I have about a thousand more questions, but I’m distracted by the sound of Simon yelping.

I look up and see him slipping from his perch. He grabs at a branch and catches himself. He hangs, his feet kicking, trying to find purchase beneath him, but there’s nothing there.

Kaylie helps him keep his grip, but the branch itself is half-dead and close to splintering. She lowers herself to support his weight, but as soon as she tries, her wings falter.

“He doesn’t look that heavy,” I say.

“Oh, she could probably lift him on the ground,” Georgie explains, “but Valkyries’ wings are only strong enough to carry their own body weight, and they have to stay light even for that.”

The branch Simon hangs from is high. If he falls, he’ll definitely break some bones, probably worse.

I have an idea.

I dash over to the tree. I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’m good with plants. If I understand my abilities correctly, I should be able to push Ha’i into the tree to help it strengthen enough to hold Simon’s weight until more help arrives.

The bark is harsh under my palm as I form my fingers into shiin. I close my eyes and try to find the well of Ha’i within me like Master Liu taught me. I imagine channeling the line of energy into the tree. Kaylie yells her encouragement; she thinks I can do it.

But nothing happens.

Maybe the leaves on the lower branches look greener? That’s not enough to heal a dying branch.

Simon is sobbing now.

“Just a little longer,” Kaylie says to him. “Your brother is on his way.”

“Hold on, Simon!” a deep voice booms as a shirtless man comes careening through the sky from the direction of the village. He has a trim build of lean muscles that ripple as he flaps a pair of wings much larger than Kaylie’s. This must be Grey, Simon’s brother. It takes me a moment to recognize him in the distance, but it’s the gray-haired guard who searched me the other day.

I hear a sound like the crack of a whip as the branch snaps.

And Simon is falling.

Directly on top of me.

“Simon!” Grey yells, flying toward us. But there’s no way he’ll get here in time. There’s not even enough time for me to instruct my body to move out of the way.

Simon crashes onto me, and the breath is knocked from my lungs as we collapse in a tangle of wings and limbs. My vision blurs as my head smashes into the ground, and Simon’s face collides with mine, my teeth splitting his cheek open like an overripe peach. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.