The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,136

like a cudgel about to drop, and now that it had, she felt unburdened rather than destroyed. Only time would tell if her actions had sacrificed the world or saved it, but for the first time in her life, she felt as light and weightless as a bird, as fierce and uninhibited as the sea, the two sides of her finally joined. Though she knew Malek would be furious, Cassi had no regrets as she stood staring at Xander and waiting for him to speak. No matter what he said, she'd found a strange sort of peace in knowing all her terrible deeds had finally come out in the light.

"Cassi…"

Her name had never sounded so terrible coming through his lips, scratchy and strained, as though it had been pulled out by some hideous force. She braced herself for what would come next. In a few short minutes, she'd destroyed his entire way of life. The gods he believed in so deeply? Nothing but magic. The kingdom he loved so dearly? Hanging on a dying spell and ready to fall at any moment. The mate he wanted to save? A woman who was never meant to be his. And the mysterious man he wanted to fight? A king of prophecy he could never hope to best.

"Rafe," he said after a prolonged silence, staring at the uneven stones along the ground as though the pressure of his eyes alone could smooth their rough edges. "Where's Rafe?"

Of course, she thought, releasing the breath she'd been holding. The tension in her muscles melted away. I should've known his first thought would be for Rafe. "He's in a city called Da'Kin, being held hostage by my king."

"Alive?"

"Alive." She nodded, even though he wasn't looking at her. She wasn't even sure he was looking at anything in this room. His focus was both sharp and distant, as though by fixing his eyes on the tiniest crack in a rock, he'd somehow gained access to an entirely new world.

"Could Lyana heal him, if they were brought together? Could she fix him?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "I don’t think she understands how."

"But she could learn?"

"In theory."

"Then I have to save them."

She jerked upright, her wings expanding in protest. "You'll never get through Malek."

"I don't care. I have to try."

"Xander!"

The sharpness of her voice finally drew his attention. She saw every emotion swirling over his features, the confusion and the anger and the despair. The only thing she didn't see was hate, but she saw the yearning for it, as though he wanted to curse her name but couldn't quite form the words. Gone was the prince with lavender starlight in his eyes, his irises sparkling with mirth as she pressed him up against a wall, glittering with joy as they debated across a table laden with open books, glowing like the vast night sky as they held each other close in the darkness. Cassi might not have killed him, but she'd killed a part of him—the part that maybe, someday, might have loved her.

It was for the best.

She wasn't a creature made for love, anyway.

"Malek will kill you."

"Then at least I'll die fighting for the people I love, which right now, Cassi, seems like more than I can say for you."

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it?"

She looked away. His gaze bored into her cheek, so hot it felt as though a torch were pressed against the spot, burning her skin.

"You say you love Lyana, but you've done nothing except lie to her for her entire life and then abandon her when she needed you most. You say you're sorry for what you did to Rafe, and yet you've done nothing to save him, to try to right the wrong. You say you care for this world among the clouds, but at every turn you've tried to bring it down. I might've spent my life buried in books, Cassi, but even I know that words mean nothing without action. You're a coward, and—and—" He released a heavy breath, some of the fight leaking away. "And, truth be told, I've always feared I might be too. But I won't let that be how my story ends. You say the isles will fall, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. You say the dragons are coming and an ancient prophecy is the only hope left to best them. In your eyes, I'm helpless, and maybe I am. But Rafe needs me. And I'm done running away."

"Xander…" Her voice faded into