At Kel’s side, Sav fidgeted, raking her claws. In one swift motion, she launched at the place Coup’s hand had been just a moment ago. If he hadn’t moved, he likely would’ve lost a few fingers. Kel couldn’t resist a smirk.
Coup’s mouth twisted into a bitter line. “Can you try suppressing that holier-than-thou attitude long enough to keep me alive?”
Kel’s hands dug into her hips. “Excuse me?”
Coup’s head whipped toward Kel, as much movement as he’d risk beside Sav. “You thinkIwant to be spending my mornings listening to you rant about how you’re too good for us? Risking my life every time Savita decides to mirror your body language?”
Hot anger filled Kel’s veins, comforting in its familiarity.Flames, shehatedCoup. “You’re the one who agreed to this.Youdrove to my farm and wantedmyhelp approachingmyphoenix. If we’re going to work together, you need to do whatever I tell you to, whether or not you agree with it.”
As if to lend her own voice to Kel’s threat, Savita let out a low growl. Thicker smoke rose from her feathers. Kel bit down on a laugh.
Coup lifted his chin. “I’m here to win, Varra. Not to be your lapdog.”
“At least a lapdog can follow basic instructions,” she retorted.
Coup rubbed his fingers over his furrowed brow. A moment later, he let out a long breath. “Let’s just try to go an hour without Sav burning me alive.ThenI’ll pledge my unwavering loyalty to you.”
Though Kel’s anger burned hotter, she relaxed her stance, wary of Sav picking up on any further body language.Alchemists!He knew how to push her buttons. “If I tell you to do something mid-race, will you?”
“If it’ll help us win, sure.”
If Kel had Sav’s temperature, steam would’ve poured out of her nose. “IfBeknasked you to do something, would you?”
Coup gave a surprised laugh. “Probably not. My brother’s great at a lot of things, but track strategy isn’t one of them.”
She sucked in a deep breath and faced Savita. “I doubt she’ll let you on her back yet,” she said tersely. “I’ll just lead her through her usual warm-ups. We’ll gauge her mood after that.”
Coup nodded silently, clearly biting back a retort. Kel tried her best to ignore him as she began coaxing Savita into her warm-ups: jumps, stretches, sprints, all before Kel guided her into the air with vocal commands and practiced hand gestures.
Savita hopped in a small circle before stretching her wings wider. Kel laughed as the phoenix loosed a joyful shriek and flapped her wings twice, three times. Kel bent her knees to brace against sudden winds as Savita launched into the air with another cry that sounded almost giddy, shooting straight into the clouds.
Savita’s feathers turned to serpentine flames and her grumbles became eager, earsplitting screams. Whether it was while she trained, raced, or simply swooped about the aviary, Savita always preferred to be airborne.
“How do you get her to follow commands while she’s flying?”Coup’s husky voice broke through her reverie. He was watching Savita, head tilted toward the clouds.
Kel leaned her arms to the right and Savita glided higher, at a slight angle. “Trust. Practice. Bribery with her favorite meats. Years and years spent learning her moods and behavior.” She shot him a look. “Patience, which is something you probably don’t know much about.”
Coup merely sighed.
Kel directed Sav higher, waving her arms about as if guiding an airship. Savita glided and pivoted through the clouds. A trail of smoke carved patterns into the sky: a figure eight, a spiral, and then more complex movements like angled downfalls and dual talon attacks. Sav dove between tall fence posts and swooped beneath overhanging nets, weaving between the contraptions littering the paddock.
After twenty minutes, when Dira’s impatience to begin training became unbearably vocal, Kel instructed Sav to land.
Dira hurried closer and lifted her hands, as if looking at the track through a camera lens. “We should start with a simulation without anyone on her back. Let’s move all the fence posts together and lower the nets. Savita was faster than the other phoenixes in yesterday’s race, but she lost focus when they drifted near her. I want Sav to be comfortable the next time she has to weave through narrow tracks.”
Following Dira’s instructions, they reorganized the makeshift track. By the time Dira was satisfied, Kel, Coup and Bekn were gleaming with sweat.
“You’ve got a pretty impressive setup out here,” Bekn remarked.
Dira brushed dust off her hands. “We’re just missing a sancter rifle.Thenwe could really make a mark on CAPR.”
Kel threw Dira a dry look. “In your dreams. The only mark a sancter rifle would be making is all over my farm.”
Sancter rifles were one of the few handheld weapons found on Cendor. The sleek rifles shot brilliant, electric pulses; an amplified version of what controlled phoenixes through their collars. They cost a fortune. Most were used to start CAPR races or venture into Vohre Forest to capture phoenixes; they were far too dangerous to turn on people. The weapon’s torrential electricity would likely tear through flesh and nerves as easily as lightning through the sky.
Kel found it amusing that—for an island that claimed to be a tech hub—it had developed little in the way of human firearms. Mostly because the council’s attention was instead focused on ways to control phoenixes—the greater danger to the island.
Dira threw Kel a wry grin before stepping back with Bekn, leaving Coup and Kel to tie the saddle girth around Savita’s belly. Surprisingly cooperative at Coup’s nearness, Sav nuzzled her beak against Kel’s cheek, staying otherwise still. Once the saddle was in place, Kel led the phoenix to the makeshift starting line and stepped back.
