Page 55 of Hyperspeed
Afterwards, various people had pulled me from pillar to post—interviews, chats with officials, and photo ops. When Zylo had managed to get to me, he’d scooped me up in a crippling bear hug. He’d had tears in his eyes when he told me how proud he was, and considering how closed off I was, it had been strange to see someone wearing their emotions so freely.
When he’d congratulated me, misty-eyed and snotty-nosed, I hadn’t smiled.
My skin had pulsed orange and violet, but Zylo had no clue what that meant, and he hadn’t asked. I’d never told anyone before. Had never felt comfortableenough. Because to do so meant revealing something intimate. Iskari wore their emotions on their skin, the glowing lines shifting with every feeling, but with so few of us left, almost no one knew how to read them. Most mistook them for scars or tattoos until they lit up, and when colours flared, people were too stunned to ask what they meant.
I’d spent too many years playing the role of the freak with light-up skin. Showing my emotions on top of that only made me vulnerable. Made me look weak. The rest of the galaxy already saw us that way, and I refused to prove them right, so I locked everything down. Kept my face blank. Indifference became my armour. My skin still betrayed me, glowing like a neon sign whether I wanted it to or not, but at least no one understood what the colours meant.
I’d probably looked like a stiff prick, but Zylo wasn’t one to be deterred. He’d just clung to me tighter, like he could squeeze the feeling out of me. And maybe he had, because my lower lip had trembled, much to my horror. I hadn’t cried in public since I was a child, and this big lovable buffoon had just come along and made my eyes leak.
After weeks of working together, Zylo was used to me by now. He’d said more than once that he loved mypricklyside.“Even the sharpest cacti need a little love and affection, Revvy,”he liked to say.
And even though only my family and Zylo had ever given me that kind of care, some stubborn part of me wanted to believe he was right.
I’d just climbed out of the shower, towel knotted at my waist, hair dripping down my chest, when my watch vibrated with an incoming call. I needed to get dressed, but I smiled and answered anyway, because I knew who it would be.
A few taps later, the image of Mum, Dad, and Grandma hovered over my wrist.
“There’s our superstar!” Dad bellowed, voice echoing around the small room.
“You were tremendous,zyli,” Mum gushed, resting her head on Dad’s shoulder. “We watched it all from start to finish.”
“Where’s my grandbaby?”
Grandma shoved her way between my parents, leaning in way too close to the screen, so I could see up her nose. We were always telling her to wear her glasses, but she complained they made her look old. She was in her eighties, but the woman was still sprightly.
And if something made her look her age? It was going into the bin.
“Hi, Grandma,” I chuckled while the three of them shoved at each other, trying to squeeze into view.
“Ma, you don’t need to push!” my mother squawked, and my dad grunted as he got an elbow to the stomach.
“Let me in. I’m old,” she snapped back. This time I laughed a little louder, because she was only “old” when it suited her.
“It’s fine. I can see all of you.”
“Are you all in one piece,va’tari?” Grandma asked.
I held up a hand, wiggling my fingers. “All fingers and toes accounted for.”
“Good. You’re small enough. You can’t afford to lose any part of you.” I opened my mouth to complain, but she’d already moved on, discussing the race like she hadn’t just insulted me. “You were quick. I was thrilled when you pushed that silly Mercer boy off the track.”
“Ma,” Mum warned, but Grandma rolled her eyes and waved it off. Behind them, Dad tried to tamp down his smile.
“What? He thinks he can come aftermygrandchild and I won’t say anything? At my age, I can hold a grudge till I die.”
“Won’t be long, then,” Dad muttered. Mum gasped while Grandma pinched the tip of his ear, pulling him down so she could tell him off.
I cleared my throat, trying to get their attention before the call devolved into chaos. “I didn’t push him off the track. The officials agreed it was just circumstantial.”
Grandma smiled wryly, tapping the side of her nose. “Don’t you worry,va’tari. Mum’s the word.”
“No, Grandma. I—”
A loud thump on the door cut off my protests. I was the last driver here, so I’d locked the door for a bit of privacy, just in case anyone was still lurking around. Maybe it was a cleaner needing to check the room before heading home.
I turned back to my family. “Listen—”
The thumping started again, a little louder this time. To avoid someone breaking the door down, I said a quick goodbye and promised to come over for dinner the next day, then I approached the door and flicked the lock.
