Cricket shrugged. “He was just in pain. I’m going to have to talk to the council about their practices. No doubt, the kelpie councilman was cruel in forcing the kraken on the track.” When Radley didn’t answer, she looked at him again only to see him still staring at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re amazing,” he breathed.
She blushed. “It’s nothing really.”
“That’s not true.” Radley shook his head in amazement. “You’re everything and you don’t even know it.”
She met his eyes, and something passed between them, something far deeper than anything Cricket had ever felt, but they didn’t have time to address it. There were thousands of people watching them and although they couldn’t see inside the car with the interior cameras disabled, they would have still witnessed all the drama with the kraken and the megalodon. Too many eyes would see too much if they started acting like they cared more for each other than simple teammates did.
Still, Cricket considered saying the words catching in her throat. They could die at any moment, or worse. It was better not to leave things unsaid, but they had a race to win, and they didn’t need the distraction.
“We don’t know where we’re going,” she said instead, pushing the words down deep. It wasn’t the time. There would never be a time, not when she was a Snapdragon.
Radley clicked on the tablet to see the map just in time for the tunnel to end. They burst through a wall of darkness and into the bright sunlight of a desert.
“We’re in the Desert Wasteland,” Radley clarified, shaking his head. “The kraken gave us a shortcut that bypassed nearly fifteen miles. We’re only a mile behind the wolf team now, and a little more than that behind the crow team.”
Cricket smiled. “Apparently, having a heart pays off.”
Radley returned the smile. “Apparently, it does.”
Cricket shot forward into the desert, closing the gap between their car and second place.