Vi swallowed.
She was the faraway heir no one knew anything about and likely no one wanted. Vi opened her mouth to speak again, though she didn’t know what she wanted to say. Did she want to confront him about the sentiment surrounding her and her brother? Did she want to somehow try to see if the Senate was keeping tabs on Romulin as they were her? Was the Senate trying to pit them against each other?
Whatever she might have asked was cut short by a man walking along the center line. He stared up at the different noru, all shoulder to shoulder.
“This preliminary heat will be one lap around the outer circle,” the man boomed. “The first two will advance to the finals to be held during the winter solstice festivities. There is no attacking, or intentionally bumping into other noru. Claws to anything but the ground equals immediate disqualification. Are there any questions?”
The riders shook their heads.
“Good luck, Ellene!” Vi cupped her hands around her mouth and called.
“You’re sick, remember?” Jayme mumbled.
“I’m sick, not mute.” Vi rolled her eyes.
Ellene gave them a small wave, then settled further into her saddle. She looked like a proper racer. Everything Vi would expect for someone who’d grown up in the North. It was almost comical to imagine her sitting on a saddle even half as confidently.
“Get ready.” The man who had outlined the rules lifted a small green flag. “Mark… Go!”
He dropped the flag, and they all moved at once.
There was a unified rallying cry from all the riders. Some yelled the word “go” at their massive cats. Others cried out their own, unique words. Most said nothing at all, a wordless shout that could easily be interpreted as a mix of excitement and exhilaration filling the air.
The noru lunged forward; dust kicked up off their hind legs, pluming in the air like smoke. They charged forward, alight with the crackle of magic. Vi realized, then, that the leader had never specified any rules about magic for the race.
Beneath Gormon’s feet, two large pillars of stone emerged at a forward angle. Vi was forced to give all the credit to the animal that he was not unnerved by it, and merely adapted to the new terrain. Gormon crouched, and the noru leapt forward, capitalizing on the momentum Ellene’s magic had bought him.
He soared through the air in a massive leap, gaining a lead on the pack quickly.
“Go, go!” Vi couldn’t help but cheer, even though Ellene likely couldn’t hear.
Ellene was making headway, a solid lead. Perhaps Gormon was faster than Vi had given him credit for and she just didn’t know how best to ride the animal. But he was pulling ahead with nothing but open track before him.
Vi began to run alongside, hoping for a vantage to see the finish.
“You’re supposed to be sick!” Jayme repeated.
“I want a better view!” Vi retorted.
“Do you think you can keep up with the noru?” The question was a half laugh as Jayme was already running behind her.
Vi knew she couldn’t. The track was long, and she could only see the noru for just a bit longer, even with the time running would buy her. But she wanted to see Ellene for as long as she could.
And see she did, as the straps on Gormon’s saddle broke all at once; as the leathers flapped limply in the wind; as the small silhouette of her friend was airborne. Time seemed to suspend. Leather and girl alike hovered mid-air.
If Vi had been a Windwalker like her mother, she could’ve caught Ellene before she even neared the ground. But she was useless as a Firebearer and as a Lightspinner. All Vi could do was watch in horror as Ellene’s body met the ground with a sickening bounce.
“Get up!” Vi screamed. “Ellene!” Excitement turned to panic. “Stop, stop!” The other noru were coming in fast. Surely they’d seen what had happened? Surely they’d see Ellene on the ground through the dust cloud?
The riders were struggling to swerve. The heat had too many noru, and the pack was confused between riders who saw and those who didn’t, bunched together with shoulders bumping—no one could coordinate who was going left and who was going right.
Ellene was going to be trampled.
Vi lifted a hand, debating with the precious few seconds she had. Did she try to make a fire and spook the giant cats, divert them into the woods? Could she trust herself not to burn Ellene and everyone else alive? She hadn’t learned enough of Yargen’s magic yet to use that confidently.
At the last second, Ellene raised her head.
There was a scream before Ellene curled in on herself, face to the ground, hands over her head; once again, her magic reacted on instinct. Large curls of stone rose from the ground, creating a cocoon of rock around Ellene.
