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This time, a shriek ripped from my throat as I tilted backward, a plunge yawning so much wider than that day at the forge. My hands flailed but missed the frayed edges of the broken rope by an inch, and then—

Coen whirled around. Grabbed my hand. Tugged us into his darkness. A moment later, we teetered on the rocky ledge of the island by the treehouse instead, right next to Jagaros and Kanuk.

“Oh God,” I panted in the direction of the gaping space where the rope bridge had been.

As promised, Lander had shifted into a giant bird with sleek black wings and a bright orange beak like the gulls, Emelle clinging onto his back as he soared toward us surrounded by the real gulls. Sasha and Sylvie were levitating with their own magic, and Terrin had managed to catch both Dazmine and Rodhi with malleable ropes of pure wind, the three of them zipping toward us through the billowing air.

But…

“Wren! Gil!” I screamed suddenly. It was like Gileon failing to emerge from the quicksand all over again, only this time Wren had disappeared with him.

I didn’t hesitate, didn’t think before lunging off the cliff to dive into the water after them.

Once again, Coen grabbed my hand right before I fell, yanking me back with irritation ticking in his jaw.

“Really, Rayna? How can you save them that way?”

“They’re—they’re underwater—” I struggled in his grasp, trying to shove him away, to let me go. Why was he so calm? “Gone—my fault.”

But as soon as I’d screamed their names, Sasha and Sylvie must have got to work lifting them from the lapping sea below us, because Wren and Gileon’s figures were already breaking the surface and ascending amid hacking, dripping coughs.

I stilled in Coen’s marble-hard grip, guilt pouring into my chest.

Object Summoning. Just as my fathers had saved me when I was five, I could have saved Wren and Gileon with my Object Summoning. Instead, I had destroyed the rope bridge and put everyone in danger. One night of lessons hadn’t tamed the wild clash of my magics. I shouldn’t be here, around the people I loved most when I was such a liability—

“Hey. Eyes right here.”

Coen cupped my face and tilted my gaze up until I sunk into the warm smoky quartz of his eyes. Every thought evaporated from my brain as he locked me into place.

“You belong here, Rayna, more than anyone else.” The words were quiet but firm, an anchor just for me. “We’re all safe, and we need you.” The thick column of his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I need you. Okay?”

I stared at him, losing myself in his expression: the desperation bleeding from his eyes, that one eyebrow that always tilted up now pinched with worry lines, the side of his mouth that smirked the most currently pulled down.

He wasn’t just my anchor. I was his, too, and letting myself drown in this… this self-loathing would only bring him down with me.

After a moment, I nodded with a shuddering breath. “Okay.”

A clamoring sound behind us made me pivot, and this time, Coen let me go.

Lander’s giant bird form had just touched down on the rocky ledge, his talons scraping stone. As soon as Emelle clambered off his back, his feathers receded, his beak melting into a normal human nose while the rest of him snapped back into place.

“By the orchid and the owl,” Emelle breathed. “That was—”

“Wicked,” Rodhi said cheerfully, his cheeks bright and wind-chapped as he, Terrin, and Dazmine landed beside them. “A top-five memory for sure.”

“Speak for yourself.” Dazmine tightened her bandana and patted at the flyaways of her braids. “That wind was like being tossed around in a butter churn.”

“So you don’t like it rough,” Terrin mused. “Noted.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You didn’t say thank you, either. You know, for saving your life. Again.”

“You—” Dazmine stopped herself as soon as Sasha, Sylvie, Gileon, and Wren landed on the ledge. The latter two were dripping wet, Wren wringing out strands of her inky hair with kohl-smudged eyes.

“Thank goodness you’re okay!” Emelle rushed toward them, flinging out her arms to catch them in a hug. Awkwardly, Wren patted her back.

“It’s fine. We would have eventually convinced the electric eels to save us… wouldn’t we have, Gil?”