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Some of Lady Sofia’s ire was snuffed out by my act, and a ghost of a smile teased the corners of her lips. “Do you even know for what you are apologizing?”
I shrank a little and scratched the back of my head. “For something Ben has done?”
A choked laugh escaped Ben before he cleared his throat. “You have nothing to apologize for, Millie.”
Sofia nodded. “Of course. You could not have known that this rascal son of mine frightens the life out of me every time he slips behind the wheel of one of these machines. These things are not natural, and your father frightened me enough with his horses.”
Ben straightened and cleared his throat. “Mother, they are far safer now than they were then, and besides, it was merely an accident. A slip of my foot.”
“And your foot may yet again slip,” she argued as she nodded at the said appendage.
“How did you even know that we were here in one?” I spoke up.
The corners of her lips twitched upward. “All the city knows when my son drives onto the streets in one of these contraptions. Hardly a horse is left without trauma.”
“And yet not a scratch is to be had on either man or horse, and we are here able to speak with you,” Ben pointed out.
She grasped her arms together in front of her and bowed her head a little. “Yes, and yet my fear is unabated. My heart tells me to trust you, but my head knows the dangers that come with driving these things.”
Ben walked over to her and grasped her upper arms. Sofia lifted her gaze to his face and he smiled down at her. “You needn’t worry, Mother. I will be safe.” He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “That I promise you.”
She cupped one of his cheeks in her palm and a bittersweet smile slipped onto her lips as she shook her head. “Do not make promises you cannot keep.”
Ben’s good humor faltered, but he set his hand over hers. “I’ll see you soon.”
He reluctantly stepped away from her and turned to me. “We should get going or we’ll be late.”
I hesitated, my eyes fixed on the crowd as Tully and Ferox sidled up to Sofia’s sides, creating a trifecta of unease. Ben set a hand on my shoulder and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “We have more than just the thunder race to worry about.” I turned my head around and blinked up at him. He had a gentle smile on his face. “Aria and Munio are relying on us to help them. And there are my partners with Bashful. They have much to lose if the race should be attacked again.”
I stiffened my jaw and nodded. Together we climbed into the machine, though both of us couldn’t help but look back at the trio. Sofia clasped her hands together and bowed her head in a silent prayer.
Ben waved to all of them as he got the controls going, and before I knew it we shot out of the courtyard in a flash.
I heard him breathe a heavy sigh, and I leaned forward to catch his eye. “It sounds like she was really worried about you.”
His expression was one of regret as he pursed his lips. “I know”
“What were you talking about when you mentioned your foot slipping?”
“I told you about the accident when I was younger, the one where I was run off the track?”
“Yeah.”
“I neglected to tell you that I had another crash some years later, shortly after my father passed. I. . .my focus wasn’t completely on the race and I ended the run in a particularly nasty crash.”
My face drooped. “How nasty?”
“Even with my healing abilities, I was laid up for the better part of a month.”
I grasped the back of his seat and gaped at him. “A month?”
He sighed as he stared ahead at the road. “Mother sat by my bedside all that time. She would hardly move even to change her clothes.” He dropped his gaze to the instrument panel and his expression softened. “How I wish I could prove to her there’s nothing to fear from these beautiful machines.”
We hit a bump in the road and I was tossed a few inches into the air before landing hard on the floor. “They could be safer.”
He nodded. “That’s what I aim to do in funding Bashful. The speed of travel combined with the safety measures that you have suggested would grant many people the ability to venture farther without fear of bandits or the expense of caring for a horse.”
I snorted. “Just wait until they get their first machine repair bill after they’ve run it into a magical barrier.”
