The arena was full of monsters.
Not literal monsters, of course, no griffons or terreocti or dreadmice or chimeras, but Petra would almost prefer literal monsters to the boisterous crowd of spectators gathered to watch the rematch.
The entire morning had felt like a blur until this point. She'd hardly gotten any sleep, and it was on fuzzy mental autopilot that she'd saddled Rhys and led her to the racetrack. The teal dragon seemed very excited, hopping around and letting out happy little growling noises.
Petra felt her mind beginning to clear as she took her place behind the starting line. This was just another race. She'd do her best, and pray the odds were in her favor. She wasn't going to think of anything else until it was over.
The weather that day was fairly strange. The sun poked stubbornly though gaps in the low clouds, making the air warm and humid. It wouldn't be ideal weather for travelling on dragonback, but it was good enough for racing.
Elsewhere, a clock tolled for noon. She lifted her head just in time to catch Lukas's eye as he strode onto the track, leading Kicidian into position beside her.
Neither of them said anything at first. Lukas looked around at the packed stands, smiling easily and raising his hand in acknowledgement. In stark contrast, Petra's arms were crossed, and she was staring stonily at the judges' booth as she waited.
Then he turned to deliberately catch her eye. Once she looked at him, he extended his hand, and she took it. They shook once, a silent agreement to both do their best in the race. Nothing more, nothing less.
The announcer was shouting something to the excited crowd, but Petra wasn't listening. Her head was still filled with a strange sort of ringing buzz as she waited for the signal to mount up.
Finally, one of the judges stood, and the announcer went quiet. Petra noticed distantly that it was the same elegant auburn-haired woman whom they'd spoken to yesterday. "Attention, everyone! The rematch is about to begin! Riders, mount up!"
Petra swung herself up into the saddle without waiting a second. From what seemed like a thousand miles away, she heard at least some of the spectators chanting her name. She knew that, if she looked up, she may be able to manage to find her friends somewhere in the stands, cheering her on.
But she didn't. She kept her head down, her eyes focused on the bright turquoise scales that covered the back of Rhys's head.
"On your mark!" the announcer called. Rhys sank low, into a predatory preparing-to-take-off stance. Petra settled deeper into the saddle, waiting, waiting...
"Get set!"
Both the dragons lifted their wings. Petra felt Rhys dig her claws into the ground below, ready to launch herself into the air at any second.
For only half a heartbeat, Petra glanced over at Lukas, noticing that he and Kicidian were mirroring them exactly. Her heart thudded dully in her chest.
She didn't know what was going to happen.
She returned her attention to the track, just a moment before the announcer screamed, "GO!!"
Never, before or since, had Rhys taken off so quickly. She launched herself into the air, jumping up and forward so impossibly fast she seemed to have been shot from a cannon. The teal dragon let out an energized roar as her wings cut through the air.
Everything snapped into focus for Petra. It was like the whole world was on mute, no sounds except the crashing of her heart and the rushing of the wind in her ears. Rhys's powerful wings flapped on either side of her, propelling them through the air at an impossible speed.
Petra didn't know where Lukas and Kicidian were, but they weren't in front of her and Rhys, so she didn't particularly care. She nudged her dragon's right side with the toe of her boot, gently reminding her to angle her wings correctly as they went around the first bend.
Rhys tilted nearly sideways as she veered around the bend in the track, not losing even a second of her phenomenal speed. Petra urged her slightly down, flying as low to the ground as she dared.
There would be no tie this time. She was going to win, she was going to win, she was going to win.
They were just about to head into the second curve when Petra realized things weren't as simple as that. More things were slowly starting to come into focus; the indistinct shouting of the announcer, Rhys's panting laced with determined growls, and the loud sound of wingbeats from slightly above her.
Above her?
She looked up and to the right, to see Lukas and Kicidian only just behind them. She wondered if he was going to try that diving thing again to get ahead of her, but he had more devious things in mind.
Both dragons tipped their wings again to go around the bend, though while Rhys leaned with her back to the outside, Kicidian did the opposite. Taking advantage of this strange angle, Lukas reached suddenly over and snatched Rhys's reigns out of Petra's hand.
She shouted in surprise, which startled her dragon. Lukas yanked roughly on the reigns, making Rhys's head jerk back. She put on the brakes out of instinct, and Lukas dropped the blackrope and urged Kicidian ahead. The silver dragon zoomed out of the curve, taking the lead by a long shot.
