The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,31

finally have a name for the magic he'd spent his entire life hiding, to bring something so secret into the light—strange, but not, he was surprised to find, unwelcome.

"Show me a serpent's noose."

Rafe tied it, earning another nod. "What do you think the king wants with my magic?"

"Ooh, finally an interesting question," she murmured, grinning as she studied him. Rafe tried to smooth his features, but it was no use. She could read him as easily as Xander did his many books. "Unfortunately, it's also a question I can't answer. I don't know what the king wants, though I agree, it must have something to do with your magic."

"We had a deal. Make a guess."

She pursed her lips as though considering, then relented. "If I had to guess, I'd say he wants the same thing he wants from everyone with magic—another soldier in his army."

"Captain!" A shout cut through the silence following her words, rising up and over the whipping sails as though carried by the wind. Pyro stood at the front of the ship with both hands extended, her fingertips sizzling with flames. Rafe couldn't see her face, just her auburn hair swirling in the breeze. "I feel something!"

Brighty was on her feet in an instant.

"Wait!" He grabbed her hand. "What army? Who is he fighting?"

"Dragons, Rafe." An almost sorry expression crossed her face before she twisted free of his hold. "In the end, it always comes back to dragons."

Then she was gone. Brighty grabbed one of the ropes attached to the mast and launched herself off the platform, looping her foot in such a way as to slow her fall so she landed easily on the deck. Rafe scrambled down the net to follow.

"Where?" Captain Rokaro shouted.

"Port side," Pyro answered.

The ship heaved, and Rafe flew backward as the mast tilted with the sharp turn, leaving nothing below him but the choppy sea. One of his feet lost its grip. He snaked his elbows through the net and hugged it to his chest as he dangled, afraid he might lose his breakfast. The wind changed direction, air flecked with yellow sparks of magic, and the ship righted itself. Rafe held tightly to the ropes, not yet willing to move as they raced forward. On deck, Brighty was already by Pyro's side with her fingers raised.

A white light shot through the fog, so brilliant it made his own vision spot. Brighty stood at its center, a black figure silhouetted by the glow. Pyro had turned away, holding her forearm to cover her face. Rafe wanted to watch, but he couldn't stand the burn. Instead, he found the captain, staring ahead with a wild look in her eyes. She kept her focus on Brighty—the only one on the ship who seemed to do so. He waited until the white gleam in her pupils faded before spinning back around.

The mist was gone.

Not all of it, of course, but it looked as though a tunnel had been carved through the gray, revealing an endless stretch of choppy ocean waves, the blue of the sea almost as vivid as the sky with the ivory glow of Brighty's magic still clinging to the air.

She had burned the fog away.

"Do you see anything?" Captain shouted.

"No!" Brighty called back.

"Do it again!"

This time, Rafe turned before she fired her magic, noticing how the sails caught her light first, then the mast, then the nets and the ropes and the rails. Where before there had been a dull sort of shine from the shrouded sky, leaving everything muddled, now the deck was marked by shadows, dark lines cutting across the wood and drawing patterns. The grains were a rich cedar, more vibrant than he'd ever seen them. And the captain's single wing, arched back like a falcon's on the hunt, shone caramel in the glow.

As quickly as it came, it faded.

Rafe flipped his head around to find another tunnel carved through the mist, the first one nearly gone by its side as the fog rolled back in. But unlike the last time, at the very end he caught sight of something black and sharp, gliding through the fog and emitting a subtle orange hue. It took another second before he realized what it was—the tip of a wing.

"Dragon!" Captain Rokaro shouted as a blistering gust rolled over the ship, snapping the sails so tight he feared they might tear. "All right, you lazy sluggards, let's move!"

10

Lyana

A knock sounded at the door and Lyana turned from the window, swallowing a