The race continued at a tight pace: on the fifth lap, Xanter kept attacking the second position, but Vernon Zala managed to cover the holes in his trajectories remarkably well and accelerated vigorously on the straightaways.
After three laps without overtaking, Losh Gani lost ground to the leading group. Among the snorts, Aran said, "I don't think it brought him much luck." He shrugged.
In the next five laps, Numal caught up with Xanter and overtook him right on the final straightaway, but there was no applause to hail him.
"Is he slowing down... Aran, why is he slowing down?" Elidana asked curiously.
"He overdid it. He ran out of energy and can't continue; for him, the race is over now," explained Aran.
Meanwhile, Marmorel took advantage of the brief lull to rest her head on Aran's shoulder. The half-empty bottle of mead slipped from her hands.
"Hey, are you okay?" Cora asked, but received no answer. Marmorel was as red as a pepper and kept her eyes half-closed.
Every pilot pushed to the limit lap after lap: Losh and Vincent managed to overtake Laratt, who was then keeping his distance from Xanter behind him.
On the twenty-third lap, only Xanter Roha and Laratt Tena were left on the track; the others had already retired, unable to continue the race: their Seorite was completely exhausted.
At that moment, Laratt was handling the turns with precision. However, in the middle of the twenty-fourth lap, Xanter's pressure forced him to delay braking in a turn. The Edel Wings pilot took advantage of the mistake, slipped inside, and emerged from the turn in the lead. A good portion of the stands exploded in a single cheer of celebration.
"This is the first time a rookie has led the race in the final laps," commented the spectator in front of Cora.
Marmorel looked at Aran, who was cheering. Cora observed that gesture. The girl's cheeks were red, her chest incandescent. Fez, on the other hand, swallowed, clutching the bolt as if he wanted to choke it. He, too, had his eyes on her. "Hey," Cora whispered to Elidana, as Marmorel took a long breath and slowly approached her friend's lips.
Xanter slowed down; he had given everything. Laratt overtook him with extreme ease.
"I'm sorry for Xanter. He did well, but his race is over. Too bad, he lacked experience," concluded Aran with a bit of bitterness, but he seemed to be the only one in the group who didn't notice Marmorel.
The Edel Wings pilot stopped under the second-to-last turn, on the gravel that covered the area in front of the stands. Aran ran towards the track, along with the other fans, just a few meters away from him. Xanter Roha hit the front part of the vaasp, above the compartment that held the Seorite.
Marmorel closed her eyes, but Aran was no longer sitting by her side. She slowly proposed herself after taking a long breath. "Aran, I..." she whispered, finding warm lips.
Elidana and Cora became powerless spectators. The friend's kiss was too quick to do anything.
"Aran, I... love you," sighed Marmorel with a sincere voice, sealing the moment. But when she opened her eyes, her expression became that of a person whose hair had just been torn out... one by one. She lost her breath. Something was wrong. It wasn't Aran who had reciprocated her gesture of love. "Fez!" she exclaimed, pulling her head back; her red hair came off the sticky face of the young boy.
He, on the other hand, slumped in the seat, a satisfied expression on his face.
"No..." murmured Cora, surprised. Elidana had no words.
Marmorel came to herself. She trembled like a blade of grass but found the strength to get up from her seat. With a threatening look, she gave Fez a powerful slap that woke him up from his torpor. Without saying anything else, she turned towards the exit, walking away quickly.
"Hey, Fez. Pull yourself together," Elidana said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I'm going to Marmorel, see you at the entrance." She gave him a tap on the head. "Thanks to you, now I have to pick up the pieces!" She chased after her friend. Fez stood petrified and merely nodded when she was already far away.
"CORA!" Aran shouted a few meters from Xanter. The young man shook his head and ran towards the track. Once there, he also began to encourage the pilot.
Xanter tried to accelerate again, but nothing. He turned towards the crowd cheering him on.
