I try and muster my most convincing tone. “I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
She sighs and indicates that she’s turning. We head off down a narrow, poorly lit stretch of road, trees pushing in on either side. Lights become visible between a narrow gap at the far end of the trail. Lights we’re heading toward.
Finally, we emerge into a gravel parking lot. Enormous trees loom all around, fire pits burn by the entrance to a path, casting long shadows. We pull into a spot, and before I can jump out Aisha grabs my wrist.
“I’m only going to ask this one more time: are you sure this is what you want?”
I pause, stare at the gear stick, and try to gather my thoughts. This is sort of reckless, more reckless than normal. Is Katie right? Have I become unpredictable? Am I putting myself in danger for a guy?
Maybe. But there’s so much else at play here. There’s Jericho for one, who all but commanded me to take part. There’s the way Jasper wouldn’t look at me as I linked my finger around his. He said he wanted me—he actually said it. And that’s all the motivation I need.
“I’m sure,” I say.
“Okay.” Aisha nods solemnly. “I’ll be cheering for you.”
There’s a path through the woods lit by flaming torches and Aisha stays half a step behind me as we make our way. I keep my shoulders as square as I can and don’t look back at her. I know what I’m doing and I don’t need any of her doubt creeping into my mind.
There are other wolves making their way through the trees, but it isn’t until we emerge on the banks of the river that I realize how many people are here. The lake itself is frozen over, flat and white like a salt plain, only disturbed by a tortoise-back-shaped island a few miles from the shore. On either side of us, the riverbank is flooded with wolves wrapped up in winter coats, crammed together like the crowds at a festival, staring out at the frozen arena.
“Ladies and Gentlewolves!” Tobias Volk’s voice rises over the crowd, amplified through the speakers I’ve only just noticed are stationed every hundred feet or so down the shore. “Could all competitors make their way to the starting line.”
“That’s me, I guess,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
“May the Moon Gods light your path, dude.” Aisha pulls me in for a hug and squeezes harder than I’m prepared for.
“I’m going to be fine.” I’m trying to sound convinced but I’m starting to shiver a little.
“I know you are.”
Pulling my coat a little tighter, I leave Aisha and push my way down toward the river’s icy edge. Off to the left a rickety pier extends out over the ice, and a crowd of race-ready wolves have gathered at the far end. I grit my teeth and head toward them.
Jericho is there next to Tobias, who is twirling his expansive moustache. There’re a few kids I don’t recognize. And I almost turn back when Clayton spins toward me, his golden curls swooshing perfectly in slow motion. But his gaze never lands on me; instead he waves to someone coming up behind me. I glance back just in time for Olivia, waving in return, to pass, knocking her shoulder into mine.
“Ow!”
She stops and raises a brow in my direction. “Sorry.” Only she doesn’t sound very sorry, at least not about running into me. With a shrug she takes off again.
On either side of the pier the frozen river lies motionless, the surface hard and unforgiving. A series of black dots make a trail across the river, leading toward the island. Those must be the marker points. I’ve never seen a Race of Fire and Ice before and all I know is that it involves lighting a series of braziers and traversing a frozen landscape. So I guess we’ll be running across the lake—the one that looks hard enough to break a bone or two if you fall.
“Hey bro!” Todd calls from up ahead. He and Simon are among the crowd of competitors. Todd is waving, Simon is staring at me with a confused expression, like I’ve wandered somewhere I don’t belong.
“Hey guys,” I say as I reach them, trying not to let my teeth chatter too much.
“You’re competing?” Simon asks.
“Uh, yeah.”
He nods incredulously. “More power to you, bruh”
Todd slaps me on the back so hard I nearly choke. “You’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I dunno, man,” Simon says, shrugging and twisting his mouth. “Maybe because we’re about to race against some of the strongest wolves in the pack across an icy tundra that could crack and swallow us up at any moment.”
“You can always back out,” Todd says to Simon, slapping him on the chest.
