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Avery's heart hammered as the crowd roared louder, their chants echoing through the tower.
She hadn't expected this. One moment she was lost in a futuristic city, and the next, she was racing for her freedom on a borrowed bike against the reigning queen of a racing empire. Everything about Reyna Vex screamed danger. Control. Power. The kind of woman who didn't offer chances—she took them.
The hover-platform lowered her to the launchpad. The Spiral Circuit gleamed ahead, a shimmering trail of twists, vertical loops, and anti-gravity jumps that defied physics. Each track hovered mid-air, held in place by invisible magnetics. There were no rails, no safety nets. A fall meant pain. Maybe worse.
Reyna's voice hummed in Avery's ear through the comm-link embedded in the borrowed helmet.
"You sure you want this, Knightmare? Still time to back out."
Avery smiled despite herself. "Back out? That's cute."
Reyna chuckled. "I like you already."
The countdown began.
Three. Avery revved the engine. The bike purred like a living creature. Responsive. Hungry.
Two. The crowd hushed, a city holding its breath.
One.
The lights flared green.
They shot forward.
Avery leaned into the curve of the spiral, the bike clinging to the track with magnetic precision. Reyna was just ahead, her violet trail a comet Avery chased through loops and corkscrews. The wind screamed past her. Adrenaline surged.
Reyna took a sharp bank, drifting sideways around a flaming arc. Avery followed, shaving a millisecond off the turn. She couldn't believe how natural the bike felt under her—responsive in a way her old ride had never been. But Reyna's route was clever, aggressive. She blocked the optimal lines, forcing Avery into riskier angles.
Still, Avery gained ground.
By the second lap, they were neck and neck.
"You're not bad," Reyna's voice crackled through the link. "But not enough."
"We'll see," Avery shot back.
A pulse tunnel came next—lit with strobing lights, designed to disorient. Avery narrowed her eyes and leaned into muscle memory. Focus. Feel. Don't think. She emerged just behind Reyna again.
Then came the final stretch—a gravity loop that spun them upside down before launching them to the finish.
Avery saw her chance. Reyna moved left for the optimal line.
Avery cut right, tighter, riskier.
For a moment, they were even.
Then Avery surged ahead.
The crowd erupted.
Her front tire crossed the sensor first.
WINNER: AVERY KNIGHT blinked in gold across the tower screens.
She skidded to a stop, barely breathing. The engine whined down. Her hands trembled.
Reyna rolled up beside her. Silent. Watching.
"You got lucky," Reyna finally said, removing her helmet.
Avery smirked. "No. I got free."
Reyna's smile was strange. "Not quite."
Avery blinked. "What?"
"You won the race. But you destroyed my best prototype bike in the process. And there's a rule for that."
"What rule?"
Reyna stepped close, her breath warm. "You break it, you pay it back—with labor."
"You're joking."
Reyna's voice dropped. "Welcome to your new job, Knightmare."