The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,59

though he were sinking below the ocean and they were on land. More ferro'kine magic flared, and then they were in the air again, standing on some sort of metal disc that hovered over the crowd. Lyana spread her wings to keep her balance, and that's when he saw it.

They'd been clipped.

The pearlescent plumes at the far ends of her wings, her gorgeous primary feathers, were gone. The people surrounding him probably didn't even notice—hers might have been the only wings they'd ever seen—but Rafe did. He recognized the abnormality in an instant. Just as quickly, the confusion and despair flooding his veins ignited, turning to fury instead. The king had done this to her. Rafe knew it. With Cassi's help, he'd grounded her. She was as much a prisoner of this world as Rafe was, and he was just as determined to set her free.

"Lyana!"

His shout was lost to the din of the crowd as the disk carrying them touched down in the center of the courtyard. The golden flecks in the air brightened, magic stretching and strengthening with their nearness.

"Lyana!"

Rafe shoved people aside, uncaring, all his focus on the tips of her ivory wings, which were still visible above the masses. She and the king were moving. The crowd seemed to part before them and meld behind them, as though a bubble encircled them, allowing people to get close but not too close, a strange sort of magic.

"Lyana! Lyana!"

He was only a few bodies away now. Through a break, her face flashed, something in her expression so drained it made him wish he could bear the silent burden for her. Digging his shoulder into another man, Rafe pushed past. Two or three more people and he'd be there, beside her. He was close, so close, so—

Rafe froze.

Invisible binds fastened around him, as though a hundred hands held every inch of his body, keeping him still. No one else moved. The magic in the air sharpened, wrapping around the crowd like gilded chains. He tried to shout, but no sound passed through his lips. His jaw didn’t even open. No matter how hard he fought to take a step, to reach out, he was trapped where he stood. Lyana came closer, and closer, only a few feet away.

See me, he silently willed, pushing the thought out like a prayer. Please, Ana. Hear me. See me. If you ever loved me, please don't walk away.

Her feathers bristled.

Her movement slowed.

She paused, and the whole world seemed to pause with her.

19

Lyana

The back of her neck tingled. Lyana stopped, turning to the crowd as the sensation slipped down the length of her spine, making her stand tall. There was something undeniably familiar about one of the spirits grasping for her magic, something recognizable about the deep-rooted pain aching to be healed, its touch and taste and feel like a phantom haunting her thoughts.

Rafe?

She narrowed her eyes, scanning the faces all around her.

Rafe?

It felt so much like him, that gently throbbing ache her magic had never been able to heal, not in the cave as she'd fixed the burns covering his body, not in his room when she'd repaired the broken bones of his wings, not even later, when she'd tried using her lips instead. There had been a moment as they'd lain entangled in each other's arms, his wings a warm blanket, her breath against his chest, their hearts beating as one, when she thought maybe his pain had gone. A peace had settled over him, over them both—a serenity the rising dawn had shattered.

Where had he gone after she'd left his room?

Was it possible he'd come here?

Her heart convulsed. Lyana scanned the fog for the telltale flash of onyx wings, hope a painful beast inside her chest. There was nothing, just thick gray mixed with the glimmer of magic, most of it Malek's. Every spot of ebony along the rooftops made her nerves flutter, but no raven lurked in the shadows. If anyone in the surrounding crowd had wings, she would have seen them from atop the wall. Still, it felt so much like him.

Rafe?

The thought had a little less conviction this time, a little less certainty. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. In his presence, she'd always felt as though she could do anything. He’d always made her feel strong. With the weight of so many pleading souls pressing in on her, it was only natural she wished he were there.

But he wasn't.

In the lands above, she was Xander's