The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,140

come to find her? What had she deemed more important than going after her best friend? "Why aren't you with me?"

Cassi sighed. The sound trembled in the air, rife with heartache.

"I wanted to be," she murmured, the words more vulnerable than any Cassi had spoken before, not in the hours they'd spent gossiping in their rooms, or chatting in their cave, or scheming in the shadows of the crystal palace. The raw honesty in them made Lyana shudder, highlighting just how dishonest her friend's voice had been so many times before. Cassi reached for her hand, then paused, as though unsure if she still had that privilege. "I wanted to be there with you more than anything, Ana. In all the nights and days and years I spent trying to figure out how I would tell you the truth, I never thought it would be like this. I thought I’d be by your side, maybe in the wooden depths of a royal ship or in the castle overlooking Da'Kin. I thought we'd be two birds discovering a new world together. A world without lies. A world where you were finally the queen I always knew you'd become, and I was whatever you needed me to be—best friend, loyal follower, faithful guard. That was all I wanted. It's all I've ever wanted. But the day of your mating ceremony, things didn't go as planned. I was supposed to be with you. I was supposed to be there when you woke up, to help explain, to help you understand. I was supposed—"

Cassi broke off as her voice cracked. She turned her face to the side, staring into the dark corners of the cave with so much intensity Lyana wondered what memory she saw within the shadows.

"When I got to the ship you were already inside," she said, voice hollow. "Malek told me Xander had seen too much, and ordered me to stay behind to kill him. I didn’t want to, but he used his magic to hold me down until you were out of sight. I should've followed. I should've ignored him and raced after you. I should've done so many things, but I was afraid. Of facing you. Of facing the things I've done. I'm still terrified. But I realized something. If I stay frozen in my fear, it will never go away. The only thing I can do is face it head-on. You might never forgive me, and that's fine. I wouldn't blame you. But at least I'll know I tried. At least I'll know that for once in my life I did something I knew in my heart was right."

Cassi took a deep, shaky breath, finding Lyana's eyes. For her part, Lyana didn’t look away as she let the words sink in, all the memories of her youth tumbling into versions she didn’t recognize, with new questions she'd never in her life thought would be there. Cassi was a spy for Malek? Was that why she'd befriended her? Was that why she'd put up with her? Was their entire friendship a lie?

Then a less selfish thought took over.

What happened to Xander?

"Cassi, did you—" The panic in her voice cut the sentence short, stealing her voice so she couldn't even complete it. But her friend understood.

"No. He's fine, Ana. Furious with me, but alive."

"You told him?"

"He caught me."

"Caught you what?"

Cassi's lips thinned, but she didn't answer. She didn’t have to.

Lyana gasped, her hand coming to her lips to cover the sound. She'd seen Cassi protective before. She knew she was a fierce warrior. But she'd never seen a lethal intent in her eyes like the sharp glint that now shone there. "You didn’t…"

"I tried. And that's not the worst thing I've done, which is why I'm here. There's something I haven't told you, Ana, something I don’t think you'll be able to forgive."

Her heart lurched painfully. "What?"

"Rafe. I—" Cassi's mouth hung open, her chin wobbling as though fighting to say the words, to give them life. A pressure squeezed Lyana's lungs until she felt she couldn't breathe. Her throat burned for lack of air. Her head felt light. "The morning of your mating ceremony, I found him in his mother's rooms at the base of the castle. We fought. And I—I cut off his wings at Malek's bidding, then dropped him over the edge into the Sea of Mist where a ship was waiting to collect him."

Lyana swayed on her feet, her fingers clutching her chest as though to loosen