I awoke in the back of the carriage, my wings folded back into place, and my head on Maria's lap. I didn't jerk away. My wings were hurting again. I groaned in pain and rolled over onto my side, keeping my eyes closed.

I felt Maria stroke my hair, as if to comfort me. It made me think of Mom, and I tried to imagine it was her that I was lying on instead of Maria. But of course every time I thought of my mother, the only thing that stuck with me was her words the last time we spoke. She told me that I was no longer her angel, and that was probably what hurt me the most.

Maria rested her hand on my head, and probably stared out the window. I wanted to sit up and talk to my dad, but he wouldn't want to hear it right now. Plus, Maria's hand, in a strange way, was comforting. It made me feel less alone, and I needed that.

I shifted until I was comfortable, then let myself drift back to sleep.

*

This time when I woke up, the carriage was no longer moving, and Maria was gently shaking me awake.

I opened my eyes and looked up at her. "We're at the docks," she said.

I nodded and sat up. Dad came around and opened the carriage door on my side and helped me out. He kept an arm around me as he held the door open for Maria, who climbed out and closed the door behind her.

We slowly made our way through the crowds of people, where I was scared to death that I would do something horrible to someone but luckily didn't, and over to the ship. My dad led us to our room, which looked like Dad had pulled some of his charm to get us three beds in one room.

They insisted that I take the bed in the middle, so that if something happens to me they can grab me from both sides. But I told them it was safer for me to stay farthest away from the door, so they had more time to grab me if need be. My father didn't argue, and said that was fine, but insisted that Maria take the bed closest to the door, so that if something happened, my father would see me first and tell her if she could look at me. Dad did tell me that true forms were beyond human comprehension, so I was guessing that was his reasoning.

I lay down on my assigned bed just as another pain grew in my used-to-be angel wing. I shuddered, even though it wasn't cold, and then groaned in pain quietly. I spread my wings and looked at them, horrified.

Both wings were now shaped like a bird's, and my angel wing was a slightly darker gray. I looked to my dad, on the verge of tears.

He didn't know what to do, I could see it in his eyes. He sincerely felt sorry for me, but didn't know how to comfort. I buried my face in my pillow and cried. I was dying, and there was nothing I could do at the moment to stop that process.

*

When the ship left the docks, Maria went to find some food, but I didn't think any of us there were actually hungry. I knew I wasn't, anyway.

I folded my wings and stood. I told my father I wanted to go get some fresh air and take a look at the ocean. He let me go, but of course stayed right beside me the whole time.

When we got to the deck of the ship, I almost gaped at how beautiful the ocean was. The water was a deep blue, and it sparkled in the sunlight. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to fly just above the water's surface, with my hand cutting into the water. I knew it was impossible, the way I was, but it would have been amazing.

I sighed, and my father must have heard it.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Just enjoying the beauty of the world while I still can," I replied.

My father turned me around to face him, holding me by my arms. His expression was serious, and I didn't know if I should be scared of him and trying to break free or holding his gaze. I decided it best to just keep looking at him the same way he was staring at me, so I did.

"Selena, listen," he said quietly so that other passengers wouldn't overhear. "I want you to stop thinking that you're dying. You told me that your mother said that the angel in you is dying, not all of you. Your mother hasn't been around to help you nurture and develop the angel part of you, and that's why it's dying off. You aren't going to die, Selena. You are just becoming a demon."

My eyes started to water, and I didn't know if it was because I was happy he was telling me I would live, or because I was scared of becoming a heartless creature that feasted off of the souls of the living.

But Dad wasn't heartless. He cared about me, Mom, and even Maria, who had finally gained his trust. Maybe being a demon like him wouldn't be so bad. I was positive that if I started to become who I wasn't, Dad would help me get back to being me.

Dad wiped a tear away that had fallen onto my cheek and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and cried. Then I noticed I was getting stares from others, and decided to go back to our quarters.

Maria was there with all sorts of things. She had stuffed animals, candy, and sandwiches all laid out on her bed.

"I didn't know what you would be I the mood for," she said, "so I got plenty!" She smiled at me brightly.

I gave her a weak smile in return and looked down at the things littering her bed. I picked up a teddy bear about the size of my head, a small sandwich, and a chocolate bar.

"A sign that the angel in you is still living strong," my father whispered in my ear, "is that you picked up the teddy bear. A demon wouldn't even think about picking that up."

I smiled at him, because I knew he was right. The demon half of me was refusing the stuffed bear, but I still wanted it. I was still going to be half angel for a little while longer.

I sat on my bed and started to chow down on my sandwich, which I wasn't really in the mood for, and stared out the little window in our room. The sky was clear and blue and I could see pelicans flying around seagulls, like they were playing. I smiled at them.

I was expecting to see one of them dive to catch their dinner, or a pelican devour a seagull. Maybe that was why they looked like they were playing, because the seagulls were trying not to become a snack.

I wasn't expecting the window to creak open, then fall from its hinges and shatter on the ground. Nor was I expecting to see a figure in the window.

I screamed, but by the time my father looked over to see what had happened, the figure had vanished.

Then the boat started to lean to one side farther than usual, and someone screamed:

"ABANDON SHIP!!!"

The boat was sinking.