Page 178 of Knot So Fast
Twenty-three laps to save everything we've worked for.
The morphine will last maybe ten if I'm lucky.
But I'm Auren fucking Vale, and I've already died three times this week.
What's one more impossible challenge?
I slam the throttle down and dive into the first corner, the car responding like it missed me as much as I missed it. The pain disappears, replaced by pure focus, pure instinct, pure racing.
Terek thinks he's won. Thinks his plan is perfect. Thinks we're all pawns in his game.
He's about to learn what happens when you try to kill a Phoenix.
We just come back stronger.
And angrier.
And with parents who have very creative ideas about justice.
"Let's fucking go," I whisper into my helmet, and throw the car into turn two like my life depends on it.
Because maybe it does.
But more importantly, the truth depends on it.
And I'll be damned if I let Terek win after everything he's put us through.
The race is on.
THE PRICE OF VICTORY
~LACHLAN~
Final lap.
The words pulse through my mind like a heartbeat, like a prayer, like a death sentence. Twenty-two laps of pure aggression, calculated risks, and barely controlled violence have led to this moment. The Yas Marina circuit stretches out before us, every meter of tarmac I've memorized, every apex I've perfected, every braking zone I've conquered a thousand times in practice.
But practice never prepared me for this.
My twin brother is alongside me, his Ferrari matching my Titan Racing machine meter for meter, our cars so close I could reach out and touch his mirrors if physics and common sense didn't exist. Behind us, Auren—my beautiful, broken, impossibly stubborn Auren disguised as Rebecca Chen—holds third place with the kind of determination that only comes from having literally nothing left to lose.
The truth about Terek burns through my mind like acid, each revelation another twist of the knife. Our team manager, the man who helped build my career, who stood on countless podiums celebrating our victories, who I trusted with my lifeevery time I strapped into this car—he's been trying to destroy us from the inside.
For money. It always comes down to fucking money.
Marcus's voice explodes through the track speakers, his commentary reaching fever pitch: "THEY'RE WHEEL TO WHEEL! THE WOLFE BROTHERS FIGHTING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE FINAL CORNERS OF THE FINAL LAP!"
Dex's more measured tones provide counterpoint: "This is unprecedented—twin brothers, one fighting for his fifth consecutive title, the other racing for redemption after three years of controversy. And Rebecca Chen holding that crucial third position that could swing the constructor's championship!"
If only they knew "Rebecca Chen" can barely breathe through her broken ribs, that she's racing on pure spite and rapidly failing morphine, that she's already died three times this week and apparently decided that wasn't enough excitement.
The straight before the hairpin stretches out like a drag strip to heaven or hell. Lucius and I are side by side, engines screaming at maximum revs, both of us knowing that whoever gets to the hairpin first will likely win this race. The championship. Everything.
I glance sideways, just for a millisecond, and our eyes meet through our visors.
In that fraction of a second, I see everything. All the years of rivalry and resentment. All the missed opportunities to be brothers instead of competitors. All the times we chose pride over connection, chose independence over family, chose to be alone rather than admit we needed each other.
We could have fixed this. Could have stood together against Terek's manipulations, against the blackmail that trapped Lucius, against the attempts on Auren's life. Could have been theunited front our parents always wanted us to be instead of two broken halves pretending to be whole.
