Page 46 of Tailwind

Shutting my eyes was the only way I could hide, even for a moment. It didn’t shut out Theo’s laughing though. When I opened them again he had a hand braced against the window and the other on his chest, gasping for breath.

‘Okay,’ he said as he wiped away a tear. ‘Now you’ve said yes, it’s time to sweeten the deal.’

‘Excuse me?’ I blinked, stunned. There was no way he meant sweetening the deal for me. ‘You want more? More what?’

‘I’m sure you can think of something. I know you’ve never been the brains of our little duo, but there must be something you can offer me to keep me quiet.’ Theo was showing off, happy to light himself on fire and dance around for the attention.

‘Well.’ I gritted my teeth. Now that I’d admitted to needing him to keep my secret I was at a severe disadvantage. ‘I can’t offer to hold back from hitting you, or there’d be no point in us sparring.’

His smile was mirrored in the train window as we rushed through a dark tunnel, doubling my annoyance. His eyes flickered around my face, watching me squirm.

‘I’d suggest that I could insult you less, but that’s genuinely impossible.’

‘How about you speak to my parents?’

My joints locked. The sway of the train felt dizzying as Theo’s suggestion sank in.

‘Your parents?’ The dumb question was all I was capable of. I was already surrounded by the smell of their food, the memories of their home and the nostalgia of what I’d lost. Now Theo had dumped fear on top too.

‘Yeah, they’ve been nagging me this entire time. How’s Lena? What’s Lena up to? When is she going to visit? Seriously, you’d think they’d have forgotten about you by now, but no, they still want to hear from you.’ He rattled off the complaints, wafting a hand in the air like they were flies he was trying to swat.

They still asked about me. Or did they? I watched Theo for a sign of betrayal, for some clue that would let me know it was a cruel prank. I saw nothing, just the same pretty face I’d known since we were eight years old. He knew better than to bring parents into our fights. Yes, he’d screwed me over so I’d lost my only shot at a career, but this would be a deeper betrayal than that.

He was twitchy, shifting his weight from side to side and running his fingers along the lip of the window.

‘Come on, Paldon, help me out. They always liked you. If I can get you to talk to them, or just send them a comms message, I’ll be back to being their favourite.’

‘You’re an only child.’ My voice was flat as I considered it. The wounds it would open to see them again. The guilt that was already building for the silence of the past five years. Had they really been waiting?

He grinned. ‘Right, I’m always the favourite, but you come a close second.’

‘I just—’

‘It’s not a big deal.’ Theo cut me off. ‘You get to race, I get some peace and my parents get to know you’re okay. Pops too. Plus, I know you’ve been missing his stew. If you show up to the house he’ll make it for—’

‘Fine.’ It was my turn to interrupt. Anything to stop talking about it. There was a weight in my chest that was getting heavier every time he spoke of them.

He bounced up on the balls of his feet, smiling wide enough for his dimples to show up.

‘Perfect. Wait here, I’ll go change for the gym. I can’t wait to see how much you’ve deteriorated over the years.’

That spark of annoyance finally landed, setting my competitive fire alight. If he wanted to test me, he could go right ahead. I wasn’t sure if I’d follow through with my promise, but I was more than willing to remind him who had always been better at combat training.

We passed through the breezy blues and deep greens of the Prevere and Victrolia carriages to reach the riders’ private training carriage. Also known, very unofficially, as ‘the squat box’. Unlike the others, no one could enter without the correct pass card. I kicked myself for not taking Thorne’s before handing him over to Cam.

Since I hadn’t, Theo got to feel smug over letting me in. The door hissed open, a rim of light shining around the frame as whatever augments it used came to life.

Theo skirted past me, clearly more relaxed at going into the private carriage. He’d changed into shorts and a sleeveless shirt, both in the deep purple of Ballenir with a vibrant blue stripe down each side. With his arms exposed I was far too aware of the tattoo on the back of his bicep.

It was surrounded by a few others now, yet that singular one stood out to me. Fast and Fair. Simple and clean in black ink against his brown skin. My hand twitched as I resisted raising it to the same place on my own arm, covered by my sleeves. The irony of the words weren’t lost on me.

The carriage ahead didn’t have a corridor, instead it opened up into a wide white space. A set of shelves by the entrance was filled with towels, bottles of water and bowls of fruit. A couple of benches stretched in front, with small lockers embedded underneath. Frosted glass blocked my view from further in. The floor was a shiny and cool white stone, with veins of grey running through it.

‘Marble? Really?’

I’d muttered it to myself, but I saw Theo’s shoulders wobble from a laugh. He would, of course, love this kind of thing. He loved spas, skin care and brands so expensive they didn’t have logos. It was a lifestyle he’d been raised in and dragged me into when we’d been friends. It didn’t matter how often I’d taken a glimpse into his world, it was never normal.

Theo pulled out two towels, identical to the one Omar had had over his shoulder. Then two glass water bottles, chilled and with floating fruit. They’d even managed to make water luxurious.