Chapter 36. Smoke and Silence

The sun rose slow, pale and cold, painting the canyon walls with streaks of silver. For the first time all night, the Crownless weren’t moving. Their engines coughed into silence one by one, leaving only the tick of cooling metal and the faint cry of hawks overhead.

Riven sat slumped on her bike at the shoulder, her scraped palms welded to the grips until she forced her fingers free. They ached, blistered, split open in places. She flexed them once, hissed, then let them rest limp in her lap.

The road ahead curved wide toward forest, morning mist curling low in the trees. The road behind was empty. No headlights, no roar. Just silence.

She should’ve felt relief. Instead, her chest still raced, as if the chase hadn’t ended at all.

Axel’s bike rolled to a stop just ahead. He barely managed to plant his boots before he swayed. For a second, she thought he would topple with the machine. He caught himself, barely, and killed the throttle.

Blood stained the s