Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 117

Violeta turned around and glared at him. "Who are you calling a little potato?"

"Whoever feels like it, that's who."

What a jerk.

Violeta ran upstairs in one breath.

Hayden sat downstairs.

After a while, Zoren and the others came out from the back kitchen.

"Hey Hade, why are you alone? Where's Vio?"

"Upstairs," Hayden replied, not even lifting his eyes from his phone.

Zoren walked over and sat down.

"Call Niall and tell them to come down for lunch. We can go horse riding this afternoon."

Jasper said, "I heard Niall came this time to find a girlfriend."

Zoren put down his phone.

"Hey, don't say that. Niall's not young anymore. How come he hasn't dated anyone yet? Isn't that a bit strange ... ?"

Just as he was speaking, Niall and Violeta came downstairs.

Zoren, with his back to the stairs, kept on, "I've never heard of him dating anyone before. Do you think he might have some issues with his orientation?"

Jasper and Liam saw the two coming down and kicked Zoren.

Zoren said, "Why are you kicking me? Am I wrong?"

Jasper glanced at Niall, trying to salvage the situation. "Can't Niall just have high standards? Unlike you, who would take anyone?"

Zoren said, "Well, you can't say that. I've heard a lot of people have tried to set him up! All the eligible ones from the Quinston's noble families, you name it, they've introduced them to him. Guess what? Not a single one worked out. The more I think about it, the more it seems like there's something off ... "

Liam looked sadly at Zoren, thinking, Oh, this clueless guy.

No saving him now.

The more Zoren talked, the more he got into it until he suddenly felt a chill behind him.

He glanced sideways and—"Whoa!"

He jumped straight up from his seat.

"Niall, when did you get behind me? Vio, why didn't you warn me ... not cool ... "

Violeta gave him a look that said, "You're on your own," and sat down nearby.

Niall smiled at Zoren, but it was a creepy smile. "Zoren, you got a problem with me?"

"No way ... absolutely not!"

"You still doubt my orientation?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Niall chuckled, putting an arm around Zoren's shoulders. "Come with me for a bit."

Sawyer laughed. "Finishing in under six minutes is not as easy as you think."

It was widely known that the fastest horse was the Thoroughbred, capable of running 3,000 feet in a minute, though this speed could only be maintained for a short distance and carried the risk of exhausting the horse.

Akhal-Teke horses could also achieve such speeds, but only under extreme conditions.

The 1.8-mile distance would take even a Thoroughbred three minutes to run.

In other words, the horse's speed was the key factor.

Niall asked, "Are the horses here breeds of Thoroughbreds?"

Zoren added, "Has anyone ever broken the record here?"

Jasper commented, "If the horses aren't fast enough, it's impossible to finish in under six minutes. Boss, are you setting us up?"

Sawyer replied, "If it wasn't challenging, it wouldn't be called a challenge. We have some horses in the stable that are the breeds of Thoroughbreds. If you're lucky, you might pick one of them. If not, you won't complete the challenge."

So, it was a test of luck.

...

They headed to the stables to choose their horses.

Just as they arrived, they saw a few other guests buying horses and heard the sound of whips cracking and horses neighing.

Julian and Sara led Violeta and the others to the western stables to pick their horses.

Sara, hearing the neighing from the eastern stables, sighed. "Someone's hitting the horses again. It's so sad."