Phoebe

Petunia caught Phoebe's sleeve as she was standing up at the end of the meeting. Phoebe hesitated, seeing concern in her friend's face. Something that couldn't be discussed with the whole team?

Glancing sideways at the others, who were returning to their duties with varying degrees of bustle and chatter, Petunia whispered, "I need to talk to you about next year."

"Next-?" Phoebe began, and then got her voice under control. She nodded, trying not to look too clandestine.

Petunia led her over to the back corner of the stable, where the empty crates were stacked. Despite the team's continued expansion, they still weren't using all the available space. It wasn't private, but it was at least out of the way, and the rest of the team ought to know to leave them to it.

"Okay, good news first," Petunia said. "We're still breaking even and next year is possible."

Phoebe let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. "Okay. Okay, good." Then she waited.

"The thing is, that depends on us renewing our sponsorships. They're starting to email me about that."

"Okay, what's the problem?"

"They're going to expect us to field two dragons." The team manager spoke in what was, for her, a blunt tone. "That's the big sticking point."

For a moment, Phoebe stared blankly at her, feeling too many weird, small tensions in her face. Of course it made sense – sponsorship deals were tied to performance in the teams competition, and a team with only one dragon could only score half the points of a team with two. But dragons were extraordinarily expensive.

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Finally, Phoebe managed, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Uh-huh." Petunia nodded. "I think we can do it, but it means having to make a choice."

"A choice?"

"Yeah. You know I've got a buyer lined up for Soot's first stud option. The deal isn't signed yet, but we're talking about eighteen million Royals."

Even though it wasn't the first time she'd heard that number, Phoebe felt her eyes bulge. And yet, she knew, it wouldn't buy them a race-quality dragon.

Petunia pressed on. "We can definitely sell another option for the same price. That would cover the cost of another dragon and get us the sponsorships. If we act quickly on that then we can negotiate sponsorships that cover salary for another rider, but I'll need your input on who we should get. I don't know if we can sell three stud options this early."

"Okay, Petunia, what's the choice?" Phoebe could tell she'd been avoiding spelling it out.

With a deep breath, Petunia said, "Even with two options sold, we're not going to have big cash reserves, yeah."

"So?" Petunia had been worried about money for a while. What was she getting at?

"If we do this, we probably won't have enough to pay the Castelloros back. If they come calling for the debts, I mean."

Phoebe laughed. "What? That's what you're worried about, Petunia? The team doesn't owe Angelo, I do."

"Stop being so naïve!" The sharpness in Petunia's raised voice took Phoebe aback. She managed not to glance around to see if anyone had noticed the shout. "He's not a bank! He's a crime boss! He just gave us an entire building, and he's in a gang war right now because of us! If he wants his money back he'll take it, and if we don't have the money to take-" Petunia stopped, voice squeaking as if her throat had just squeezed itself shut.

Chills creeping across her back and arms, Phoebe drew a long breath. "So what's the choice?"

Petunia glared at her, then softened a little. "Either we commit to next year, fully, or we plan to wrap the team up and pay off Mr. Castelloro this winter."

"We're not giving up, Petunia."

"It wouldn't be giving up, you could try taking Soot to one of the other teams-"

"I don't think any of the big teams are going to be hiring next year, Petunia. And even if they are, they won't want a lunar drake. We've gotta stick with it, it's the only way."

"And what if Mr. Castelloro comes to take his money back?"

"It won't happen, Petunia, trust me, it's not like that."

The team manager didn't look convinced, but she gave a short, stiff nod. "I hope you're right."