I pause to look at him. “Make that another difference between my people and yours.”

Taking up the canteen, I head toward the nearest creek. One feature of the Races is that the officials come in beforehand and treat all the rivers. They figured out a few years back that riders boiling water in pots wasn’t all that entertaining. No one cares about those kind of survival skills. They’d rather watch us fighting to protect our ashes or throwing people off cliffs. I let the clean water run into my canteen until it’s full. I’ll leave the canteen with him. It should be enough to keep him alive until I’ve crossed the finish line.

As I turn back, everything inside me turns to ice.

Capri’s grunting with the effort of pulling himself up onto my horse. His muscles bulge and I see sweat running down his face. In an impossible burst of strength, he flings himself up and over one flank. His body slumps against my phoenix’s neck. His legs aren’t working, so he can’t hook them into the stirrups right, but he’s in the damn saddle and that’s all that matters.

I drop the canteen and dart after them, closing the distance, but Capri’s plenty fast with the reins. The horse jolts forward, out of reach. I give chase as they trot off to a safer distance, but the horse is quicker, its strides longer. When Capri’s got a decent-sized gap, he turns to get a look at me. He’s all awkward and slumped, but there’s a grin on his face as he meets my eye.

“Remember this,” he calls back. “Remember the sight of me riding away.”

“Capri.” I make the word a warning. “That’s a purebred phoenix. You know what—”

“Like hell it is,” he snaps. “Like anyone from the Reach would even know how a purebred rides. How they look and smell and act. You think I’m foolish enough to believe that?”

I let the air rush out my nostrils. He’s wrong. He’s dead wrong. I look up into the air, knowing officials and fans are watching this on a live feed. I make each word loud and clear. I won’t be blamed if he dies a death this foolish.

“You heard me warn him! If he dies, it isn’t my fault.” I set my eyes back on Capri. “Last chance. I swear to you that’s a purebred. You steal it and you’ll burn.”

He shakes his head. “I’ll be the one who beat the Longhand. I’ll be more than the kid who snuck into a race. I’ll be remembered as the one who ended your race.”