Goddess Of The Underworld (Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 190

Chapter 190

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Engines roared as the three of us pulled out of the drive, the sound vibrating through my bones. Elias was ahead, cutting clean down the road, while I stayed just a fraction behind, because Macey was at my back, arms snug around my waist, her cheek pressed against my shoulder. The wind tore past us, warm and sharp, carrying the scent of pine and asphalt. Macey laughed into my jacket, the sound muffled but enough to set my pulse racing faster than the bike beneath me. She lived for this. The speed. The recklessness. The freedom. And gods help me, I lived for the way she lived. We hit the back roads in no time, the sun dipping low and staining the sky blood–orange. Out here, the rules are bent. No parents. No watchful eyes. Just open stretches of cracked asphalt where the pack kids and strays came to play at being untouchable.

Macey turned her head to me. Her helmet covered her face, but I knew she was smirking as she tucked herself in. I could just imagine her saying, faster.

I groaned but twisted the throttle anyway, the bike snarling as I surged forward with her. She whooped so loud I could hear it through the wind, throwing her head back like a lunatic, hair streaming in the wind under her helmet. Elias barked a laugh up ahead and gunned his own bike to keep pace.

“Insane,” I muttered under my breath. But my grin betrayed me.

By the time we rounded the bend to the old quarry road, the crowd was already there. Dozens of bikes lined the dirt strip, headlights glowing against the dusk, the air thick with smoke, oil, and adrenaline. The moment we pulled in, heads turned. Some waved. Some whistled. Others just stared like they knew exactly who we were.

Macey slid off the bike, tugging her helmet free and shaking out her hair like she was some goddess of speed. She practically glowed under the attention, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright with that daredevil spark that made every guy here look twice…and it made me want to break every single one of their necks.

Elias pulled up beside us, grinning as he kicked down his stand. “Crowd’s bigger than last week,” he said over the noise.

“Yeah,” I muttered, eyes fixed on Macey as she strutted forward like she owned the road. “Looks like they’ve been waiting for a show.”

And Macey, my princess, my firefly, looked ready to give them one.

My attention was pulled away to a group of younger guys who were snickering loudly. They were clustered just off to the side, three of them leaning on a battered Triumph like they owned the place, trading the kind of jokes that make my skin crawl. “Look at that ass,” one slurred, elbowing the other. “Bet I could…”

The rest of the sentence didn’t matter. I felt it in my bones the way a low growl builds before it becomes a roar. My hands tightened on the grips until my knuckles went white. Time slowed, the hum of engines turning into the steady beat of my pulse. Macey laughed at something behind me, ridiculous and bright, and that was the last thing they were allowed to disrespect. I didn’t even think about it. The world folded, hot and wrong and full of iron, and then a portal appeared right beneath their feet, sending them straight down. Hell. I kept them there for a breath and a half. Long enough.

When I dumped them back onto the dirt, they hit the gravel hard, coughing, eyes blown wide and wet. Faces gone the colour of milk, one of them staring like he’d seen something alive that didn’t want him. Another was on his knees, trembling; the kid in the middle had pissed himself and couldn’t stop shaking. One sobbed half–cry, half–hyperventilation. I leaned down so close the heat off the engine bathed my cheek, and I let the engine’s growl do the rest of the talking for a second before I said it, low and easy. “Don’t talk about women like that. Or next time I might just leave you in hell.”

Silence wrapped around us like a cloak. The crowd watched, stunned, the bravado sucked clean out of them. Macey’s hand found mine on the tank, small, warm, steady, and she squeezed once. Not fear. Not pleading. A soft, private thanks, I felt more than heard. The three boys scrambled to their feet, pale and babbling apologies. I straightened, letting my face settle back into the calm mask I had perfected. Threats made visible are lessons delivered. The rest of the night, no one muttered about her like that again, and Macey was free to enjoy

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15:48 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 190

her fun, just like she deserved to be able to do.

:0

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Engines revved, and the crowd slowly started to shake off the shadow I’d cast over them. That’s when a tall guy with a cocky grin wheeled his bike forward, stopping right in front of me. His machine was sleek, souped up, clearly meant for show.

“You and me,” he said, jerking his chin toward the strip. “Unless you’re too busy babysitting your little princess.”

My jaw ticked, but I didn’t rise to the bait. Elias snorted from behind me, muttering, “He’s going to regret that.”

I kicked my stand up, the bike growling beneath me like it already wanted blood. “Fine,” I said, voice low enough to carry. “You’ll eat my

dust.”

The crowd shifted, a line already forming along the road. That familiar electric tension ran through everyone, the part before a race where anything felt possible, where you could almost taste victory or disaster in the air.

“Flag girl!” someone shouted. A few people started looking around, calling for someone to take the job.

And, of course, Macey pushed her way through with that shit–eating grin plastered on her face. She strutted out in front of us, all confidence and fire, and grabbed the old bandana they used for a start flag.

“This should be fun,” she teased, brown eyes gleaming.

I leaned forward on my bike, smirking. “Give me a good luck kiss first.”

She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might stick. “You’re ridiculous.” But she still bent down, soft hair brushing my cheek, and pressed her lips against my skin. A simple, warm kiss. Familiar. And yet it lit me up from the inside out.

“That’s all I need to win,” I murmured, loud enough for only her to hear.

Her smile faltered just a second, then curved into something brighter as she shook her head at me and lifted the bandana high.

I shoved on my helmet as engines screamed. The crowd shouted. My pulse matched the thunder under me.

And when Macey dropped her arm, the world narrowed into nothing but the road ahead.

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