Page 70 of Tailwind

‘Yeah, I can hear you.’

‘Okay, weather update: it will be clear for launch, but expect rain within the first ten minutes. It will escalate to hail before lap fifteen.’

‘Josie,’ I said, hesitant to break her flow. Unwilling to crush her hopes of doing this for any longer.

‘I think Plan C will be our best option, given you’re in the middle of the pack today. We’ll see how the weather affects everyone. If you can stay ahead for these first ten minutes you might be in with a shot.’

‘Josie, Thorne is out there somewhere. He’s had enough time to make his way here. He could show up any moment.’

There was a long pause before she replied.

‘Get on with the race and we’ll deal with him later.’

‘You’re … calm? This is our last race—’

‘Every race could have been our last race, Lena.’ Her voice was even, no hint of nervousness. ‘I’ve been prepared for it all to come crashing down at a moment’s notice. This isn’t unexpected. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we know, but there’s no reason to change our plan for him once the race starts.’

‘Josie, whatever happens, don’t come forward. Don’t defend me. Don’t intervene.’

‘Focus on the race,’ she replied, brushing it aside.

‘Sixty seconds from launch,’ Hector unknowingly interrupted us.

Gottyk perched on the lip of the cave. Below us was a steep drop into the circuit where snow and ice frosted the mountainside.

‘Promise me, Josie. There’s no use in both of us getting into trouble.’

‘Fine,’ she huffed back to me. ‘If it will make you focus on the race.’

Hector cut in. ‘Thirty seconds to launch.’

‘We can do this,’ I said.

Gottyk shifted underneath me. I settled low against the saddle. The mist was gathering close in the air outside.

‘Ten seconds to launch.’

I closed my eyes, listening for the whistle of the flare. It cut through the faraway cheers of the dedicated crowds. My eyes opened – a pop of sound and colour burst in the sky. My legs tightened.

Gottyk threw himself off the ledge, keeping his wings tucked to cut through the mist as fast as possible. We plunged down. I pulled on the reins, arcing myself to the left so Gottyk would scoop to the side, putting us facing forwards on the circuit.

The proximity sensors rippled across my right-hand side as a flash of blue caught us. The tucked wings of a Prevere nearly brushed Gottyk’s as we fell side by side. The sleek dragon of the home team was nearly invisible against the mountain clouds that enveloped us.

‘Visibility is shit!’ I roared to Josie against the rush of air buffeting my armour. The copper threads washed warmth over me to compensate for the ice-cold climate.

‘It’s only going to get worse. Do your best with the range you’ve got.’

I checked to my right and the Prevere was eking ahead, ninety-nine painted on its wing – Colly.

I nudged Gottyk to the right. We were on the racing line, or at least I hoped we were, but Colly was going to want to go ahead into turn one. The Prevere riders were known for racing clean, but the last thing I wanted to do was crash and take Colly with me.

‘Bank now!’

I followed Josie’s instruction the instant I got it. She had far more information than I did. The tracking augments on Gottyk’s saddle gave her a better idea of where I was. We tilted to the right, Gottyk flinging his wings wide to catch the air. Colly followed only a split second after us.

I ducked my head down as far as it would go – at this angle the talons of Colly’s Prevere blue were dangerously close to the top of my helmet. We’d managed to get ahead by a few feet, but Colly had the inside line, with less distance to cover.

We flew into turn one literally neck and neck. An orange shadow to a blue dragon.