from the stands. Tamra knew that firsthand. But she wasn’t going to say all that.
“What changed is he came back—she brought him back. And he’s the fastest and strongest I’ve ever trained.” In his cage, the black lion paced to the limits of his chains. He growled at the lizard with elephant legs being loaded into the next cart. “He can win races.”
Osir snorted. “Sure he can. If he can run in an oval, not merely a straight line.”
“Why don’t you worry about your own racers.”
“Because if I don’t worry about your kehok, it seems no one will,” he said with pointed finality.
He drifted away before Tamra could reply, which was fine since she didn’t plan on saying anything pleasant. She oversaw the packing of supplies: saddles, nets, chains, enough food for the racer and enough for the kehok pulling the carts, as well as tents, bedding, and cookware. They’d camp by the racetrack, beyond the city of Peron.
For the hundredth time, she wished she could have brought Shalla.
After Raia strapped the water supply to a shelf on the side of the cart, Tamra announced, “We’re ready.”
“Do you really think so?” Raia asked.
Tamra knew she wasn’t asking about the supplies. “It doesn’t matter what I think.” From here on, it mattered only what Raia thought—at least until she finished the race. Then Tamra could critique her performance all she wanted. Unless, of course, Raia lost, and Lady Evara followed through on her threat to withdraw her support. Regardless, for now, it was all about how Raia felt.
Raia was studying the black lion kehok, who was still pacing inside his cage, his tail swatting the bars. Occasionally, he snapped his jaws in the direction of one of the other racers. “What if he wants to run off the track again?”
“Do you want to run off again?”
She shook her head definitively. “Did that already.”
“Then that’s all that matters. Your need has to overwhelm his need. That’s how you control him.” Tamra felt as though she’d said that a thousand times. She hoped it had sunk in.
“I thought you said it’s best if his need is my need?”
“That’s how you ended up running toward the horizon.”
Raia looked deep in thought for a moment, then said, “I think I’ll travel with him. Explain one more time what we’re doing and why.”
“You can’t reason with kehoks,” Tamra cautioned. She knew they’d won his cooperation by dangling the word “freedom” in front of him, but he understood it only as a bare concept. He wasn’t capable of understanding the multiple-race schedule of the Becaran Races. “They’re smart, but not that smart. They’re fueled by rage and loathing for themselves and the universe. Don’t make the mistake of thinking he understands you, much less likes you.” As unusual as this kehok was, it was dangerous to start believing he was anything but a monster. That’s how people get hurt.
But Raia was already moving to the cage and letting herself inside. She settled, sensibly, in one corner, out of reach of his claws. Tamra felt the other trainers and riders staring at them and knew they were judging her.
“Another of your special training exercises?” Osir called.
She made a rude gesture at him as she climbed onto the bench. “Go,” she instructed the rhino-croc. He lurched forward, beginning their journey to their first race.
Chapter 12
The day after she’d said goodbye to her mother, Shalla scrubbed her cheeks and pinned her braided hair back tight against her scalp. Their teachers liked all students to be clean, especially when meeting citizens. She hummed to herself, checked her tunic for any stray stains, and then lowered herself to the center of the floor and crossed her legs to wait.
This was a room for waiting: a smooth black floor, a blue glass ceiling, and eight tiled walls. She began with the first tile, a large bronze star. This was where you always began. She then let her eyes trace the pattern, following the swirling lines from star to star.
By the time she’d completed three walls, her mind felt nicely calm, the way it was supposed to, not all swirly like it had felt when she’d rushed out of the house. Mama had wanted extra time to say goodbye because she was leaving for a race. She’d be gone for two nights, and Shalla was to stay with the augurs in the temple for extra training.
Shalla didn’t like to let Mama see, because she didn’t want to worry her, but she hated staying at