The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,161

him by her side, than alone in the fog as this foreign world pulled her under.

Xander lifted the blade.

"Stop!"

He turned toward her voice as his heart leapt to his throat and the dagger clanged against the stones. "Lyana?"

"I'm here," she said as she stepped through the mist, her ivory wings as luminous as ever, as though starlight lived within her feathers, breaking up the dark night.

She'd come.

Despite the prophecy, despite what Cassi had said about her destiny and her king, she'd come for him and for his people.

She'd come to save them.

"Princess!" the girl cried as she tore open her eyes. "You've returned."

"I have," Lyana crooned as she knelt beside the girl, nothing but sympathy and compassion in her eyes. "I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm here now. And I come with Aethios's blessing to help the House of Whispers. I've been with him these longs weeks that I've been away, and he's gifted me with the power to save you."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you."

"You might feel a little pain, but it will all be over soon, I promise."

"Thank you."

Lyana lifted her green eyes to him, and for a moment Xander couldn't breathe. He'd forgotten what it was like to be in her presence, like looking at a goddess come to life, a woman so full of spirit and magic she shone as bright as the sun. But it was different now too. He thought of that beach where Cassi had taken him, of the tide flowing in and out, the sand slipping through his fingers with each passing wave. He no longer worried about trying to hold on to something that couldn’t be bottled. She was meant for bigger things than him, and he was fine to simply sit and bask in her glow.

"Help me with her body," Lyana murmured.

Xander copied her movements and they each slid their arms beneath the girl's back. She hissed in pain, but the ache soon receded from her eyes. As they lifted her, she remained still, a serene expression on her face. He couldn’t see Lyana's magic, but he could feel it like a static pulse in the air. The blood oozing from the girl's open wound slowed, and then her skin sealed, the scar shrinking and shrinking until it was nothing.

"In the name of Aethios, highest of them all, you're healed," Lyana said warmly as the girl blinked away her confusion, bright spots of wonder filling her gaze. "Go. Find your family and tell the ravens their prince and princess are coming to save them, with the power of Aethios and Taetanos combined. Go."

The girl raced off into the night.

"The power of Aethios?" Xander muttered, arching a brow.

Lyana turned toward him with a grin. "It sounds so much better than magic."

"Do you think they'll buy it?"

"I think they'll believe whatever keeps them alive."

He had so many questions, and not nearly enough time to ask them, but the answers swirled in her gaze. Her eyes were no longer clouded with secrets, but open and unafraid. He didn’t know what she'd gone through down here in the mist, but one thing was clear—she was done hiding.

"Rafe is alive, Xander, and I love him. For that reason, and so many more, I can't be your mate. But if you'll allow me, I would still do everything I can to save our people."

The words were abrupt, but he'd known them already. He'd known them the second he looked into her eyes. The world was changed. She was changed. And so was he. Xander wanted more than a mate tied to him with shackles. He wanted more for his people, and more for himself. The feelings he'd once had for her had been a fantasy, crafted through daydreams, but he deserved something real. And someday, he would find it.

"Cassi." The name came unbidden to his lips, from some deep place he'd been trying to ignore, but now that it was out in the open, he remembered where he'd left her—behind bars. "She's trapped."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Xander," Lyana murmured, her voice soft enough to crush and yet strung with hope, a hope he didn’t want to snuff out. "Did she truly try to kill you?"

He swallowed, thinking about the knife at his throat and the pleading look in her eyes. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"It's…complicated."

"She lied to me for my entire life."

"I know."

"She cut off Rafe's wings."

He winced. "I know that too."

"But still you want to save her?" Lyana stared at him, searching his face as