You look over and know that you need to thank her. It’s embarrassing to remember your own weakness, but today is a new day. You will never make the same mistake again.

“I needed you yesterday. I’m so thankful. What you did was nothing short of a miracle. But today, I’m the rider. If we want to win, it has to be me the rest of the way.”

“He’s all yours,” Quinn says.

Determination burns across the link between the two of you, from flicker to flame. You came into this race with a confident swagger, but Bravos’s betrayal stole that. You’re stunned to feel recovery so soon. It’s not hard to figure out that the spirit’s presence is helping you do the impossible. It also helps that you’ve realized something about men like Bravos—men like your father. Their need to be first place is a weakness. Their desire for you—or your mother—to be less so that they look like more is a weakness. You realize they’re afraid of you.

They fear anyone who can rise higher than they can.

So that’s what you plan to do.

You and the horse get reacquainted. It’s like two old friends learning a new dance. Once you’re mounted, Quinn appears behind you in a flash of blue light.

“What will you name him?” she asks.

“Trust.” The horse’s coat flashes brightly and you know the name’s taken. “I’ve never repeated names, but that name means something different today, doesn’t it? Yesterday, he needed to trust us. Today, we have to trust him. Ready?”

Quinn tightens her grip on your waist. You tighten your grip on the reins. With a little click, Trust starts picking his way through staggered stones, winding down a narrowing section of the valley. It falls away, cutting to the left and fanning out into three separate roads.

The middle section dives down into the dark heart of the cave. You’re not afraid of the darkness, but that doesn’t mean where you’re going is safe. You feel the same fear from Quinn.

“Remind me,” she asks. “Why didn’t any of the other riders choose this path?”

“Because caves are dark and scary?”

“That’s all? Really?”

“And you’ve seen the rebirthings. We need the sun to make it work.”

“So what happens if we don’t make it out the other side?”

Your voice is firm when you finally answer. “We’ll make it. I won’t fail again.”

Before you enter the cave, you glance down at your bracelet:

1. Etzli: 1,402 paces
2. Revel: 1,100 paces
3. Bravos: 1,023 paces