Petra was in shock. She didn't know what had just happened, but recollected the reigns and dug her heels into Rhys's sides. Rhys darted forward again, but it was too late.
She watched in dull horror as Kicidian flew across the finish line, Lukas shouting in triumph on his back.
Rhys landed a few moments after them, with Petra still staring blankly as she tried to figure out what just went down. One thought slowly solidified: he cheated.
The crowd was in uproar, almost even more than they had been over the tie yesterday. Most people hadn't been able to see what exactly Lukas had just done, but they knew something nefarious had just taken place.
Rhys was snarling and roaring in anger, and Petra felt much the same. A red haze was flooding into her vision, and everything seemed too loud.
She'd just been betrayed.
All that nonsense last night about understanding each other. The gentle emotion she'd thought she'd seen in his eyes. The agreement to both do their best and leave it at that.
It had all been a ruse.
There was no Axel to hold her back this time. She practically jumped off Rhys, and stormed towards where Lukas was standing. He was still grinning smugly around at the crowd, and didn't have a chance to escape before she'd grabbed him by the front of his stupid black leather vest.
"WHAT THE SAE WAS THAT?!" she snarled in his face, giving him a firm shake. "YOU DIRTY, ROTTEN, CHEATER!! I SHOULD THROW YOU OFF MASKER'S FLAT FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID!"
She raised a fist, fully intending to punch him to the ground and hopefully break a few bones, but he folded his fingers over hers. "Just wait." he said in a soft undertone. "I know how this looks, but I swear we can both get out of this happy."
"Trust me, I will be PLENTY happy when I get to spit on your grave." was her instant seething reply. He just smiled.
The announcer was eagerly calling something about the 'unexpected twist', 'severe breach of rules' and 'indeterminate winner'. The three judges were all shouting as well, at least two of them in Lukas's direction. Somehow, he still retained that smug, unruffled smirk that Petra had hated.
For the moment, though, she retracted her fist, and watched him with narrowed eyes. She didn't know what he was up to, but he had to have some sort of scheme in mind. No one had a right to be that superior unless they were up to something.
One of the judges finally snatched the announcer's megaphone. "Attention, everyone! Although he crossed the finish line first, Lukas and his team have been DISQUALIFIED! Interacting with another rider, especially to meddle with their chances of winning, is strictly prohibited! I repeat, the Ocelots are disqualified!"
Someone in the stands let out a scream of rage, assumedly Aiden. But the judge wasn't quite done yet. "Therefore, Petra and the Order are Gadan's winners!"
"Especially since she woulda won anyways if he hadn't cheated!" one of the other judges shouted.
A wave of shock crashed over Petra, quickly turning to relief. They'd won. It was all okay. They'd won.
But...
Lukas's grin suddenly vanished, and Petra was shoved roughly to the side by the leader of the Ocelots. She raised a fist again, ready for a fight, but Aiden had other things on his mind.
"What the sae do you think you're doing?! That stunt just got us kicked out of the race!" he bellowed. Petra had never seen him so mad.
In contrast, Lukas didn't look the slightest bit perturbed. "Funny how you think I care. It doesn't matter to me if you guys are in the finals or not, since I'm not part of your team anymore."
Aiden snarled. "Like sae you're not. We had a deal. You only got to leave if you won, and that...was not winning."
Lukas's easy smile widened. "That's where you're wrong. The deal was never about winning anything. You said I had to come in first in the semifinals, and guess what? I did."
"No! No. That is not how this works. You do not get to weasel out of this, you hear me?" Aiden hissed, jabbing a finger at Lukas's chest. "You can't just twist my words and expect to get away scot-free. You had to win, and you didn't. You're still mine, you little trick."
While this exchange was going on, the other two Ocelots had approached them. Maya looked almost as angry as Aiden, but Gill wore a more thoughtful expression.
"Actually...I believe he's right. I was there: you both agreed that Lukas could leave if he came in first, not won. That sounds like the same thing, but I suppose that in this case, it's not."
Aiden turned around, looking furious and betrayed. "Whose side are you on?"
Gill shrugged. "No one's. I'm just keeping you both honest."
While Aiden started shouting at them both, Petra was distracted by Jesse coming up and hugging her from behind. "You did it!" she exclaimed happily.
