Page 40 of Tailwind

‘Every time I try to get close he tries to eat me, Paldon. You’ll have to get back up on your own.’

Grunting with effort, I heaved against Gottyk’s leg to stand. Pellets tumbled from the folds of my suit, some pooling in the edges of my armour. Beyond the short wall of Gottyk’s stall stood Theo.

His flight suit was half off, hanging at his waist to reveal his fitted purple fireproof layer underneath. His hands were tucked into the fold, thumbs hooked over the edge. The orange lights of the aviary warmed his light brown skin and cast a soft glow on the edges of his curly hair. It was classic Theo to look so relaxed and approachable after a hectic race.

Looks were deceiving though.

I glared at him. It wasn’t my best, given I was using a dragon to keep myself upright and my vision wasn’t all the way back, but I was sure he’d get my intention.

‘You can go now.’

From the lack of Kiestral, Volitant and media staff yelling outside the door it seemed he’d yet to spill my secret. I braced myself for the gloating that was no doubt on the way.

‘Yeah, that’s not going to happen.’ His voice was serious, rare for him. ‘What the hell was that?’

My jaw tensed. ‘It’s not like I was drowning in options. Taking his place was the only way.’

The rest of my sentence hung in the air, silent. Thanks to you.

‘Are you stupid, Paldon? I mean why are you getting attacked?’ He stepped forward to the stall wall, but immediately backed off when Gottyk snapped his jaws.

I placed a calming hand on my dragon’s snout, my heart swelling painfully with gratitude. I hated Theo. I hated him a lot, but my issues with him couldn’t be resolved the same way as Thorne. He had to be able to race for me to beat him.

‘I don’t know who that was on the stairs, but I’m sure it’s just the beginning of a long queue once you tell everyone the truth.’

He pursed his lips, stroked the threat of stubble on his jaw and leaned back on the augment workbench. His smirk was back. ‘Now why would I do that?’

‘Quit playing. I’m not in the mood.’ I took my hand off Gottyk and placed a shaky foot forward. I reached the edge of the stall and held Theo’s gaze.

‘Playing? Oh, no. You know I’m serious when it comes to racing.’ He grinned. ‘How will I prove that I’m better than you once and for all if I tell everyone your secret?’

My chest tightened, causing a spasm in each of my limbs. ‘What?’

He shrugged. ‘I’m not surprised that you’ve somehow replaced Thorne. We both know you’d do anything to race. What does surprise me is how bad you’ve become. You used to be nearly as good as me.’

The hair on the back of my neck raised.

‘It was my first race. It’s not like I’ve been flying for three and a half years and still coming in sixth.’ Memorizing his performance was finally coming in useful.

‘The way I see it, we have an opportunity to settle our scores. We’re both in Volitant now. Flying together week after week to see who really is the better rider? It’s everything we dreamed of.’ Theo’s eyes were steady, watching me sway on the spot. He wanted a reaction.

I bristled, holding back out of spite. Whether it was an explosive reaction or me giving in to his plans, he wouldn’t get it. He could talk about old shared dreams as much as he wanted – they meant nothing to me now.

‘I might have taken the title by crossing the finish line first, but we both know it was a draw in the Wyvern Cup, Paldon. The ones who gave me the trophy might not have admitted it, but we can. A draw was never going to be good enough for us.’ His jaw tightened as his chest rose and fell faster.

My nostrils flared.

‘What’s the catch?’ He might have been offering me the chance to keep racing, but he was still the same Theo who’d gone from my best friend of ten years to a backstabbing coward in the blink of an eye.

‘Oh, you want to iron out the conditions?’ Mischief lit up inside him. I’d seen it a thousand times before. The way he stood a little straighter. The way his eyes caught the light just a little more. The way he tucked his hands back into the fold of his half flight suit to keep them from giving away his excitement.

‘Out with it, Vaspre.’

‘Well, if we want a fair competition to end our disagreement on who is the better rider, we need to level the playing field.’ He pushed off the workbench and walked towards me. ‘We can’t be on the same team with the same dragons.’

Gottyk rumbled a warning.

‘Nor would I want us to be,’ he placated. ‘You clearly have a fine mount already. However, there are other things we can do to get you up to speed.’