Page 140 of Hyperspeed
The gap between me and Zylo was razor-thin, and one mistake could cost me everything. If anything went wrong, the championship was his, so I had to bring everything—every ounce of focus, every drop of speed.
Today, it was first place or nothing.
Rev was in eighth, and I’d told him how impressive that was, especially for a rookie. It was the highest finish for a first-timer in league history, and he had every reason to be proud. He wouldn’t take the win, but he lit a fire under me.
He pushed me, challenged me, shook me up in all the right ways. And I made sure he knew just how much of a prize that made him.
Instead, he poured all his energy into hyping me up, and there was no one I’d rather have in my corner. In another life, maybe he would’ve felt bitter, but with a brighter future on the Iskari’s horizon, he remembered why he’d chased the ASL dream to begin with.
Trophy or not, he was proud to have been part of it, and I was proud to finish out the season by his side.
Every driver dreamed of winning the championship, but I knew Rev had years ahead of him in the league, and he’d be keeping me on my toes the whole way. With a little more experience and a lot less chaos, he could steal that title from all of us as early as next season.
And as his rival, I’d be right there, ready to fight him for it every step of the way.
These days, though, we had much better ways of dealing with the tension.
Arriving at the paddock, race prep was already in full swing. Crew members darted back and forth as always, but there was an extra buzz in the air, a charged anticipation you could almost taste.
As we walked to the team garage, Jax nudged my side. “You ready?”
I looked over the top of my favourite aviators and smiled. “Always.”
I was grateful when the morning flew by, and an hour before the race, I was feeling pumped.
Rev had slept restlessly beside me before leaving early to travel with Zenith, but not before I’d blown the nerves out of him.
Veilbreaker Circuit was the league’s most legendary and demanding track.
It carved a jagged path across a volatile tectonic fracture zone, the ground beneath shifting and groaning as if warning us to stay alert. That’s why they saved it for last.
I’d never seen anyone die on those twists and turns, but I knew just how quickly things could go wrong, and how unforgiving the track could be.
Ailor had seen a driver get roasted like a chicken when superheated steam erupted from one of the track’s geothermal vents, and every year he reminded us to be careful. I’d given Rev the same heads-up, and he’d promised to play it safe and make it to the finish line in one piece.
I’d been edging him for an hour at that point, but I was almost a hundred percent sure he meant it.
Okay, ninety-five percent.
I spotted Zylo in front of Zenith’s garage, going over his vehicle with the crew. Rev’s was there too, but I couldn’t see him, and I frowned.
He was a stickler for doing his own checks.
“Have you seen Rev?” I asked while Zylo fiddled with his steering wheel.
“Not since our team meeting,” he replied. “Everything okay?”
“I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”
Zylo’s expression turned oddly serious. “Don’t mess with him, Mercer,” he warned. “Not after what happened with Cass.”
We hadn’t told our teams about us yet, wanting to enjoy each other in peace until the season was over. Only Jax knew. After how I’d left things with Rev in front of Zylo before, it wasn’t surprising he felt protective.
“Everything’s fine.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Better than fine. I swear.”
Zylo grinned like he’d just won a prize, flashing those sharp teeth. There was a wicked glint in his eye, and I half wondered if Rev had spilled the beans.
“Saelix was dead certain something was going on between you two, but I just thought you liked to piss each other off.” He threw his head back and laughed, the sound booming like he owned the whole paddock. “Looks like I owe him a blow job after all.”
