“Leo’s made of stronger stuff than that.” But I steady him, putting him back on his feet and holding his shoulders as he gasps, laughter still shaking him. “This is your third trip, isn’t it? You could run things easily, Leo.”
His skinny shoulders puff up with pride under my grip. “You think?”
“Definitely.” I wink at Selene. “Except we’d get back to Asteria with two hundred tons of cocoa and not much else.”
Her lips twitch, and I narrow my eyes. “Is that – are you smiling?”
It vanishes. “Not atyou, Edgeborn.”
“You smiled at me.” My grin grows wider. “This feels like a good thing.”
“It’s not a good thing.” She steps back, folding her arms. “I was smiling at Leo.”
I glance down. His face has turned a furious shade of scarlet. “Well, then. It seems to be your lucky day, Leo. I definitely won’t drop you now.”
“This is ridiculous.” Sol rolls his eyes. “I’m going to check for anything we can lose before we go over.”
Leo’s face falls as he stalks away, before he peeks up at me. “If you did drop me, Selene could catch me. She has wings.”
He sounds awed, his eyes flicking to them. Selene’s face tightens the barest amount. I glance up in time to see a flicker of darkness shadow her eyes before she crouches. “I would try, Leo. But my wings don’t work very well.”
I press my fingers into Leo’s back and nudge him forward with silent encouragement.
Nobody can hold out against Leo. Not Merrick. Not me. Not even Sol, which is why he stays as far away as possible. The boy has a knack for getting information that matches anyone in Petyr’s excuse of a court.
He shuffles forward. When he lifts his hand, Selene hesitates. But then she twists, allowing one wing to curve forward for him to brush with his fingers.
“It’s really soft,” Leo says wonderingly. “Like a bird.”
She takes his fingers, tracing them over the edges to show him. “Do you feel these harder areas? That’s bone. And then these are the membranes, and they connect to my spine along with the bones. They form the main shape, and the softness you can feel is something w— I call moonsilk.”
I know exactly how soft they are. The barest brush as I cut the ropes free that held them against her back. My fingers rub together at my side, as if in memory.
Leo has moved around, his hands traveling over her wings.
I clear my throat. “Careful, Leo. Be gentle.”
“He is.” She glances up at me. But Leo’s exclamation draws both of our attention. “There’s copperin your wings, Selene. Doesn’t that hurt?”
I stiffen. “Copper?”
She ignores me. But I’m starting to learn a little more of Selene Amaris. Enough to tell me what it might mean when her eyes turn pitch black, stars winking out one by one.
Enough to tell me that I don’t like it.
“Sometimes it does. Not as much as it used to. But it means I can’t fly very far. A few feet, maybe. So you shouldn’t rely on me, Leo. Just in case. Do you understand?”
He pats her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Merrick does a lot of worrying. And Callan. Enough for all of us, Rio says.”
I bite the inside of my cheek at the expression on her face. “Leo, why don’t you go and help check the weights to see ifthere’s anything else we can toss? You’re good at that. You might find something they’ve missed.”
He smiles at her, suddenly shy again. “Thank you for letting me touch your wings.”
Selene gets to her feet. But the stars are back. “You’re welcome.”
Chapter nineteen
Selene
