the world.
Now Xander would give up something—his pride.
The plan with the House of Wisdom wasn't just about finding Lyana, he wanted his brother back as well. Rafe could never return to the House of Whispers, not with what the people now believed, but a part of Xander hoped his brother would learn he had traveled to the home of the owls and would come running. They had much to talk about before all could be forgiven, but he wanted to have that conversation. He owed it to Rafe, to himself, and to the long, complicated history between them. If his brother didn't come, then somehow, someway, he would find him. That was a promise.
Xander stood and tucked the dagger into his belt. Tomorrow, Cassi could show him how to use it. Until then, he would confess his secrets to the blade, the way he would have confessed them to Rafe had his brother still be there to listen.
17
Cassi
Stepping into Malek's dream was like stepping into the past. His spirit wrapped around her, so strong and familiar, a warm embrace, until she remembered the hard look in his eyes as his magic held her down and the orders on his lips, until she remembered that his affection had been as false as the world she now crafted around them.
Cassi stopped spinning the tendrils of his mind into his preferred meeting spot, a castle room with stone walls and a heavy iron chandelier, dreary and drab and dire. Instead, she imagined blue skies and a lush grassy plain that extended as far as the eye could see. Wildflowers, as sweet as they were beautiful, covered every inch of the ground. In the distance, lavender hues hinted at far-off mountains topped by cones of white. They stood on the roof of a stone keep, heavy and impenetrable, the winds whipping around her legs. Crumbled buildings littered the grounds below, remnants from a time long ago, once homes and shops and an imposing city wall, now nothing more than moss-covered rocks and ruins.
"This is new," Malek murmured by her side, his feet braced against the breeze and his hands clasped behind his back. In the dream, she imagined him the way she'd last seen him in the House of Whispers, with a sun-kissed glow to his skin and golden highlights in his hair, those eyes as inscrutable as a stormy sea.
"I thought it was time for a change."
His brows lifted inquisitively. "Are you trying to send me a message, Kasiandra?"
"No message."
"Then what is this place?"
"It's Lantos," she said, stepping forward so her toes extended out over the edge of the building. Her wings shifted, feathers ruffling in the breeze. There was no more reason to hide them from him. He'd seen the real her while she pleaded for his mercy, desperate and broken, still covered in Rafe's blood. And she'd seen the real him. "It's the capital of the House of Prey, commonly referred to as the City of Ruins. I've been told it was once a vibrant city that fell to waste when the isles were lifted into the sky. The kings and queens of these lands have always been solitary creatures. They never trusted their subjects. In turn, their people never trusted them. They keep to their fortress, and their people keep to their homes in the open plains. Without citizens, the city crumbled."
"Ah." He stepped beside her, not afraid of the height. Perhaps he mistakenly thought she'd catch him if he fell. "So it is a message then. You think I'm too wary. I've been told as much before."
"I never said it was the right or wrong way to be. I just answered your question. Interesting, though, that you drew that conclusion."
"Why else are we here?"
"Because it's the first place I thought of, and while you might be in control of every aspect of our waking lives, dreams—even your dreams—are mine to command."
Malek laughed softly, the edges of his lips pulling up. "I missed you, Kasiandra."
His voice brought a shiver to her skin.
Cassi clenched her teeth and stared hard at the horizon as thunder rumbled overhead. She had been sending a message in coming here, but it hadn't been a message meant for him.
Led by childish notions of family, she'd flown her spirit to the House of Prey innumerable times as a girl to study the eagles circling the skies and to search for falcons in the mountains, wondering which might be her grandmother or her uncle. She knew every inch