Page 34 of Hyperspeed
My snicker drew Tov’s attention. Rev’s too. And the weight of it felt heavy after a month of going without.
“Kai! Great to see you.” Tov lowered the camera and strolled over, extending one of his six hands towards me.
I took it in mine, giving it a firm shake. “Alright, Tov? How’s the wife?”
“Oh, she’s great. Pregnant with twins if you can believe it, and—”
“Can we get this over with?” Dray cut in. He’d put some space between himself and Jax, and my teammate was glaring daggers at the side of his head.
“Yes! Y-Yes, sorry!” Tov stammered, gesturing for me to join the group. “We’ll put Kai in the centre of the group.”
“Of course,” a voice muttered to my left.
Pure delight filled me as I realised I was next to Rev. “Problem, rookie?” I whispered, while Tov continued to position the others into the perfect tableau around us.
“Just that your colossal ego will overshadow everyone else.”
I lowered my head, close enough to whisper in Rev’s ear. “The last time we were together, you didn’t seem to mind mycolossalego.”
Red and orange rippled across his skin, his ears twitching with agitation. “Fuck off, Mercer.”
I straightened up, chuckling under my breath. It was easy enough for Rev to avoid me when we were both busy with race-day preparations, but today we’d be in close quarters. Besides, I’d missed the way we clashed, and the way his skin would light up when we did.
So no, Rev wouldn’t be avoiding me today. I was going to make the most of our forced proximity.
Fuck, it was going to be so much fun.
KFK had set up multiple sporting events—like a kiddie Olympics. The idea was to evoke teamwork and camaraderie. We formed eight teams, each with two drivers and four children, and points were awarded after each event. The overall winners would then stand on a mini podium at the front of the campgrounds.
We were professional racers—the thrill of victory was our lifeblood; we craved the challenge—and just like any other race weekend, standing on any spot besides number one wasn’t an option.
With the kids . . . obviously.
They paired Zylo with Cassiopeia, a human driver for Nebula Shifters, and I don’t know who Jax had angered in a past life, but he ended up with Dray. And call me a terrible friend, but when Elyn, one of KFK’s volunteers, had called their names, I’d almost busted a gut trying not to laugh.
But while the stars were fucking with my teammate, they were on my side, because I was paired with my favourite grumpy gremlin, Rev.
He wore the same closed-off mask as always, but his posture stiffened, and a brief pulse of red flared across his skin. I realised how hard he tried to fake indifference, but when you looked at the finer details, he was more transparent than he liked to believe. By the end of the day, I expected to be able to see through him like a pane of glass.
“Ready for a fun day?” I teased while we waited to meet our four pint-sized teammates.
“The only fun part of this day will be going home,” he mumbled.
“Oh, comeon.” I reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling when he smacked my hand away. “It’s gonna be great. All for the kids, remember?”
He pulled an elastic band from around his wrist, tying his hair in a bun at the base of his neck. “If it weren’t for the kids, you’d already have a black eye.”
“Ooh, we’d be twinning.”
Rev sneered at me, his little fangs peeking out between his lips. I wanted to poke them with my finger, to see how sharp they were. How would they feel against my neck? Teasing the skin of my—
“Hello.”
The voice of a child popped the balloon of my inappropriate fantasies. Because it was inappropriate to be thinking about Rev likethat, and around children no less.
The source of my turmoil crouched in front of three kids. One was a human with red hair, green eyes, and freckles dotted across his skin. Jeremy—according to his name tag—was holding the hand of Vaeri, a Trivorii with yellow skin and white hair that shone in the sunshine. Next to them was Lyla, a human girl with ebony skin and dark brown eyes. Beads jingled like bells at the ends of her braids when she moved.
“You’re Kai Mercer!” Vaeri gasped, bouncing on their three tentacled legs.
