Page 29 of Stealing the Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lords 3)

Would she meet a drastic turn as Aidan had? Luckily, no. She entered a flat plain. The other ships were leading by a good distance, battling for the lead.

Working her engines to the max, she tore across the flats. She saw a huge rounded crater ahead, like something made by the strike of an asteroid, with a steep drop that leveled out before rising up to another plateau. Her competitors simply flew over it, the most direct path across. She followed suit.

Suddenly the other ships tilted and jostled, as if they were fighting to keep control. Seconds later, she discovered why. Multiple geysers below gushed hot air, creating havoc. The squall assaulted her wings, throwing her up and to the right. She corrected just as another gust pushed her to the left, causing her to overcorrect. “Dammit.”

The others had equal trouble, losing momentum as they worked to stay on track. The struggle slowed her as well, keeping her from taking the advantage.

But next time she would.

For now, she was grateful to make it across. The winds died down and she straightened out, once more riding the flats at full speed, the engine roaring in her ears.

Coming up, a series of stone arches led toward a rising cliff. A cleft cut through it, just like in Aidan’s race. She breezed through the arches and rocketed into the channel. As Aidan had, she went low, closing in on her competition. And like Aidan’s race, the cliffs narrowed, forcing them all to angle their wings perpendicular to the ground. It was a tight squeeze, but she managed.

Unlike Aidan’s race, this channel was filled with drastic twists and turns, sharp and treacherous. Twice she nearly hit the rock face. One of her closely trailing competitors must have. She heard the distinct sound of an explosion and imagined the ship ripping apart, followed by a fireball of raining down on the track behind her.

Two competitors left.

Burgeoning light ahead put her on high alert. One of those wicked turns could be coming up.

Wicked was right. Turn was wrong. She came to a vertical cylinder chute. The only way to go? Straight up.

Moving at a dangerously fast speed for such a maneuver, she pulled back on the controls and engaged the thrusters along the belly of her ship. She skimmed the rocky wall, but kept control as she propelled skyward. Moments later, she shot into the blistering sunlight and immediately leveled out to ride the ridged sloping path ahead of her at full speed.

She wasn’t as far behind now, but still in last place. Not for long, she hoped. She had the lay of the track. As she began the second lap, she took that first dive at breakneck speed, finding no trouble this time around.

Blasting into the inky mouth of the cave, she immediately maneuvered to the edge, where there were no stalactites, and rode it smoothly to the exit. Thundering across the flats, she put even more power into the engines. They wailed from the effort.

The other ships, now not so far ahead, crossed the windy crater in the same fashion as before, battling for control. Instead of following this time, Onnika took another route. She dove into the crevasse, accelerating to insane speeds. Outside, the wind whistled past her. She only wished she could feel it in her hair.

The ground raced up to meet her, but she only smiled. At the last minute, she pulled up, and just as she suspected, the gale winds caught her wings and pushed her up as if she’d engaged an extra engine. While the others continued to fight the tempest, she was using it to her advantage.

Shooting out of the crevasse, she took the lead.

Heart pounding with exhilaration, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

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