Stout nails stuck out on either side of the mast, making a ladder. She tried not to look down. She’d never climbed much—​there wasn’t much cause for it on the farm.

«You can do it.» Pixit encouraged her.

You shouldn’t have done it, she told him. She pictured her mother shaking her head and telling Mina she had to train her beast, not the other way around. Pixit was newborn. He was trusting and vulnerable and . . .

«But it’s so pretty up here! And Chauda called me chicken.»

Don’t listen to Chauda.

«She made clucking sounds in my head.»

Then you moo right back at her. If she wants to make farm-animal noises, then give her farm-animal noises.

She sensed his delight at that idea.

Reaching the top, she tried to swing herself onto the platform. She felt Jyx grab her arms and yank her up. Ungracefully, Mina flopped at Jyx’s feet. “This isn’t safe,” Mina said.

“You’re a worrier, I can tell,” Jyx said. “You know, people can die from too much worrying. You should worry about that.”

“I’m not a worrier,” Mina said, but she said it softly, and Jyx didn’t hear. She was already walking back out on the crossbeam, balancing.

Over her shoulder, Jyx called, “Come on, scaredy-cat. It’s fun!”

Mina didn’t move. “Meow.”

«Moo.»

A flash of light caught her eye, and she forgot about Jyx and stared out. Jyx had been right—​she could see so much farther from here! The sparkling lights covered the cluster of towers at the heart of the city. Beyond that, Alorria was a sea of darkness. It made the city look even more special: a glowing jewel in the middle of the black night. The river, stretching on ahead of them, was a shiny black ribbon. The distant mountains were indistinguishable from the night sky.

As they sailed beyond the city, the darkness closed around them, too, and Mina could at last see the stars. They’d been blotted out by the electric lights of the city.

Jyx plopped down next to her. “What kind of lightning guardian is afraid of heights?”

Mina shrugged. She wasn’t afraid; she was sensible. But the question wormed its way inside her, joining her other worries.

“You’re going to have to get over that, if you’re going to fly into a storm cloud.”

She didn’t answer. It was true. But by then she’d be flying on Pixit, and she knew he wouldn’t let her fall. And besides, they’d both be trained by experts. So I don’t have to worry, right?

«You don’t have to worry about anything,» Pixit said confidently. «We’re going to be great at this!»

Mina wasn’t so sure about that. She eyed Jyx, cataloging all the ways they were different. If Jyx was a typical lightning guardian and Mina was nothing like her . . .