Page 48 of This Dark Descent
“Right.” Mikira stared down at her bare feet—Reid had made her remove her boots at the door—no longer seeming to notice the sting of the needle.
Ari’s fingers curled about the edge of her chair. She’d never met Rezek Kelbra, but she was beginning to understand why Damien was targeting him. If he truly cared about improving things the way he’d told Mikira, Rezek was a good person to start with. Still, she suspected there was more to it than that. The way he said Rezek’s name… it was like a curse.
Reid tied off the last stitch and cut the thread free of Mikira’s arm, then neatly bandaged it all. “You’re welcome,” he said flatly when all Mikira did was poke at it.
He dropped the needle onto a pile of bloodstained cloth and gathered it all with his supplies, disappearing into his bedroom. Mikira’s gaze followed him, and Ari wondered if the girl even realized the way she watched him.
Reid returned with Widget on his shoulder. “So, what’s our new strategy? Clearly trying to go unnoticed didn’t work.”
“Are you blaming me for that too?” Mikira snapped. She hadn’t moved from her spot on the chaise, something Reid not only seemed to have noticed, but appeared unsure what to do about.
He hovered at the edge of the rug. “Who should I blame? The cat?”
Shutting out their bickering, Ari secured two cups of lavender tea from the drink cart and set one before Mikira and the other beside it. Casting Mikira a final sour look, Reid sat down beside her, snatching up the tea as though he’d only come for it.
Damien joined them. “Anyone who saw Mikira make the comeback that she did will wonder if she’s a threat. I’ve already had reports that Arabella Wakelin’s team was hunting for racing records of you at the Vault. Slipping by unnoticed is no longer an option.”
“What do we do, then?” Mikira cradled her teacup.
Ari’s fingers played absently with her Saba’s necklace. She traced thesharp point, remembering those long minutes spent in the cell with Damien and the men who’d hurt her. “We make them fear you instead. Most of the people entering this race are like you: desperate and just trying to survive.”
Mikira winced, but Ari pressed on. “Those people are going to do what we were trying to, which is hope they can slip by unnoticed long enough to make it to the finish line first. You can outrace them with Atara, so they don’t matter. That leaves the real racers like Arabella and the fighters. You’ve got the fighters’ attention, so the best we can do is reduce the number of them that think attacking you is worth it.”
A slow smile curved Damien’s lips. “If people think Mikira is dangerous to fight—”
“Which I am.”
“—then they’ll focus on competition they know they can best first and hope someone else takes her out in the meantime.”
Ari nodded. “Exactly. But by the time they realize they have to deal with her after all, she’ll be long gone.”
“That won’t take care of everyone.” Reid held his teacup away from a curious Widget. “Rezek will try to make sure you don’t finish, and you still have to outrace the best.”
“But it at least means fewer people I’ll have to contend with.” Mikira sat forward. “It’s a good plan. How do we do it?”
“We start by ensuring the next time you race with Atara, you’re in full control, which means training from now until the next race a week from now,” Damien replied. “We’ll also make a statement at the next ball, which is in four days. I’ll introduce you to as many people as I can. By the end of the night, everyone will know your name. You’ll seem untouchable.”
Reid lifted his teacup in a salute. “Then come the next race, you destroy them.”
CHAPTER 17
MIKIRA
MIKIRA FIDDLED WITHher empty teacup. Reid had disappeared into his workshop, and Ari had excused herself to go lie down. Between the dark shadows under her eyes and the way she kept flinching at the light, Mikira suspected she was nursing a headache.
Only Damien remained, sorting through ledgers at his desk. Until her talk with Ari, she’d been set on following through with Rezek’s demands. He had so much power, so much influence, that the idea of trying to wriggle out from beneath his thumb felt impossible. But perhaps Ari was right. Perhaps Damien could keep them safe.
She made herself a promise then. She would ask him about Rezek, and if he told her something,anything, true, she would let herself trust him.
Setting her teacup aside, she came to stand across from him, praying she was not about to make a terrible mistake.
“I wanted to ask you something about today,” she said when he looked up. “Rezek called you his old friend. Were you…?”
Damien set down his pen. “We were. Once. Now I intend to see his house burn.” His hand strayed to the pocket watch at his waist. On the coach ride home, he hadn’t said a word to her, but his fingers had flicked the pocket watch open and shut, open and shut, as if seeking its calming rhythm. It was the most restless she’d ever seen him.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked.
“It’s not—I don’t—” She clenched her teeth. She actually found herself wishing Reid were here, if only for someone else to take up a little of the space that Damien so easily consumed.
