As we rounded the other side, climbing higher, I spotted the first hole in the stairs. It wasn’t large, only about two feet. I jumped it easily, but the next one was larger by at least a foot. I reared back ready to go for it, but lost my nerve at the last second.
“I’ll go first,” Eli said. “Then I can help you from the other side.” He squeezed past Selene and then me, his hand lingering on my arm for a moment. Then he leaped across, making it look effortless. Selene went next without needing help. Then I went, falling an inch short. My knees struck the edge, and I started to slide. Eli grabbed my wrists, catching me. Then he reared back and hauled me up. For a second as I regained my feet I thought I might pass out from the terror of it. But I shook it off, and we pressed on.
We didn’t come across any more gaps as bad as that until we were almost at the very top. I came to a stop and stared out at the open space between me and the last of the staircase. It had to be fifteen feet at least—impossible to jump across. And none of us knew any spells that would get us over it.
I slumped against the wall, defeat overtaking me at last. I was too exhausted to cry. We’d come so close but could go no farther.
Behind me, I heard Eli swearing under his breath, but Selene moved past me, all the way to the edge. She stared at the gap, an odd expression on her face.
“Don’t bother,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice. “There’s no way any of us can jump that.”
“Dusty’s right,” Eli said. “The best we can do now is head down and try to get off the island before it sinks.”
Selene didn’t seem to have heard either of us. She stared at the gap a little longer and then tilted her head up, examining the sky.
I touched her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Selene slowly turned around and faced me, her eyes ablaze with something like excitement. “I can do it.”
I exhaled. “No you can’t. That would be suicide.”
She shook her head. “I can fly us across.”
It slowly dawned on me—Selene was a siren, and sirens had wings. “But how?” I said. “You’ve never flown before. It was restricted by The Will.” No magickind was permitted to fly. It was too easy for ordinaries to spot, too risky.
She nodded. “It was restricted by The Will, but not anymore. And I’ve been practicing, building up strength.”
“You’ve been wh—” I broke off as the answer came to me.
“That’s why I’ve been sneaking out at night,” Selene said, knowing my thoughts. “Me and a couple of the other sirens have been teaching ourselves how to fly. It’s been hard, and I can’t do it for more than a couple of minutes, but I’m a lot better than I was.”
It was incredible, and yet it all made sense—her need to be out at night, to wear dark clothes, even her inexplicable fall into the bushes at Coleville. She hadn’t been walking and stumbled at all.
“You’ve got to understand what it’s like, Dusty,” Selene went on. “All my life I’ve been denied this part of myself. It was wrong. So wrong. And when we were fighting Marrow and the Black Phoenix, I could’ve done so much more if my ability to fly hadn’t been stunted. I swore after that night it would never happen again.”
“Why are you apologizing?” I said. Selene stuttered, and I reached out and hugged her hard enough she gasped. “It’s wonderful. And I’m so jealous and—”
Eli cleared his throat. “Can we save the girl moment for later? Like after we save the world? We’re kind of in a hurry here.”
Selene and I shared a grin.
“Right,” I said. “How do we do this?”
“Hang on a second.” Eli touched Selene’s arm, drawing her attention. “Are you sure your wings can handle the extra weight?”
Selene exhaled. “No, but I think I can. For that short of a distance anyhow.”
My heart plummeted into my knees. She didn’t know, and if she was wrong, I would fall to my death.
Eli started to say something, but I shushed him, afraid he would insist that we not do it. That wasn’t an option. Saving those people was worth the risk. I took Selene’s hand and squeezed. “I believe you can do it.”
Selene smiled. “Okay, stand back.”
I pressed against the side of the tower and waited, my eyes fixed on my best friend. She spread her hands wide, and there was an odd ripping sound, though not of fabric. I watched with my mouth open as wings—as black and shiny as her hair—grew out from her back, narrow at first and then fanning out to their full size. I realized, almost belatedly, that the holes sewn into her jacket were there for this very purpose.
Once her wings were fully expanded, Selene waved me over to her. I did so, trying to keep my limbs from shaking. Her wings were enormous, but I knew that didn’t mean they were strong enough to bear my weight. I did my best not to think about it.
“Stand in front of me,” Selene said. “And help me hold on.” She wrapped her arms beneath mine as I moved before her. “We’ll be back, Eli.” For a second, the confidence in her voice bolstered my own. But then she pushed me to the edge—and jumped.
We plummeted downward, Selene’s wings arching high above us. I bit back a scream, certain this was it, that we would keep falling, at least until Selene let go of me to save herself. But then her wings swooped down hard, beating the air. A rush of wind lifted us up, and we soared forward. She didn’t deposit me on the other side of the stairs as I’d expected, but let the momentum of that one stroke carry us all the way to the top of the tower.