“Good luck, Matteo,” Talon said under his breath.
The feathers on my neck ruffled. Did he really mean that, or was he playing mind games with me?
“GO!” Gaius shouted.
I rocketed upwards, beating my wings hard. Fiery determination surged through my muscles. I wouldn’t lose.
The first ring hung ahead. All I had to do was fly through the rings as fast as possible. No problem. Despite living in a human city, I was an experienced flyer. Unlike wolves or tigers, it was easy for me to sneak away to spread my wings—figuratively and literally. Humans didn’t bat an eye at a brown bird, especially not one thirty feet in the air.
As I neared the first ring, I tucked my wings close to my body to make myself more aerodynamic. I shot through the ring like a bullet. Free from it, I unfurled my wings again to fly towards the next one.
I heard loud flapping behind me. With his bulk, Talon struggled to keep up.
I scanned the beach. The four-legged shifters on the beach stormed the obstacle course, but their paws and hooves slowed on sand. None of them were as far along as me.
That meantIwas in the lead.
A strange high washed over me. It felt familiar, like the presence of an old friend. It bubbled and welled up in my chest until it overflowed in a loud, sharp victory cry.
That’s when I realized what the high was. It was the same feeling as being on stage, singing my throat raw, spilling my heart out in front of a screaming, adoring crowd.
The recognition shocked me. I faltered, stalling in mid-air.
It had been so long... Why did I feel this way now? And why did it feel so good?
A wing crashed into mine. The momentum sent me into a tailspin. I gasped and caught my bearings, flapping desperately to stay afloat.
Talon flew ahead. Did he hit me on purpose? He didn’t stop to check if I was okay.
But nowhewas in the lead. Fury set my blood on fire. I darted behind him, flying as fast as my wings could carry me. He wasn’t going to win. I wouldn’t let him.
Urgency drove me forward. I was in a frenzy, determined to beat Talon and win this challenge. Was Thystle watching? Did he see how badly I wanted this?
I wanted to look for him, but there was no time. I couldn’t spare a second to scan the beach when Talon was still in front of me. He ducked through the next ring, folding his wings the same way I did, then used gravity to his advantage to dive into the ring below it.
I cursed. His bulky size hindered him during lift off, but it was an asset now. I couldn’t catch up to him.
The finish line was ahead. My heart sank. Talon was a whole wingspan away. If I didn’t close the gap between us now, it would be too late.
Gaius got closer each second. He clutched a stopwatch in his hand, watching both land and sky eagerly for the winner to cross the finish line.
I pushed my body to its limit. Fire burned agonizingly in my muscles. I clenched my eyes shut through the pain. A few more wing strokes—
“TIME!” Gaius called.
I sucked in air and my eyes snapped open. Had I done it? I floated down to the sand where the rest of the exhausted land shifters panted for breath. I didn’t see Talon. Hope fluttered in my chest. Was he still behind me?
“Who won, Gaius?” I asked.
Gaius wore an odd expression that set me on edge. His mask of confidence would fool most people, but I wasn’t most people. I recognized a fellow liar hiding the truth.
“Why don’t we wait for everyone to catch their breath first?” Gaius said, flashing a grin that failed to comfort me.
I realized Thystle still wasn’t here. Did that have anything to do with Gaius’s weird behavior?
“Gaius,” I said firmly, glaring at him with my eagle eyes, “announce the winner.”
His brows rose. He seemed taken aback by my sudden personality change, but I didn’t care. I had to know.
