to prove it.

I savoured the taste of it. The admission that he was in some way less without me. I’d been starved of any scrap of evidence that he’d also suffered these past five years. It soothed me, making the pain from the shockstick feel like a light breeze.

It also made what I said next deeply satisfying.

‘No.’

I’d used him in the race and it had worked. At least until the Bolls had got involved. If doing it again meant he got what he wanted, then I would withhold it. I owed Theo nothing. He might be dangling my secret over me, but I didn’t trust him to keep his mouth shut either way.

His dimples disappeared for a brief moment before he collected himself, straightening out his shoulders.

‘Really? I thought you’d do anything to fly in Volitant, Paldon.’

We both knew that wasn’t true. I stood my ground, unwilling to surrender.

‘Well, I’m going to show some maturity here and give you twenty-four hours before I go to the press. Consider what you’d be gaining. You’d have someone to protect you from more rogue attackers. At least until I train your combat skills back up – five years and you’ve already forgotten how to throw a punch.’ He had the audacity to wink at me.

I could feel my heart thumping against my ribs, each beat telling me: Hit. Him. Hit. Him.

He hooked a hand into the waist of his flight suit, the sleeves grazing along the floor as he headed towards the door.

‘See you soon, Paldon. I’m looking forward to reforging our alliance.’ He backed into the heavy door, shoving it open with just his back, not taking his eyes off me. ‘Twenty-four hours.’

He slid away. The door thudded behind him.

I closed my eyes and slumped on to the floor. Gottyk nosed his snout under my arm. I gave my dragon a more-than-deserved hug.