Petra smiled lopsidedly. "Yeah, looks like I did."
She squeaked in surprise as Axel practically lifted her off the ground in a hug, but let it happen as Jesse continued shouting excitedly.
With her eyes focused somewhat nervously on their rival team, Olivia muttered, "What's going on? Why'd Lukas do that if he knew it was only going to get them disqualified?"
Petra suddenly became aware that she was grinning. "Tell you later." She promised as Axel released her. Now she understood it all. She wondered if Lukas's underhanded move had been pre-planned or spontaneous.
The judge with the auburn hair then came hurrying over to them. She was holding a large blue ribbon which she presented to Petra. "Congratulations. The leader of your team can talk to us later about the money prize, and we'll see you at the finals."
Petra couldn't seem to stop smiling, as Jesse and Axel wrapped her in another gigantic bear hug, as Rhys gradually realized their victory and nearly knocked her over with happiness, as countless spectators and other competitors congratulated them on their win, as she watched the three Ocelots slowly slink away from the arena in failed shame, as multiple sponsors approached Jesse, offering to back their team for the finals.
They'd won. She would be able to keep Rhys. They would be in the finals. It had all worked out.
Their celebration lasted for hours, and Petra was sure she'd never been happier. As it turned out, the Order had ended up with nearly double the money from the prize, since Jesse's friend Ivor had bet as much as he'd dared on Petra. As risky as the gamble had been, it had certainly paid off. The Order wouldn't have financial issues for a long time.
Axel and Olivia had both ended up joyously, miserably drunk, despite Jesse warning them multiple times that they'd regret it.
Lukas had essentially disappeared, which had been mildly disappointing, but she wasn't thinking too much of it. She was partially convinced he'd already taken off, and was probably already halfway across Crelang.
Which is why, to her surprise, he was waiting for her as she went out to the dragon stables right as the sun was going down.
She'd been on her way to visit Rhys, just like every night, when she saw him leaning casually against the door to the stables. A full backpack rested at his feet. Kicidian was with him, munching on the dried apple slices Lukas was feeding him.
"What are you still doing here?" she asked. He looked up, and grinned when he saw her.
"Hey. Waiting for you, actually. I wanted to say goodbye before I left."
"That's very bold, considering you did still cheat me out of my glorious victory." she told him, though her words were empty of malice.
His gentle smile dropped. "Yeah...I'm sorry about that, by the way. I hope I didn't hurt Rhys. I would've rather not surprised you like that, but I knew it was the only way for us to both get we wanted."
"How did you even think to do that?" she wondered.
Lukas's mischievous smile returned. "You said it yourself, Petra. Pure desperation."
"So...I take it that Aiden finally caved?" she checked.
He nodded. "Yep. Really wasn't happy about it, but I'm free. He...basically told me he never wanted to see me again, which I suppose is fair. Now, he might be the only person who hates me even more than you."
"I don't...I don't think I'm really allowed to hate you anymore." she said hesitantly, stepping closer to him. "You saved us today, and I...well, I need to thank you for that."
He flashed her a broad grin. "No, you don't really. You already know I had purely selfish motivations."
She laughed, shaking her head. Kicidian made a squeaking chirping noise that sounded vaguely like laughter as well, and Lukas smiled wistfully as he reached up to stroke his dragon's neck.
"I guess this is goodbye, huh?" Petra asked. "Since you're gonna be off exploring the world and all."
He looked at her silently for a few moments, seeming like he was trying to say something, but didn't know what. "Yeah." he said finally. "I guess it is."
She reached forward and playfully shoved his shoulder. "Send me a postcard from Kevomohhs."
"Gladly." He agreed, picking up his pack from the ground and slinging it over one shoulder.
She watched as he swung himself up onto his dragon and settled into the saddle. It caused a strange sort of unfamiliar pang to her heart as she realized this was probably the last she'd see of him for a long time, but at the same time, she was glad he was going.
"Good luck out there." She called, as Kicidian lifted his wings in preparation to take off.
He smiled down at her. "You too."
The silver dragon's wings flapped down, and he took to the air. Petra watched as they soared away, over the roofs of the town and away over the desert.
She didn't look away until they were just a bright speck against the sunset horizon, her heart lighter than it had been in ages. They'd beaten the odds, and were both free of their heaviest problems.
In the end, things hadn't been nearly as complicated as they'd seemed.
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