The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,157

wings," she argued. "He can fly. He's fine."

"What if he's not?" he asked, finishing the thought silently. What if he's not, and I wasn't there to save him?

Doubt flickered over her face, prompting him to recall the king's final words to Cassi as he'd been pulled into the dark depths of the warehouse. Kill the boy, he'd said. Kill the boy, or I'll have someone else kill him for you.

Rafe couldn't say how he knew, but he did.

They'd been speaking about Xander.

"Cassi's there. Cassi's with him."

"She won't hurt him."

"You don't understand—"

"I do," Lyana said, squeezing his fingers to pull him from his panic. "Cassi came to me in a dream tonight, and she confessed, Rafe, to everything. She tried to kill Xander, but he caught her. She won’t hurt him, because she can't. She's imprisoned—"

A gasp stole her voice as a wave of conflicting emotions crashed over her face—hurt, betrayal, confusion, anger, but most of all, worry. Imprisoned. Her friend was imprisoned on an island that was at this very moment sinking into the sea.

It mattered little to Rafe.

Cassi could rot for all he cared.

"I have to go," he said, dropping Lyana's hands.

That broke her from the trance. "Wait—"

"Why?" he snapped. "Every moment I wait is another moment he might be in danger. If they want to kill me, let them try. Let them stick me with arrows until I stain the ocean red with blood, I don't care. It won't stop me. It never has before."

"And what will that do to your brother?"

It would break him. At least, it would have once. But Rafe preferred he be broken than dead.

"I'll go," Lyana stated. "I'll go in your stead."

He paused. "You would do that?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

She was a queen of prophecy. She'd just commanded the ocean to halt in its tracks. She dined with princes and kings. Why would she risk so much for him?

"Rafe." Empathy softened her tone. "Xander told me once that you pushed the world away because you didn’t think you deserved any sort of love. I didn't believe him at the time, but I do now, and it breaks my heart to see it. Of course I'll go. Your life, no matter how invincible your body may be, matters. You matter. To me. To Xander. To more people than you'll ever know. So please, don't throw it away. You don't need to fight every battle on your own, not when I'm right here willing to help you."

"It might not be safe," he said lamely.

Lyana tossed him a pointed look. "I'm hardly defenseless."

"What will you tell them?"

"I'll make it up on the way."

"But—"

"Rafe," she implored, lifting her hand to his cheek.

He fought at first, resisting the urge to sink into her touch. He was good at being alone. He was used to it. But this—letting someone in, not for a single stolen night, but for real—this was something he didn't know how to do, especially when he knew she was right. When the ravens saw her soaring through the fog, they would cheer. They would hail her as their savior, returned in their time of need. If they saw him coming, it would only lead to more panic and fear, more things his brother didn’t need.

"Go." The word spilled through his lips. "Please, go."

She put her other hand to his face, holding him so he couldn’t look away. "I'll come back."

Before he could protest, before he could tell her to forget about him and to leave this world behind, she pulled him toward her and pressed their lips together for a fiery instant that was all too brief. The heat of her touch spread across his entire body, leaving his skin tingling and his throat burning even after she pulled away.

"I promise," she whispered, standing on the tips of her toes so her lips brushed against his ear and her breath played across his neck. "I promise, I'll come back for you."

Without another word, she turned, her ivory wings sending a cloud of ash into the air as they flapped. Just as her heels rose off the ground, a river of golden magic whooshed by. The power clamped around her limbs and trapped her in place. She froze with her face lifted and her arms outstretched, her entire body reaching for the sky.

52

Lyana

"Malek!" Lyana shouted, fury sharpening her tone. After expending so much of her power to stop the wave, she was too weak to fight his hold. Every bit of movement was its own battle, and it