Chapter 37

The young official with the ruby pin appears practically out of nowhere startling the pair.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve been asked to tell you that you need to collect your earnings and leave the premises immediately. I’ve been told to reassure you that you have not been banned from the racetracks, but it is in the best interest of the other patrons in attendance today that you leave as soon as you can. I can take Grey back to the stables for you, if you’d like,” the young official says, regret heavy in his voice.

Damon nods his head, refusing to look the young man in the eye. Suddenly, he turns to look at the official sharply, asking, “What do you mean you take Grey back to the stables? Isn’t he supposed to go there immediately after the race is over?”

“Didn’t they tell you?” the official asks, confusion etched onto his features.

“Evidently not,” Damon responds sarcastically. Valentina shoots him a sharp look. Damon shoots one back at her before breathing hard and trying again to get answers from the young man.

“I apologize for my tone. There is clearly something we are unaware of. Would you mind telling us, please?” Damon says, his patience with this place already wearing on him.

“Well, the winning better takes home the winning horse. The horse can still compete in future races, however, the Company won’t be responsible for the prize money,” the young official tells them, a slight hesitation creeping in.

Damon nods his head, but his suspicions begin to grow. There has never been such an outrageous rule that meant the Company would not be responsible for the prize money once a horse is sold. Even more so, never has there been a rule that states a winning better would take home the winning horse. That would mean less money for the Company and more money for the individual owner. Damon suspects they made this rule specifically for Grey.

He looks over at Valentina but she’s lost in Grey and in thought. He sees the indicators on her face. The way her brows furrow and the way her nose scrunches up when she is thinking intently. Deciding not to disturb her, he gestures for the young official to lead him to the place where he can collect his earnings. Fifteen minutes later, he has all the money stacked up and ready to go. Somehow, their chaperones find him and help him prepare the bags to get ready to leave.

Damon tells the two chaperones to wait in the foyer for him and Valentina and then he walks away, leaving them to collect the love of his life. This thought makes him stop walking. The sudden realization that he loves her hits him in a way he isn't expecting. He shakes his head and resumes walking to the track but the feelings he’s having are enough to make him forget the whole reason he’s stepping back out onto the track in the first place.

Sure enough, when he makes it out of the small tunnel and into the stands, he looks over to find Valentina still standing on the tracks with Grey, who is gently nudging the side of her head with his nose. He stands watching them for a moment before finally making his way over to her.

“It’s time to go,” he says softly to her.

“You’ve collected the earnings already?” she asks, though he knows she could care less about the money.

“I have,” he tells her.

She nods her head silently, not wanting to move or leave Grey behind to follow them later.

“I don’t want to leave him,” she says in an almost whisper.

“You aren’t,” he says to her.

“It feels like it,” she whispers.

He takes a step towards her putting himself within arms reach of her but he doesn’t make a move for her. Something tells him this is about more than just the horse.

“What’s going on?” he asks gently.

She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Instead, she keeps her eyes trained on the ground, reaching her hand up to gently stroke Grey’s neck. She sighs before she answers his question.

“Nothing. Let’s go,” she says.

“No,” he tells her. “We aren’t going anywhere. Something is wrong and I can’t help you if I don’t know what it is that’s bothering you. Even if I can’t do anything to help whatever is bothering you, at the very least, putting it into words may very well help you more.”

She sighs.

“You and I, we’ve always been different. We’ve always been something to be feared. No one could get close, no one could see our true power, we had to hide our element, preserve our element, surrender our elements to other people’s whims. Today, I hoped to be like everyone else. I wanted to be normal for just a few minutes. But we walk in here with our heads held high, our shoulders pushed back only to be stared at even more. To be whispered about even more. We run to the stables to get away from it all to get even more stares and even more whispers. And then a horse I believe in, a horse that shouldn’t be treated any differently from the other horses wins a race and here we are again, being stared at and whispered about and there is no amount of high head holding or pushed back shoulders that can take away the weight of being what we are. Do you really want to know why it feels like I’m leaving Grey behind?” she practically shouts at him. “It’s because it feels like I’m leaving behind myself. The version of me that could blend into the shadows and no one would notice. I feel like I’m leaving behind the version of myself that was content with my life as it was, no glitz or glamor included. I feel like I’m leaving behind the version of myself that didn’t need to perform for people who didn’t matter because the people that did were standing right beside me. Grey doesn’t have to worry about any of those things and isn’t it sad that I envy a horse instead of reveling in this glorious life you have always lived? I didn’t ask to be born this way. I didn’t ask to live my life like it was a show for all the greatest, most notable people in the land. I just want, for one minute, to go back to being the girl I used to be without anyone telling me to keep pushing forward, without anyone reminding me how different I am, how dangerous I am, how lonely I am!”

When she finishes shouting, Damon stands silent before her. He should have seen the pressure getting to her. He was so consumed wooing her, he missed the signs of her wanting the simple life. The sinking feeling from this morning creeps back into his belly. He knew coming here might be a bad thing and now, standing on an empty dirt track with a grunting horse and a broken hearted Valentina, he knows it.