Athena\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018God I still can\u2019t believe you got him to race, Sarah said next to me, her voice tight with nerves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched Tristan on Derek\u2019s bike at the starting line, rolling his shoulders with that smooth, dangerous grace that always made my breath catch. \u201cHe\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted to. I could see it in his eyes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill, Sarah said, \u201cTristan never goes back on his words, I never believed he\u2019d race again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did I, Orion said, his other arm holding her waist, but there was something almost excited in his tone now\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew what Tristan could do. We all did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Down at the starting line, Tristan moved with easy precision, testing the bike\u2019s weight, checking the tire pressure with his boot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even from here, I could see the change in him\u2013the way his senses were already taking everything in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wind direction. Track temperature. The slight shake in one of the other bikes that meant something was loose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek stood beside him, probably giving last\u2013minute advice, but Tristan wasn\u2019t really listening. His head tilted slightly, tracking sounds the rest of us\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t hear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were six other riders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seven total.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I recognized Marc on the black bike, he was decent, played fair. But then there was Vic on the red bike, and my stomach dropped. Cole on the yellow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jensen with the scar across his jaw. Three others I didn\u2019t know, but they had that look. That hungry, desperate look of riders who\u2019d do anything to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of competition,\u201d Sarah said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not competition,\u201d Orion said, and I heard the pride in his voice. \u201cThey\u2019re just in the way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to believe that, but something in my gut twisted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sickness that had been my constant companion these past few days came back, sharp and strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe it was morning sickness, though calling it that was a joke since it hit me at all hours. Or maybe it was instinct, but I suddenly noticed how the other six riders kept glancing at Tristan, with calculation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I know that look, I\u2019d seen it countless times but this felt different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes this feel off to anyone else?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek had come back to us, wiping his hands on his jeans. \u201cWhat do\u00a0<\/p>\n
you\u00a0<\/p>\n
mean?\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Look at them. They keep looking at Tristan like\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
1:24 pm P\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 322\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike they planned something,\u201d Orion finished, his face darkening. His arm tightened around Sarah\u2019s waist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You think they\u2019re working together?\u201d Sarah asked, leaning into her husband slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course they are. They always work together, but the question was, how do they know Tristan was going to race today? Or did they just plan it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTristan embarrassed a lot of people before he quit, Derek explained to Serah slowly. \u201cSet records that still haven\u2019t been broken. Made riders look like\u00a0<\/p>\n
amateurs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s won against five riders ganging up on him before,\u201d I said, remembering that legendary race months ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The race that had become a story everyone told in the underground circuit. Five experienced riders had worked together trying to take Tristan down, and he\u2019d still crossed the finish line first, barely breaking a sweat. \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t be stupid enough to try again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSix is better odds than five,\u201d Orion said grimly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they\u2019ve had months to plan,\u201d Derek added, his jaw tight. \u201cMonths to watch footage, study his moves, figure out his patterns.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hand drifted to my still\u2013flat stomach, a protective move I\u2019d started doing over the past week since finding out about the twins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was nothing to feel yet, no visible sign of the lives growing inside me, but I was aware of them anyway. Of how fragile they were. Of how much\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan had to lose now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we should stop this,\u201d I said suddenly regret asking him to race. \u201cTell him not to race.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
If anything happens to him, I won\u2019t forgive myself. But then I remind myself who Tristan is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan is one of the best racer I\u2019ve seen and he\u2019ll be careful, I trust him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 322 Athena\u00a0 \u2018God I still can\u2019t believe you got him to race, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26479\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}