The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,158

took all the magic she possessed just to turn around and face him. Though he stood as tall and proud as any king, the look in his eyes was full of jagged edges. "Let me go."

"I can't do that."

"You can't or you won't?"

"Lyana—"

"What's the plan, Malek?" she asked, so tired of having the same argument again and again. "You can't hold me like this forever."

"I don't need to."

A dark laugh escaped her lips. "So you'll clip my wings again, is that it?"

"If I must."

"Lock me in a tower?"

"If I must."

"Chain me to your wrist?"

Frustration rippled over his regal face. "Stop acting like a child."

"Stop treating me like one."

"The prophecy is upon us and you want to leave. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Trust me, Malek," she implored. His golden magic swirled around her, blocking out the rest of the world, entrenching her in his spirit. Beneath all that stubborn pride, there was hurt and most of all fear, a pining of the heart he tried hard to keep hidden. She wished he wouldn't. She wished, for once, he would let her in, but she knew it was useless even before she spoke. To Malek, vulnerability was a weakness. To Lyana, it was the essence of what made them human. "Trust that I want to save the world just as much as you, even if we have two different ways of showing it. Trust that I know what I'm doing. Trust your queen."

A war waged inside his eyes, but it was no surprise which side won. "You can't leave."

"I can't stay," she answered softly. "Not like this."

He clenched his jaw, brows drawing together as he stood his ground, refusing to release her. The power around her intensified until, one foot after another, she marched forward against her will. With each step her sympathy ebbed, replaced by determination. People weren't pawns on a board, and though it was a lesson she was embarrassed to have learned so late, actions had consequences—even Malek's actions. If he wanted to be a king who knew no compromise, then she would be a queen who bowed to no one. The lines were drawn.

So be it.

Lyana unleashed her magic. Even depleted, she was still strong enough to fight him, and fight she would, until she had nothing left to give. Because she was done being what other people told her to be—a dutiful princess, a coerced mate, a silent queen. It was time to take her fate into her own hands. It was time to be who she was in her own right—Lyana Aethionus, free and unbound, guided by her heart and fortified by her magic, a woman who would save the world, the whole world, or die trying.

Malek braced himself as her power slammed into his chest, nearly knocking him over. He reeled, bending his knees and digging his heels into the wood planks beneath his feet to keep from flying backward. A frown flattened his lips as a hard look gathered in his eyes. The magic around her tightened. Lyana gritted her teeth, refusing to move another inch toward him. They were right back where they'd started, locked in battle. That wasn't what she wanted either, but if she had to choose, she would rather be his enemy than his prisoner.

"Lyana," he snapped. "We're supposed to be a team."

"You should have thought of that, Malek. When you turned my best friend into your spy. When you told her to cut off Rafe's wings behind my back. When you told her to kill one of the best men I've ever met. When you silenced me at every turn and refused to listen to my concerns. You should have thought of that, when you were lying and scheming and making plans without me, plans you never intended for me to find out. Don't put the blame on me for refusing to cower to your demands. Put the blame on yourself for doling them out in the first place."

"And what of the world? Will you let it fall in your pride?"

It took everything she had not to laugh. "Will you?"

They each attacked, neither giving, neither bending, back and forth and back and forth. Aethi'kine magic lit the sky. Her vision started to spot, her body weakening before her power, unable to hold on for much longer. Malek sensed it. He dug into her skin like a beast with claws, trying to drag her forward. A cry slid through her lips as she fought against him.

As quick as