The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,10

over at the waist, and laughed. Oh, if only it were so easy! Just yesterday, he'd thought the worst thing to ever happen in his life was interrupting a midnight rendezvous between his brother and his mate. Now he found he wished the rumors his mother rattled off were real. If only they'd loved him a little less, this whole disaster might have been averted. They'd be gone, yes, but only his heart would be broken and not his kingdom, which, if the truth got out, would surely fall apart.

"I fail to see the humor in the situation."

"I know," he sputtered. If he didn't laugh, he might cry—or worse. All the rage he'd kept coiled inside for so long had been unleashed, and now he didn’t know how to bury it away. Instead, it coursed through him, boiling his blood so he wanted to shout and snap and do all manner of unprincely things. But that would solve nothing. It would only hurt his people more. So he laughed, because at least then he could pretend the tears in his eyes were easy to wipe away. With a cough, he cleared his throat, trying to find his composure. "I know, Mother."

"What happened in the sacred nest?"

He shook his head, still unable to find the words.

"I need to know, Lysander. You must tell me. We need to prepare our people for what happens next."

What would happen next? Would that man come back? Would he bring more magic with him? And if he did, how in Taetanos's name would they stop him? It wasn't a problem he could tackle on his own, no matter how he wished he could.

Xander sighed and met his mother's worried eyes. "Bring Helen, and then we'll talk."

"I'll bring the entire council—"

"No," he cut in, using a voice he didn’t often use with his mother—one that oozed with the authority of a king. Her brows knotted, but she didn’t argue. She stared at him as though seeing her son as a man for the first time. "No one else. Just Helen, and together we'll figure out what to do."

With a nod, Queen Mariam left. As she murmured instructions to the guard stationed outside, Xander sank onto the stool by his balcony and dropped his head into his hand. The weight of so many questions landed heavily on his shoulders. In the city spread out below, a plume of gray smoke still billowed into the sky. Scorch marks marred the streets. Stone houses lay crumbled. In some places, wood burned, a fire they hadn’t yet been able to contain. And buried within the rubble, he knew, were his people—the greatest loss of all. How many had the dragon killed before it flew away? How many souls taken? How many lives cut short?

If not for Cassi, Xander would have been among them. The arrow she'd put in the dragon's eye was the only reason he was still alive. How incredibly stupid he'd been to go charging at the beast like some sort of noble hero, yet how freeing the moment had been too. He'd never felt so defiant and so strong. There'd been no fear, only foolhardy hope. Though he knew he was no mighty warrior, no dragon slayer, in that brief instant before he'd seen Cassi's arrow, he'd felt untouchable, and a part of him longed to feel that way again.

"My prince."

Helen's voice drew him back from the depths, and he lifted his head. "Let's go to the sitting room."

He was off the stool before either woman had a chance to question. They followed silently as he strode across his bedroom and through the archway. Though they sat soon after he closed the door, Xander continued to pace, his feet relentlessly marching toward some unknown destination.

"How many were killed in the dragon attack?"

"Twenty-three," Helen answered solemnly.

"How many injured?"

"Burned? Nearly three dozen. Crushed by rock? Ten, though we still have some areas left to clear. Injured while fighting? Four guards and an old man with more grit than sense."

"What of the city? How long will repairs take?"

"Months. The northern edge of the castle wall took some blows. A few houses in the noble quarters were crushed. Mostly, it's farmers who were hit—a fire still rages in their sector of the city, though my men have assured me they're close to putting it out."

"Any sight of the dragon?"

"Gone."

"And the sacred nest—is it secure?"

"We have guards stationed there now. All the priests and priestesses are alive and accounted for. Some of the