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slippers on her feet. As was usual for her, she wore her hair down. It fell almost to her backside. Olivia had also opted for a tank top, hers in a sage green, with white linen capris and white leather moccasins. Her hair was pulled back in a practical bun.
    Behind each of the girls stood their Gloresti. She fought the urge to look over her shoulder, knowing that they were all there about ten feet back and watching.
    “Flight is about faith,” Ini-herit continued in his usual unemotional monotone. “You must believe you can do it. Or else, you will not.”
    Olivia’s brows drew together at that announcement. Faith? That was rather vague, wasn’t it?
    As a human, she had been drawn to measureable and calculable problems that resulted in logical and methodical solutions. Telling her that this was all about faith was like saying a rainbow contained the color black if you just looked at the correct angle.
    “Skylar,” Ini-herit said, turning to the youngest sister. The Corgloresti elder occasionally forgot that they preferred to be addressed by their human names versus their Estilorian names. “Bring forth your wings.”
    Bouncing a few feet further away from Olivia, Skye smiled and did exactly that. From the light blue crescents etched around her shoulder blades in a similar way that the three light blue swirls decorated the edges of her eyes, her wings unfurled. Olivia couldn’t contain her smile. Skye’s wings were incredible. They looked like they were made of soft blue clouds, swirling in misty wisps so that the edges and tips looked blurred against the landscape behind them.
    Just as Olivia was about to ask if she could touch one of her wings, Skye issued a combination between a gasp and a laugh and suddenly launched herself from the ground. Olivia’s eyes widened as her younger sister soared higher and higher, then suddenly lost altitude. Before she could plummet more than a few feet, however, Caleb was there, his midnight blue wings making a slow and calm contrast to Skye’s more rapid pace. Although the couple was too high to hear what was said, Skye seemed to slump slightly and retracted her wings. Caleb carried her back to the ground, his face impassive. Olivia imagined he had been doing quite a bit of rescuing just like this since Skye had discovered her wings.
    “As you can see,” Ini-herit said as though the disruption had been his plan all along, “there is a certain degree of control required for flight.”
    Olivia bit her bottom lip when she saw Skye’s defeated expression. Moving to her left, she rubbed a comforting hand over Skye’s shoulder. “Hey, at least you can bring your wings forth,” she said supportively. She knew the comment helped when Skye smiled.
    “Now you will try, Olaya,” Ini-herit instructed.
    Flinching, she glanced around and realized all eyes were on her. She fought the urge to wipe her damp palms on her capris and took the few steps sideways until she was again between her sisters. Clearing her throat, she admitted, “I’ve been trying for the past couple of weeks.”
    Amber laughed and stepped closer so she could lightly smack Olivia on the arm. “Of course you have.”
    Finding herself smiling over her normally-reserved sister’s reaction, Olivia caught Ini-herit’s gaze and added, “Well, I haven’t been able to do it on my own. I need more instruction, I think.”
    “I see.”
    Ini-herit looked consideringly from one sister to the other, seeming to gauge each of them. He knew a lot about their individual personalities from their time on the human plane. In conjunction with the Orculesti class, who could connect mentally with Corgloresti on the human plane, he had been monitoring them throughout their lives. As he thought, he paced, his hands held behind his back and his head bent. The long tail of his black braid whipped through the air as he moved, drawing her nervous attention.
    Finally, he stopped. He nodded as if he had answered his own question. “Very