"Maybe it will be for the next Grand Prix," Aran said.
Suddenly, as Xanter was about to lose his balance on the vaasp, he had to shift his weight to the side to regain stability. In those moments, the screeching of the Seorite came to look: the veins of the Cec systems regained their lost light and the yellow wings, which had been off just moments before, started pulsing strongly again.
The accelerator responded to Xanter's commands and he resumed his race, fleeing like a crazy shard.
"He's taken off again?" asked Cora, astonished.
"He's taken off again, yes!" replied Aran, equally uncertain in his expression.
In the middle of the race, the yellow and luminescent wings surpassed Laratt Tena. From the grandstand, generals and government representatives stood up from their seats.
Twenty-six, twenty-seven laps. Xanter was the only driver left in the competition.
"Look at him, it's amazing!" exclaimed Aran, standing with other fans just outside the track.
Xanter drove in front of the grandstand where he had stopped just moments before. Thirty laps done and the last stretch of the track ahead.
He raised his fist and got off the vaasp. "That's enough for him," said Aran.
"He's the new champion," added Cora.
The fans jumped over the barriers and carried him in triumph.
"Let's go too!" shouted Cora, and Aran followed him without needing to be asked twice.
At the finish line, they laid the pilot on the ground. Xanter took off his helmet and looked at the grandstand, still standing.
"Fez and the girls stayed in the stands," said Cora, turning around.
"I'm not leaving here, we'll figure it out later," replied Aran. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't have gone back. They were right under the stage, and the crowd behind them was becoming increasingly dense.
Xanter climbed the stairs with a broad smile. He opened the front of his suit to reveal a sweat-soaked shirt with his team emblem. He had blond shaved hair and a well-defined face covered with a thin layer of beard that accentuated his chin and upper lip. He jumped onto the first stand, full of emotion. Soon after, Laratt and Vincent took the second and third spots on the podium, respectively. Both congratulated the winner. An officer took the cumbersome rectangular trophy from the assistant's hands.
Xanter placed it in front of the podium and shook hands with every member of the government who came before him.
Once Cora emerged from the sea of people still pushing him down, he spotted Fez and raised his hand.
"Hey, did you see what happened?" Cora asked, making room.
"Um, no... sorry, I think I missed the end of the race," Fez replied in a soft voice. "Should I tell Aran?"
"About Marmorel's kiss?"
"Yes, if you could tell him... maybe he won't hit me with something," he continued. He had detached the nut from the screw and held both pieces in his palm.
"Can't we talk about it later?"
"No, I'm asking you, please do it now," Fez concluded, huddled with his head nestled between his shoulders.
Cora squeezed in among the group of fans and grabbed Aran. "Hey! Marmorel kissed Fez!" he shouted.
"Oh, okay!" said Aran, still distracted by the awards ceremony.
"Fez... doesn't look too good, and Marmorel was upset too."
"Did he drink?!" Aran yelled.
"Who? Fez or Marmorel?"
Xanter greeted the crowd with the trophy in hand, and Vincent drenched him with the contents of a large bottle, causing the champion to cough and be unable to react.
"Who? Xanter...seems like he drank something that went down the wrong way," Aran replied.
Cora was completely confused, with Marmorel, Fez, and Xanter. Maybe it was best to forget it.
The celebrations on the track continued for an hour, and the Kharzanian anthem was sung multiple times. The three Lud boys joined in the chants and exchanged hugs with fans from other teams.
As the crowds began to fade, exhausted, Cora, Aran, and Fez headed towards the exit.
"Where are the girls?" Aran suddenly asked.
"Elidana said to meet us at the Hive entrance," muttered Fez. "Here's the thing, Aran... don't be upset. You see, Marmorel kissed me," he continued with the expression of a beaten dog, but Aran didn't show any surprise.
"So what? Is that all?"
"So, there are no problems?" Fez asked, this time with more vigor. They had reached the Hive's exit, and the crowd began to scatter.
