Page 44 of Ignite the Infernos

“Need an assist, Vero?” Amadi asks.

“Nah, I’ll shake this fucker in the water. I’m pretty sure he’s just messing with me. Proceed to the rendezvous point. I’ll check back when I’m free.”

The com once again goes silent, Vero’s words ringing in my mind. This might be the perfect time to execute my plan.

“Amadi, we’ll see you at the midpoint in . . .” Gable looks back at me expectantly.

I scour the sky one more time and almost shout in relief when I finally spot a speck of green in the distance.

“Five,” I rush. “We’ll be at the midpoint in five.”

Needing no other encouragement, Gable leans forward again to reach for the sandcycle’s controls, and we take off. I don’t miss the finally he mutters under his breath, and I can’t tell if that’s intentional or just a slip—not that I honestly care at this point.

Gable keeps us close to the rock wall where we blend best with the terrain, and we exit the gauntlet without further incident. I look back at the path we’ve run endless drills through. It feels strange that this will be the last time any of us fly this route. There’s a keen sense of pride in that, but there’s also an unexpected feeling of loss. This part of my life is officially over, and while that’s good and necessary, I struggle to picture what’s in store for me beyond this.

The flier starts to choke and shiver any time Gable demands more speed, and he ultimately has no choice but to back off and accept the snail’s pace the flier has to offer. I keep my attention pointed up and my head on a swivel as we make our way toward the caves in search of Amadi.

“Approaching midpoint,” Gable declares after what feels like forever.

He drops into the clearing, and the sandcycle recovers some of its pep, like it knows its work here is done. We aim for Amadi, pulling up next to where she’s standing on the ground with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot as though we’re late for something innocuous like dinner or guard duty.

Gable sets the jittering flier down, and Amadi rounds on us just as soon as he kills the engine.

“What the fuck, Gable? I’ve been standing here waiting for almost ten minutes,” she snaps, and I busy myself with counting pebbles as Gable hops off the flier and strides over to the prickly female.

“I’m sorry,” he assures her, and my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline at his gentle, reassuring tone. If there was any doubt that these two were fucking before, it just flew right out the window.

“I expect that kind of shit from her, but not you,” Amadi pouts, and I blow out an exasperated sigh.

How the fuck is this my fault?

“Right,” I mutter. “Because I have so much control over how fast a damaged cycle will fly.”

“No, but we all know it wouldn’t have been damaged if he didn’t need to save your ass,” Amadi snaps, and Gable rests his hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

The com crackles to life, and we all go still.

“Headed to the caves now. I finally lost the tan bastard. Be there in ten,” Vero declares, and resolve settles my thoughts.

Yep, this is exactly what I need to get going on my plan B. I unclip Gable’s bag from the damaged flier and toss it to him. He catches it with a resounding oomph that satisfies my annoyance slightly because I put a little extra muscle behind the throw to begin with.

“Get going,” I tell the pair. “If Ens and Mayur are at the exit point, you’ll need to hurry to catch up.” I look at Gable. “Like you said, our window is closing.”

A flicker of contrition enters his hazel eyes, but it’s gone in a blink. “That’s not protocol,” Gable starts to argue. Amadi conveniently says nothing.

“If it makes you feel better, I can order you to leave,” I counter.

Gable looks stricken for all of a few seconds, and then Amadi leans toward him and says something. I don’t catch what it is, because right then, a light brown dragon crests the peak of the yardang behind us, and our time just officially ran out.

“Go!” I shout at the two Syphons as I explode into action.

They scramble to mount their sandcycle, and Amadi seems to struggle to get it back in the air. Finally, they even out and start to climb, but it only seems to draw Jori’s attention, and with enviable grace, he pivots and flies right for them.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” I declare, my pulse loud in my ears and my limbs oddly fluttery, thanks to my most recent shot of alarm.

I round the damaged flier and hurriedly study the crushed panel. I kick at what I’m pretty sure is a choked valve for the fuel intake. It breaks off easily, and I cross my fingers that the sandcycle doesn’t explode when I jump into the seat and demand that it gives me everything it’s got.

I hold my breath and start the flier. It doesn’t go boom just yet, but it rears up like some bucking bronco in one of those ancient vids Iker loves to watch. Somehow, I keep my seat and wrestle the flier into submission before I zip back into the sky. It’s flying much faster now, but there’s still a whine from the engine that I know is going to turn on me at some point. Ignoring it, because that’s how I like to deal with all of my problems, I speedily track Jori through the sky as he homes in on Gable and Amadi.