"Oh, right," Ethan said. "Miles—Celestial Stairway's finished, yeah?"
"Yeah. It's done." Miles's eyes were bright, like he'd been waiting to say this. "I had the second echelon test it, and I personally picked over a hundred Fallen Star Guards to try it too. The results were insanely good."
Ethan leaned forward a little. "How good? Give me the details."
"Most of them tapped out somewhere between the 40th and 60th step. Almost everyone got a one to two Tier boost."
Miles's grin widened. "But the craziest one was Calvin. That kid's willpower is terrifying. He forced his way up to the 70th step."
"Nice," Ethan said, nodding. "I knew he had that kind of grit. Glad I wasn't wrong."
Calvin hadn't had Ethan's True Sight to find the weak points in the pressure. He'd climbed to the 70th step the hard way—just raw toughness.
That wasn't talent.
That was stubbornness bordering on insane.
Ethan's gaze sharpened. "How's he been lately? Any bleeding-heart crap?"
