Blood & Honey (Race Games 1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Danica, Arden, and Phi stood at the starting line of the course. There were crowds in the stands around the sides, just like NASCAR. Just like the races she’d been used to, there were hecklers, some of them attempting to throw items from the stands into the racers, but some sort of invisible shield kept everything from the racetrack. Apparently, they cared a little bit that the racers weren’t covered in strange green nachos and sodas. Or perhaps, it was because of the King standing in a special box down with them. He was surrounded by his guards, as if expecting Phi to attempt something here. Phi would never. Even Danica knew that. If he were going to take the throne, he would do so in a way that no one could question.

The sixteen teams were made up of a mixture of creatures. Normally, Danica knew there should have only been ten, but whatever the King was offering seemed enough to encourage others. Already, the other teams were eying them. There were three teams of goblins for whatever reason. In a normal race, there should have only been a single team for each creature but apparently, the rules were changed for this race alone. There were also two teams of demons and the elusive dragons. By far, the dragons were the most unexpected of the teams. Danica had caught herself staring at the two men dressed like bikers sitting on top of a three-wheeled vehicle. It didn’t look like it would withstand much but perhaps, dragons didn’t need all that much protection. The only thing the two large men lacked were tattoos covering their bodies, but they were still intimidating, all up until one of them winked at Danica and flicked a forked tongue at her. After that, she attempted to stop staring. It was too difficult to tell who could be an enemy and who was safe.

By whatever “random” draw the King had chosen, they were second to last in the lineup, the Porsche sitting just in front of one of the goblin teams. The goblins looked less human than most of the other creatures. Their skin green and large teeth coming from their lower jaws over their upper lips, they should have been scary. Instead, they were almost. . . cute. The words that came out of their mouths, however, shattered that.

“I’m gonna enjoy watching your head pop,” one of them grunted to her as she stood with Arden and Phi.

Danica ignored him as she pulled her jumpsuit up from around her waist and zipped it. It was a new set, the symbol for the vamp team on the back. It was cleverly done, a piston with bat wings, and it glittered golden where a tiny crown had been sewn in. Not in any way subtle, but they weren’t going for subtle. They were going for winners.

Buttoning the button at her throat, Danica rolled her shoulders and grabbed the fingerless gloves Arden held out to her. It was her preference, less safe, but if the car was on fire, the tips of her fingers would be the least of her worries.

“Are we ready?” Arden asked, pulling his own gear on. Though neither of the vampires would be wearing helmets, they would still be wearing jumpsuits instead of their normal suits. Danica couldn’t deny they both looked sexy in the attire.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Danica murmured, picking up her helmet. She’d braided her hair against her skull as tightly as possible. When her dad had been alive, he’d done it for her. The man had spent a good chunk of his life learning how to do her hair after her mother died, intent on being able to do so. He’d braided her hair for her up until he’d died. She’d always asked him to, despite being able to do it herself. This time, she’d done it herself and then turned around and pulled Phi’s own hair back away from his face with a few braids and ties until he looked every inch a warrior prince.

Cameras moved around the lineup, some of them carried by creatures, others on drones. When one of the drones came up to them and zoomed in on her face, she stuck her middle finger up at it with a scowl.

Arden laughed at her antics. “All of the supernatural community probably saw that.”

“Good,” Danica grunted. “Let them think the little human is feral.”

She glared at another camera that dared to come too close and the creature backed off.

When the King began to speak, the crowd fell immediately silent, as if they were terrified of whatever he would say.

“Racers, enter your vehicles.” His eyes traced over them and landed on Danica where she stood watching him. When his face tightened, she shot a finger gun toward him and winked. Anger immediately flitted across his face before being wiped away behind a mask.

“You’re antagonizing him,” Phi grunted, taking her helmet from her hand, and carefully sliding it over her head. Once she checked it was fitting correctly, he fastened the strap.

“In my experience, angry enemies are clumsy ones.” She shrugged before knocking on her helmet. “Come on.”

Danica climbed into the driver seat and began fastening the five-point harness over her chest, making sure it was tight. The car was armored but if they were to flip or hit anything robust, it would still jolt them hard inside the car. She couldn’t continue a race with a concussion or a broken arm, so the harness would save her from that fate. Though Arden and Phi healed quickly, they still wore the harnesses too as an extra precaution. At some point, Danica expected their harnesses to be unbuckled.