The Spiral Circuit's roar still echoed in Avery's ears as she followed Reyna down a narrow service tunnel beneath the platform. Her victory had left the crowd breathless—but Reyna's words had left Avery furious.
"What kind of rule is that?" Avery snapped, ducking beneath a pipe. "I just risked my life out there."
"You broke my bike," Reyna said without turning. "Top-line prototype. Experimental drive core. You didn't risk anything—you cost me."
Avery's voice dropped into a growl. "I didn't ask for this. I didn't even ask to be here."
"And yet, here you are. Riding my machines. Winning my races. Getting cheered by my fans."
They stopped at a sealed door marked Crew Only. Reyna pressed her palm against the scanner. It hissed open to reveal a sleek workshop, bathed in violet light and lined with suspended bikes in various stages of design. The smell of oil, ozone, and heat was strangely comforting.
"This is where you'll work," Reyna said, finally facing her. "You'll repair what you broke, maintain the fleet, and follow orders. Refuse, and I'll hand you over to the Enforcers for tech smuggling and zone trespassing."
Avery crossed her arms. "So I'm a prisoner."
"You're a contractor with… flexible terms."
Avery shot her a glare that could have melted steel. "You said if I won, I was free."
Reyna stepped closer, her smirk fading. "You are. Free from the race. Free from the city's punishment. But this—" she tapped the scorched, half-melted remains of the borrowed bike—"this is mine. And I don't let debts go unpaid."
There was something electric between them—hostility, yes, but something else too. A spark that made Avery's pulse quicken.
"Fine," Avery muttered. "I'll fix your precious machine. But don't expect me to bow and scrape like your minions."
Reyna grinned again, sharp and amused. "Good. I hate scraping."
She handed Avery a datapad loaded with schematics and diagnostic logs. "Start with the drive stabilizer. You've got twenty hours before the next race. I expect results."
And with that, Reyna turned and walked away, her boots clicking against the metal floor.
Avery stared at the workshop.
She was stuck.
But as she ran her hands over the bike's frame, sparks dancing beneath her fingertips, something odd happened. She wanted to understand this tech. It was centuries beyond anything she'd seen, but the challenge... it felt like breathing.
As hours passed, her anger simmered—not vanished, but reshaped. She wasn't here by choice.
But maybe—just maybe—she'd figure out how to make this world hers.
And as for Reyna?
There was more to the Queen of the Spiral than arrogance and control.
Avery could feel it.
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