第2章

I'd lived at the Radiance training house for seven years, but everything I truly owned barely filled one suitcase.

A few changes of clothes, two strategy notebooks, and a bracelet my mother had left me.

The matching mugs and championship rings stayed where they were. I had no intention of touching them again.

I'd barely finished packing when Derek pushed through the door.

He kicked the suitcase wheel.

"Running away from home again?"

"Move."

"Chloe Harper, you're twenty-six years old. Threatening to break up and quit the team? Really?"

I pulled my suitcase toward the door, but he blocked the way.

"You leave Radiance, where are you going to go?"

Seven years ago, Derek couldn't afford the entry fee for the city qualifiers. I was the one who split my prize money with him.

When the organization wanted to drop him, I put my career on the line to vouch for him.

Now he stood high enough to look down and see the three scars on my hand, but he no longer cared to look.

"You're right. So I'm leaving."

Derek didn't get the begging he was waiting for. His face grew uglier by the second.

"When the match is over tomorrow, you can come begging outside the training house and I still won't give you the starting spot back."

"Fine."

What he wanted to see was never me walking away.

He just wanted to wait until I came crying, admitting I had nowhere else to go but him.

Tessa appeared in the doorway carrying a late-night snack, bumping her shoulder against the desk.

The framed championship photo fell. A crack in the glass cut through the two clasped hands in the picture.

Only a little hot broth splashed onto Tessa, but Derek had already pulled her close to check.

"Did you get burned?"

"I'm fine. I wasn't paying attention."

He turned and blamed me.

"Why was the frame sitting so close to the edge?"

Tessa picked up the photo, then looked around my room.

"The light in here is amazing. The academy dorm fits eight people. I couldn't sleep at all last night."

Derek decided for her on the spot.

"You're staying here tonight."

He pointed at my suitcase.

"Chloe, go cool off in the academy dorm for the night."

"This is my room."

"The room belongs to the organization. If you're so set on leaving, why are you still taking up space?"

Tessa tugged at his sleeve, claiming she'd be fine in the hallway even as her feet drifted to the edge of my bed.

I swept the cracked photo into the trash and wheeled my suitcase toward the door.

As I brushed past her, Tessa leaned close to my ear.

"Thanks for the spot. I'll take good care of the mouse and the room."

"Hold on tight."

I glanced at her hands, unmarked by any wear from years of professional play.

"Tomorrow when you fall, it's going to hurt."

At 1:00 a.m., I walked out of the training house and dropped the key down a storm drain.

Behind me, Joey asked Derek what they'd do if I really didn't come back.

"She jumped in front of a falling light rig for me. She'd risk her life for me. How could she ever leave me?"

Seven years ago at a city qualifier, a ceiling light came loose. I shoved Derek clear and blocked the metal frame with my right hand.

After the tendon snapped, I went through three surgeries. I could never again play a position that demanded high-speed mechanics.

I retrained as a support, trading mechanical skill for game sense and shot-calling.

Derek turned that sacrifice into leverage to keep me under his thumb.

Nathan's car was parked at the end of the street. He loaded my suitcase without asking why I'd brought only one.

"Legal and the League examiner are both waiting."

Once I was in the car, my phone buzzed with a new post from Tessa.

She was sitting in my chair, holding my custom mouse.

The caption read, "Tomorrow I'll prove Radiance doesn't need an outdated protect-the-carry."

Every Radiance player had liked it.

Derek had even commented, "Just charge forward. I've got your back."

He'd said those exact words to me once.

In the end, the person who always had his back was me.

I turned off my phone. Nathan handed me the contract.

"Nightfall doesn't need you to clean up anyone's mess."

"We're bringing you in to decide where this entire team goes."