Page 10 of Hyperspeed
“Hi, Mum,” I said through a yawn. Hearing her voice soothed the nerves I hadn’t noticed bubbling away in my stomach. “You’re calling early.”
Zyphar, the planet where we lived, was three hours ahead, and given it was my parents’ day off, I hadn’t expected to hear from her until later.
“Sorry, love. Forgot about the time difference. I was just so excited for my baby’s first race!” I felt those pesky nerves flare up again, and when I smiled, it probably came out more like a grimace. Mum’s gaze was as sharp as always, not missing a thing. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m—”
“Nope,” she cut me off, eyes narrowed. “If you say ‘fine,’ your grandmother will be on the next shuttle there to knock some sense into you.”
The words died on my lips at the image of Grandma whacking me over the head with her favourite wooden hairbrush. I knew Mum well enough to know her threats were never idle. She’d do it if she thought it would help.
“I’m just nervous,” I mumbled.
Mum’s face softened. “Nerves are natural,zyli. This is a huge opportunity for you. Something you’ve worked so hard for, even if . . .“ She trailed off, but I knew what she’d left unsaid.
“Even if your grandmother and I don’t agree with how you got there.”
But the mention of opportunity had Kai Mercer’s face appearing in my mind. The way his square jaw had tightened as he ripped into me for the move I’d pulled during qualifying. His condescending tone, like I was some clueless child.
The memory had me seething. Sure, I was a rookie, but I wasn’t a fucking idiot.
Iknewit was a stupid risk. Stars, if I’d lost focus or second-guessed my instincts for even a moment, I’d have been an Iskari-shaped smear on Vortex Canyon’s walls.
Of course, I wouldn’t pull that stunt during an actual race. No, the only reason I’d risked it was because it had been only the two of us on the track. Also . . . a small, liketeenytiny part of me wanted to show off in front of the league’s previous champion.
There’d been more than enough room between us to pull off the move I’d perfected while in the underground circuit. And it had given me just enough of an edge to push the legendary Valen Dray down to fifth place. It had earned me a starting spot in fourth today—three places behind that cocky bastard, Kai Mercer.
Hearing Mum say my name, I tuned back into the tail end of the conversation. There was more soothing and motherly love before we said our goodbyes.
I headed to the hotel’s gym and did a quick workout—just enough to get my heart pumping since I didn’t want to overexert myself. Racing was hard on the mind and body, and I needed a minor boost without zapping all my energy.
Iskari weren’t naturally physical, and it showed in my lean frame. But still, the exercise cleared my head of thoughts related to that infuriating prick.
By the time I’d finished my cooldown on the treadmill, I was feeling pretty zen. Calm. In control. That was what I needed to be to get through this competition. To show the galaxy that the Iskari were anything but weak.
No. We could do anything we wanted, given the opportunity.
By the time I’d left the gym, showered, and eaten breakfast in the hotel restaurant, it was only eight a.m. The race started at noon, and the team shuttle was picking us up at nine.
Sigh.
It was going to be a long day.
The paddock was . . . hectic.
I wasn’t used to this level of activity on race day. We didn’t have qualifying sessions or even practice on the underground circuit. News of a race spread through the grapevine, then you’d turn up with a vehicle and race. It was simple. Just make it from start to finish however you could.
You didn’t have a team either. Some turned up with friends or an entourage, but that was more about showing off. No one had ever accompanied me before. I didn’t have anyone to bring. But now I had an entire team at my back—engineers, crew, strategists, the team principal.
I even had ateammate. The underground could be a lonely place, so I was still getting used to having people I could rely on, and who’d rely on me in return.
There were two championships within the Astro Space League: the Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship.
The constructors built the vehicles, and the drivers raced in them, and while we drove alone, fighting for individual points and a place on the podium, we also had to work as a team for the constructors. For the people behind the scenes who put in the work to build a vehicle worth racing.
My name was now on the ASL’s constantly shifting points table. Sitting at zero, just like everyone else’s. For once, I was an equal—at least for today.
I followed Zylo off the team shuttle, my personal coach Zha’reen, or Reen for short, marching along beside me. She was a feisty Vorkan woman and built like a brick shithouse. I’d never had a personal coach before, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say she had dictatorial tendencies.
