The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,155

the sky, as though she were invincible.

Tonight, she needed to be.

The spirit of the sea raged in quiet fury, the sort that built in secret, behind shut lips and closed doors, simmering in defiant eyes, alive in the souls of the silenced. Lyana tapped into that feeling as she pushed her magic deep into the rolling waves.

I hear you, she thought. I hear you.

The water kept on flowing, kept on coming. The onslaught traveled beneath the surface, rising and rising into a crescendo that would swallow Da'Kin whole.

No, she ordered. Stop.

It wouldn't.

The sea raced toward them like an animal unleashed, refusing to return to its cage. Her power wouldn't be enough to hold it. Not like this. Dividing her mind, Lyana reached for the air, ordering it to halt above the city's many canals and press together until it was so thick it could have been a wall. Still she knew it wouldn't be enough. Spirits clawed at her power, the way they always did, begging to be healed. She tried to push them away, to focus on the wind and the water, on the earth and the sea, but the humans were too loud to ignore. They drowned her in their cries. She couldn't fight the water and fight them. Her magic shifted, growing unwieldy. Her control fled as she struggled to keep it all contained, all compartmentalized, every element its own section inside her mind, until finally she thought, Why?

The world wasn't made of walls. It wasn't separated into neat piles. The elements were messy. They worked together.

So why was she always trying to divide them?

Instinct took over. Forgetting the lessons, forgetting the rules, Lyana ripped down the barrier keeping her magic from her soul, her heart from her mind. All that fear flooding her thoughts, all that terror, all that pain, she welcomed it into the deepest part of herself, making it her own. The spirits crying out to be saved were no longer strangers. They were a part of her, sewn into her skin, giving her the power not of one soul, but of a thousand. In that shift, she discovered newfound strength. There was no inner struggle, no overwhelming onslaught waiting to pull her under. Instead of flying into the face of a storm, she glided with it, her feathers catching the breeze until she moved faster and sharper than she ever had before.

Malek had been wrong. Her magic wasn't the only weapon she'd ever need. A sword was just a sword without a warrior to wield it. Power, by itself, was useless. But with her heart at the helm, no victory was out of reach.

The sea rushed forward.

With her magic and her soul united, Lyana rushed to meet it.

51

Rafe

She rose into the air as though lifted by strings, her wings spread but unmoving as the wind billowed through her feathers. Golden currents flowed from her outstretched hands, racing across the sea like a charging army, sinking beneath the ocean waves and rising to disperse the fog. If he was Vesevios come to life, she was Aethios, rising above the city like a goddess made of power and light, so bright he couldn’t look away even as the sight stung his eyes.

"Lyana," the king said, the sound somewhere between a scream and a whisper, his voice gradually falling away in awe.

She doesn’t need you, Rafe thought, a bit of pride swelling in his chest. She doesn’t need anyone.

In the distance, a wall of water as high as a building surged toward them, like a ripple spreading across the sea, ready to devour Da'Kin whole. The hydro'kine stared at it, a frown twisting her features, fear bright in her eyes.

A scream pierced the air.

Then another.

The cries of the citizens without magic, the ones who couldn't see Lyana's power. If they could, they wouldn't be afraid. If they could, they would know, as Rafe did, that Lyana would protect them. Saving lives was what she did best. After all, she'd saved his too many times and in too many ways to count.

The dock dropped as the water beneath the city receded, pulled into the swell. Rafe flared his wings to catch his balance. Beside him, the king stumbled. Golden sparks sputtered at his fingertips, as though the motion had finally spurred him awake. His power flowed out, meeting Lyana's across the sea, but she didn't need it. Rafe couldn't say how he knew—he just did.

The ocean barreled forward, closer and closer.

Lyana jerked her arms, biceps flexed as