Aran raised an eyebrow. "Of course not, don't worry."
As promised, the three found the girls at the gate. Marmorel was crying so much that she couldn't speak, and Elidana was trying to comfort her. Cora and Aran rushed over, but Fez stayed back.
"Marmorel, why are you crying?" Aran yelled, worried. The girl didn't have the courage to look up, and Elidana sent them away with a wave of her hand. "Call Mansell, we'll talk later," she whispered.
Aran moved with Cora, staring at the two girls as he scratched the driver card. Fez approached Elidana slowly, who shrugged and shook her head. "We'll find another ride. See you at the hotel," she concluded in a practical tone. They both quickly walked away towards the dense group of cars in the parking lot.
The boys' way back to the hotel was filled with Mansell's speculations about Xanter Roha's victory. He came up with a conspiracy theory linking the new champion to General Janus Zakin of the Foreign Detachments. But no one paid him any attention. When they arrived at the hotel, they got into the elevator, and Fez took the opportunity to scrutinize Laratt's autograph carefully.
"He classified in second, but do you want to see it?" he asked in a hushed tone, showing his arm to his friends.
"It's still Laratt Tena's autograph," Aran said dryly.
"Dirty traitor of Zalesia, go back to the desert," Fez read aloud. For a moment, he had a joyful smile on his face, then looked up at the other two. He went back to the writing and grimaced in despair.
"What does it mean?" Cora asked, even more surprised.
Aran grabbed his friend's arm and reread Laratt's words. "What a jerk!" he barked.
The elevator reached their floor, and the boys hurried to their room.
"Why taking on him?" Cora asked, sitting on the bed. Fez went to the bathroom, and the sound of running water was heard.
"He's a soldier, one of those who spend the whole year in foreign detachments. Maybe he's stationed near the Zalesian desert and had some trouble with people who fled like the Shadids," explained Aran. "I don't know how else to justify that gesture."
After cleaning his arm thoroughly and returning to the others, Fez stood staring at the floor, changed, and lay on the bed without saying a word.
Cora didn't know how to behave.
"Let's go out," said young Allet as he opened the door to the room.
In the hallway, Marmorel and Elidana were about to enter their room.
"I don't want to talk to anyone!" Marmorel growled, slamming the door behind her. Elidana stayed outside, and after a few uncertain glances, the three of them sat on the floor, disheartened.
"Has she recovered?" Cora asked in a low voice.
"No, she hasn't recovered. I already know I'll be up all night," replied Elidana. She looked at the other person. "Ah, thanks, Aran... it was hard for you to return that kiss!" she concluded, turning around.
Aran rested his head against the wall. "What does that mean? I didn't even know what she was going to do!" he said. "And I don't intend to discuss the matter with you!"
"Well, no one is forcing you. But I think you should make things clear once and for all," she replied. "You can't lead her on all day, take her around, and then behave this way at night."
"For now, we have more serious problems than Marmorel," Cora interfered, pointing to the door of their room.
"Huh? More serious? Did a pilot puncture a tire and can't do fifty-two laps anymore?" Elidana retorted.
"No, but Laratt left an unpleasant sentence on Fez's arm," Aran replied, annoyed.
"What did he write?"
"Dirty Zalesia traitor, go back to the desert."
Elidana brought her hands to her face. She left the two on the ground and ran to Fez's room. She knocked and rushed in.
"Sorry, Aran, but wasn't there a Zalesian delegation on stage? Aren't they on good terms?" Cora asked, playing with the carpet.
"Yes, but it's just appearances. The Kharzanian government has just proved that the energy balance is close. The equivalent of a force deployment at the borders, nothing more, nothing less," Aran went to the girls' room door, knocked, and entered immediately after.
The lights in the hallway peaked in intensity and then dropped in tension. Cora was left alone, sitting scratching his back and holding the small stone that, given the impossibility of saying good night to Elidana, he would have liked to give her.