Blood & Honey (Race Games 1)

Chapter Eleven

“Are you sure about this?” Arden asked as he paced back and forth across the floor.

Phi alternated between watching him work through his worry and swiping through his tablet, ordering in all the parts they would need for the modifications. The Race Games required the racers to protect themselves, not only from the traps and hazards along the course, but from the other racers as well. In a normal race, the competitors would try to get others to fall out of the race, whether without a car or without life. In this race, Phi wouldn’t put it past his father to tempt the other racers to try harder or offer larger prizes if they win.

Though Phi projected an aura of calm, he was wound just as tight as Arden. He was just better at hiding it. He was worried. Their chances of winning were slim—their chances of survival more so—but they stood a chance, especially with Danica on their team.

“I’m sure,” Phi answered, adding more items to his purchase on his tablet. He would rather have too much than not enough, and after already purchasing all the items Arden had requested, he’d decided a few more couldn’t hurt. “She’s our best chance at winning. Danica’s driving skills and instincts combined with your weapons knowledge and my penchant for finding loopholes, we will be an unbeatable team.”

Arden paused and looked over at Phi, his brows raised. “Except you know your father will be paying the other teams to kill us. He’ll offer riches they won’t be able to resist. He won’t want you to just lose and disappear. He’ll want you to be completely out of the running, which means a stake right through your heart.”

“It matters not,” Phi said, setting his tablet aside and sighing. “We’re going to win.”

Coming over to take a seat next to Phi at the table, Arden relaxed in the way he only ever did around Phi. The vampire had long not trusted most people. He only ever let down his guard around Phi after they’d been friends for so many years. They’d been best friends for a few centuries. It was hard not to grow comfortable with someone after that long, but it was more than that. Arden trusted Phi, just as Phi trusted Arden, and that was a rare quality in the vampire world.

“Are you so certain?” Arden asked softly, meeting Phi’s eyes. There’s was the knowledge there that more than one outcome ended in his death, but Arden didn’t care about that. Instead, he worried more for Phi.

“Yes,” Phi answered, clapping his friend on the shoulder gently. “Because I refuse to believe otherwise.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything, sitting with the knowledge that in two weeks’ time, they would be fighting for their lives. Luckily, they couldn’t be taken out before the race. Phi was anything but compliant. No one would get onto his compound he didn’t want on it. They would be safe until it was time to race.

Arden sighed and took a sip from a crystal class. From the golden colored liquid inside, Phi assumed it was whiskey, Arden’s preferred liquor. Phi much preferred wine to whiskey but he understood the draw to both.

“Danica is. . .” Arden began and trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.

“I know,” Phi admitted, sighing. “I’ve seen pictures, but I didn’t expect her to be so. . .”

“Fiery,” Arden finished with a grin. Phi had been about to say beautiful but fiery was an apt description as well. There was something about Danica Dyers that drew you in. It was far different from anything else Phi had witnessed before.

“The pictures don’t do her justice, certainly.” Phi ran a hand through his hair. The fire that burned in Danica Dyers, that she’d been attempting to snuff out, was tempting. She could never smother that fire completely, not when she was a whole inferno. All she needed was a little fanning and Phi had no doubt she’d open up and wipe away the world. Seeing her drive that Indy car on a race track it wasn’t meant for, with expert hands, had done something for him. She claimed she hadn’t raced in years, and yet, she’d moved around that track as if she’d raced every single day of her life, as if she were a part of the car itself. There was no separation between her and the wheels. That kind of talent wasn’t cultivated. It was born.

“We should curb the temptation,” Arden said suddenly, interrupting Phi’s thoughts. “We don’t need that kind of distraction, not when there’s so much on the line.”

“I agree.” Phi met Arden’s eyes and he could tell neither of them much liked that announcement. “It’s in all of our best interests. Meanwhile, you and I have much to discuss before Danica arrives. She should be here in a few hours. I gave her time to say her good byes and get her affairs in order.”

“You could have ordered her here right away,” Arden pointed out. “You have her over a barrel, my friend.”

Phi met his eyes. “I am not my father, Arden.”

“And you never will be,” Arden said confidently. “Let’s prepare for Danica’s arrival. Please, tell me you didn’t order a bunch of dresses and the likes for her. A woman like that will tip up her nose at a dress worth more than a car.”

“Of course not,” Phi grunted, while secretly making a note to cancel the wardrobe he’d indeed ordered. He was used to women who liked the finer things in life, rather than ones who preferred grease to makeup, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to impress Danica. She would only need one dress for the ball before the race, but otherwise, he’d be sending the rest back. Arden was right. He was getting ahead of himself. “I’ll send for a collection of racing gear and clothing to be sent over. Danica can choose the things she likes herself.”

“Don’t be surprised if she turns it all down.”

“Ah.” Phi glanced at Arden closely. “The two of you have more in common than I first thought.” Once upon a time, Arden had turned down gifts as well, a young vampire determined to make his own way, and he had quickly. Danica was much the same. She would not accept gifts so easily. “I’ll make sure any gifts are presented in a way that doesn’t harm her pride. You forget I’m well versed in court intricacies.”

“I never forget,” Arden grinned. “After all, you still always walk like there’s a stick up your ass.”

“Prick.”

“Asshole,” Arden shot back, bumping shoulders with him. “Now, let’s go look through the items that have already arrived. It’s going to take some interesting work to get all those weapons and reinforcements in. I need your help determining some of the best placements for the less powerful items.”

Phi followed his best friend into the shop and while he busied himself with the weapons Arden explained, his mind was also on a fiery woman determined to save twenty-one children from the injustices of the world.